Lindsey Davis

Ten years after the eruption of Vesuvius, the surrounding countryside lies buried and barren. But the destroyed cities and luxury villas on the Bay of Naples are not utterly lost.

"All the problems I know about are family ones." A frightened child approaches Roman informer Falco, pleading for help....

Falco embarks on an intricate case of smuggling, murder, and treason that reaches into the palace itself....

He has no money, no reputation and no famous ancestors....

In the long, hot Roman summer of AD 74, Falco, private informer and spare-time poet, gives a reading for his family and friends. Things get out of hand, as usual.....

"I’ve always wanted to see something of the Empire outside Rome"....

Falco: the new generation - Introducing Flavia Albia....

I was the new boy, so they saddled me with the worst jobs....

Flavia Albia's day-old marriage is in trouble - her husband may be permanently disabled, and they have no funds. So when Palace officials ask her to expose a plotter in their midst, she is obliged....

Saturnalia, the Romans' mid-December feast, nominally to celebrate the sun's rebirth but invariably a drunken riot. Flavia Albia needs a case to investigate, but all work is paused....

Marcus Didius Falco discovers that rank brings problems, the most gruesome of which is a corpse....

"I still can't believe I've put the bastard away for good!" Petro muttered.'....

What did he eat last? Whom did he eat, in fact?

Rats are always bigger than you expect. Falco, ancient Rome's hangdog investigator, hates sharing a cell with a rodent ....

This was a lonely place for anybody to be brought to die....

From renowned author Lindsey Davis, creator of the much-loved character, Marcus Didius Falco and his friends and family, comes the second novel in her all-new series set in Ancient Rome....

Things turn serious at the scene of a murder. King Togidubnus has been stuffed down a bar-room well - leading to a diplomatic situation which Marcus must resolve....

Julius Caesar left his gardens to the citizens of Rome, a peaceful sanctuary across the Tiber....

It is 73 AD in Ancient Rome and inimitable sleuth Marcus Didius Falco is back with a vengeance....

Fresh from his trip to Britain, Falco needs to re-establish his presence in Rome....