Scandal Takes a Holiday Book

The 16th of Lindsey Davis's fluent, funny Roman thrillers, Scandal Takes a Holiday puts official informer Falco to work searching for a missing journalist in the bustle of Rome's port, Ostia. As everyone keeps telling Falco, there are no pirates any more--the emperors put a stop to them for good--and yet somehow the old pirate havens of Illyria and Cilicia are just as prosperous as ever and rich, retired old men from both regions seem to fetch up in Ostia, along with gangsters, kidnappers and assassins. The usual members of Falco's extended family are along for the investigation--the fact he has had to hire a seaside apartment does not escape those anxious to escape a Roman summer--and as always much of the book's charm comes from Falco's endless romance with his clever, posh wife Helena. This is also the book in which Falco finally meets the one uncle that no-one ever talks about; this is not one of the most profound of the Falco books (which can sometimes add seriousness and poignancy to their other virtues) but it is an entertaining and intelligent puzzle that, as always, tells us things we didn't know about Roman life. --Roz KaveneyRead More