Saturnalia (Falco 18) [Paperback]

Lindsey Davis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Falco 18 | Publication Date: February 25, 2010

It is the Roman holiday of Saturnalia. Marcus Didius Falco and Helena have returned from Greece only to find that Helena’s brother Justinus’s marital problems have exploded. Justinus’s first love, Veleda, a tribal leader and prophetess from Germania, has been brought to Rome and put under house arrest pending a ritual sacrifice at her capturer’s Triumph.

Justinus is love-struck once more and his wife, the temperamental Claudia, is enraged. Then Veleda escapes leaving behind a corpse. Justinus disappears too and it is up to Falco and the Chief Spy Anacrites to try to find the missing couple all against the backdrop of the orgiastic holiday period when literally anything goes . . .


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Like visiting old friends in a familiar and endearing, if sometimes bizarre, environment. Jokes and skullduggery crowd the pages.”
–Guardian

“Falco wisecracks his way through the empire’s sleazy underside . . . Davis’s crimes are wickedly convoluted — real fun.”
–Time


From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Lindsey Davis’s first Falco novel, The Silver Pigs was published in 1989. Since then, her novel Two For the Lions won the inaugural Ellis Peters Historical Dagger in 1998 and in 1999 she received the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective for her creation, Marcus Didius Falco. Her last ten novels have all been Sunday Times hardcover bestsellers.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Arrow (February 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099493837
• ISBN-13: 978-0099493839
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,980,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lindsey Davis' Roman novels begin chronologically with The Course of Honour, the love story of the Emperor Vespasian and Antonia Caenis. Her bestselling mystery series features laid-back First Century detective Marcus Didius Falco and his partner Helena Justina, plus friends, relations, pets and bitter enemy the Chief Spy; there is a reader handboook, 'Falco: the Official Companion'. 'Master and God' set in the time of the Emperor Domitian, will be published in 2012. She has also written an epic novel of the English Civil War and Commonwelath, 'Rebels and Traitors'. Her books are translated into many languages and serialised on BBC Radio 4. Past Chair of the Crimewriters' Association and a Vice President of the Classical Association, she has won the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, the Dagger in the Library, and a Sherlock award for Falco as Best Comic Detective. She has also been awarded the Premio Colosseo for enhancing the image of Rome, and the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement as a mystery writer.
She was born in Birmingham but now lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Falco 18, June 22, 2010

By 

K. J. Smith (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Saturnalia (Falco 18) (Paperback)

This is another enjoyable entry in the Falco series.It is set during the festival of Saturnalia. This is a time where there is a lot of family get togethers and celebrations to Saturn.

In this book Falco and his arch enemy/nemesis Anacrites are given the same case to solve. It invovles a woman that Falco had saved before. Her name is Veleda and she has been in residence with a Senator. She overhears that she will be in the triumph march of the general that had captured her which will end in her death. She disappears after there is a murder in the house she is living in.

Falco, his wife Helena and his best friend Petronius and the Vigiles all help in the search for her and to top it all it has to be kept hush hush so that there is not a scandal involving the government.

A great read. I highly recommend it