The seventh book in Lindsey Davis' outstanding historical mystery series sent in first century A.D. Rome during the reign of the Emperor Domitian is everything we expect from a Lindsey Davis book: a cracking good mystery, meticulous historical detail, and a world weary and street smart detective in dogged pursuit of a murderer.
It is 89 A.D. and the egomaniacal Emperor Domitian is demanding not just one but a double Triumph to celebrate two so-called victories over two rebellious Germanic tribes. Actually, Domitian resorted to enormous bribes to "subdue" the tribesmen, but no one in Rome is prepared to quibble over details with their irrational self-proclaimed Master and God. Preparations for the Emperor's parade are derailed however, when Gabinus, the official responsible for overseeing transport for the Triumph, falls to his death from the ancient Tarpeian Rock at the top of the Capitoline Hill, the sacred precinct of the gods of Rome, and the site of the Temple of Jupiter Best and Greatest.
At first the authorities assume that the dead man either fell accidentally or jumped on purpose. But then a witness turns up insisting that Gabinus was pushed to his death. An accident or a suicide was bad enough, but a murder was an affront to the gods that could pollute the Emperor's Triumph and unleash Domitian's indiscriminate rage.
Someone will have to investigate, but of course no one wants a job that could make them the prime target of Domitian's wrath. Eventually the job gets handed off to the plebian aedile, Tiberius Manlius Faustus. Still recuperating from the effects of the lightning that struck him on his wedding day (talk about dire portents), Tiberius asks his new wife, Flavia Albia, one of Rome's best informers (ie. private inquiry agent for hire), to look into the matter.
Flavia Albia suspects this is a case of murder, as she quickly discovers Gabinus was despised by everyone who had the misfortune of having to deal with him. He was an abusive swine who cheated and swindled and made life a misery for everyone who crossed his path. She finds evidence Gabinus was rigging contracts, taking bribes and kickbacks, and running scams on contractors, including one concerning the supply of imperial purple dye and a gullible family of shellfish-boilers from the coast near Rome. When yet another person is found dead at the foot of the Rock, she realizes more lives are at risk.
As Flavia finds herself drawn deeper into the strange world of carnival floats, musicians, dancers, impersonators of ritual victims, incense and sacrificial beasts, can she see past the deceptions to the heart of the matter and break the cycle of vengeance before more deaths occur?
Click HERE to read the * review from Publishers Weekly.
Click HERE to read the review from Kirkus Reviews.
Click HERE to read the review from the forwinternights blog.
Click HERE to read the review from Crime Reviews.
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