A Body in the Bathhouse (The Falco series) - Hardcover

Davis, Lindsey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0892967714 ISBN 13: 9780892967711

Publisher: Grand Central Pub, 2002

Synopsis

Ancient Roman investigator Marcus Didius Falco finds trouble on the site of a new palace being built by the king of the Atrebtes tribe in distant Britain. 20,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

It's a close-run thing. Two authors have made a speciality of brilliantly researched and highly atmospheric thrillers set in ancient Rome. Lindsey Davis is currently ahead on points, and the latest Falco thriller, A Body in the Bath House, is quite the most diverting entry in the series yet. Steven Saylor's Gordianus the Finder series will have to scrabble to maintain this level. The highly impressive sleight-of-hand that Davis is so adept at is just as much in evidence here as in such previous entries in the series as Ode to a Banker: while the sights, sound and smells of ancient Rome are conjured up with a truly pungent verisimilitude, Falco's modern sensibility never jars, and this Philip Marlowe of the ancient world remains a perfect conduit for the reader.

Cleverly extrapolating current fads, Davis demonstrates that even in AD 75 a passion for home improvement has gripped the Roman Empire. Falco is losing patience dealing with two cowboy builders who have been wreaking havoc on his bath house, but after the contract is finished, Falco and his father investigate hideous smells and find grisly human remains on the site. Simultaneously, in the primitive outpost of the Empire that is Britain, King Togidubnus is creating a spectacular new palace, but murderous accidents and corruption are bedevilling the project. Rome's Emperor Vespasian sends Falco to sort out the trouble, and this gives Falco a chance to escape from his dangerous feud with a Roman spy. Needless to say, as he penetrates to the heart of the mystery in Britain, his own life is (as usual) soon on the line with an implacable killer on his trail.

One would have thought that the law of diminishing returns would have kicked in by now, but this series goes from strength to strength. Taking up a Falco novel is an entrée into a world that is always colourful, always fascinating and always dangerous. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

‘A superb example...her witty and literate Falco novels are models of the genre’ -- The Times

‘Fast moving, funny and full of atmosphere’ -- Mail on Sunday

‘If only all best-sellers were this satisfying. Uniquely entertaining’ -- Time Out

‘She brings Imperial Rome to life’ -- Ellis Peters

‘Wonderful, great fun all round’ -- Daily Telegraph

About this edition

• Publisher: Grand Central Pub
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0892967714
• ISBN 13: 9780892967711
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304