Deadly Election, by Lindsey Davis

Former academic Lindsey Davis uses her considerable knowledge of imperial Rome to inform and underpin her witty and intelligent historical detective novels. Amid the murder and mayhem we gently learn the intricacies of Roman law, politics and society, simultaneously educated and entertained. The endearing and persistent Marcus Didius Falco was the hero of 20 books, set mostly in the relatively benevolent reign of the Emperor Vespasian. The ascension of the vengeful and unstable Emperor Domitian has prompted Falco into retirement, leaving his adopted daughter Flavia Albia to fill his shoes. The unconventional widow brings a new flavour to these Roman tales, coming from the perspective of a working woman. They are not as funny as the Falco novels, but are just as engaging. This one, the third in the new series, examines complicated family relationships amid a minor election and Flavia Albia’s growing romance with magistrate Tiberius Manlius Faustus. Davis has seamlessly applied the transition from father to daughter, Falco and the rest of her family remaining peripheral characters who add to the narrative without taking it over.