The Emperor Domitian is getting a grand triumph through the streets of Rome and it had better go smoothly or heads will literally roll.
In the lead up to festivities the transport coordinator falls from a cliff on the Capitol Hill. Did he jump or was he pushed? It’s up to intrepid informer Flavia Albia to find out.
There are a few too many coincidences in this mystery and Albia seems slower on the uptake than usual, with the reader ahead of her in making the connections on several occasions.
Perhaps she has taken on too many cases in too short a time, as this is around the third murder she has tackled since her wedding a scant two months previously.
The glimpses into her domestic life and the cameo from her well-beloved parents are the most entertaining elements of the story.
This is a pity as it means it falls short of Davis’s usual high standard tales of ancient Rome. This one has way too many descriptions of navigating the city’s hills, streets and landmarks, rather than its industries and underbelly.
The colourful characters just about save the book from the shortcomings of its plot. It is possible that Flavia Albia has run her course, although hopefully not as there is at least one more book in the series.
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