Marcus Didius Falco is one of those characters that you wish you had thought of, rather than leaving it to Lindsey Davis! Her series featuring the Roman informer has been very successful, and it is easy to see why. Each episode contains a self-contained mystery for our hero to solve, but it is Falco and his family who are the main ingredient. From the beginning, he was never a lone figure. Over time, his wife – the brilliant Helena Justina – and various members of his wider family have all played important roles in the books.
In this volume, Falco takes his family on holiday to Ostia, but as usual, it’s a working holiday. One of the scribes responsible for the gossip column in the Daily Gazette has gone missing, and Falco is trying to find out what has happened to him. The plot soon widens as he discovers that the port seems to be full of men of wealth from dubious sources. All seem to have – or have had – connections to piracy, even though – officially – there are no pirates any more.
His old friend Petronius turns up, and he has to admit his true purpose in Ostia. He also finally meets the one member of his family he has never seen; it comes as no surprise, that this latest relative is not the most trustworthy person in the port. As always, there is a marvellous cast of new characters; one of the author’s strengths is that her supporting cast are always really well drawn and believable.
The story in this episode is entertaining and fun. Falco is his usual self; hassled by most of his family, supported by his wife, and dogged in his work. It’s not the best in the series, but that’s not really the point. For those of us who have read the whole series, it builds slowly over time. We learn more about Falco and his family in each book, sometimes only small things, but by this episode, we feel we know him – and Helena – very well. Sometimes we know how he will react to a situation before the author actually tells us. Occasionally though, she still surprises us.
This is a review of the Arrow Books 2013 Kindle edition.
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