Fatal Legacy, by Lindsey Davis

Roman informer Flavia Albia chases a debt for a family business and finds herself drawn in to the machinations and shenanigans of a very different family, who are battling over possession of an orchard outside the city. She finds herself digging through a murky history of violence and litigation that has continued since the death of a patriarch 40 years earlier. The case requires negotiating a web of lies, finding a missing will, preventing an elopement and determining whether one of the recalcitrant family members is a freedman or a slave. There are so many characters, most of whom are related, it is difficult to keep track of who is who and how they are connected. The novel is enhanced by the welcome reappearance of Albia’s parents, Falco and Helena. But an unnecessary murder near the end adds to the chaos of too much going on for too little effect.

Murder in Williamstown, by Kerry Greenwood

Miss Fisher is so popular that her stories sell themselves, which is presumably why Kerry Greenwood keeps writing them. There seems no other reason than a nice little earner, as the tales have become hackneyed and sloppily written. This one is three separate detective stories smooshed into one, with Phryne’s adopted children pursuing their own mysteries. They could easily have started life as three separate short stories, which have been clumsily joined up and called a novel. There is more focus on food and fashion than plot and the historical and geographical references have been shoehorned in. Opium smuggling, a runaway Chinese lesbian, embezzlement at the Blind Institute and a perverted vicar. Sadly, the sum is lesser than the parts It is disappointing to see such an interesting and amusing character degenerate into writing by numbers.

A Comedy of Terrors, by Lindsey Davis

Flavia Albia and her husband Tiberius have taken his young nephews into their growing household after the death of their mother. This makes the imminent Saturnalia celebration of the winter solstice a little different from usual, although the lame practical jokes and drunken debauchery remain the same. Tiberius is approaching the end of his magistracy and wants to make his mark before he finishes, while Albia is facing a seasonal drought in her informer work. Meanwhile, someone is supplying Rome with poisonous nuts and there is a power play taking place amongst the city’s organised crime figures. Can the dream team sort it all out? Of course it can. Albia’s family makes a welcome appearance, especially Falco and Helena Justina providing timely professional and personal advice.

The Grove of Caesars, by Lindsay Davis

Her husband is out of town on a family matter, so Flavia Albia must oversee his building business. Their major project is clearing up a neglected section of some public gardens – the Grove of Caesars. There they find some old scrolls, which may prove valuable. Nearby to the building site a grisly murder takes place and Flavia Albia uncovers a conspiracy of silence about what may prove to be a long history of serial killings. Can she solve the mystery before the killer strikes again? Immersion in ancient Rome is once again total, although the level of detail on the city’s layout does tend to read too much like a Roman street directory. In the end the perpetrator is obvious, more to the reader than to Albia, but it’s still an exciting ride getting there – if a rather dark and grisly one. Already softened up by the addition of a dog to the household, Albia’s personal life takes an interesting turn in this novel, possibly promising a more domestic bent in future tales of the informer.

A Capitol Death, by Lindsey Davis

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.

Transcription, by Kate Atkinson

Knocked down by a car in 1981, Juliet Armstrong flashes back to her post-war life at the BBC in 1950 and her wartime experiences with MI5 in 1940. A seemingly naïve 18-year-old secretary, Juliet learns to lie and deceive with the best of them while transcribing recordings of fifth columnist meetings of Nazi sympathisers. It is only in 1950 that she finds out the extent of the manipulations and machinations that continue to haunt her and will affect the rest of her life. It seems that once involved with the security services there is no exit. There are spies within spies and secrets within secrets, all gradually uncovered as Juliet loses her innocence on many fronts. Her career consists of long stretches of mundanity punctuated by brief spells of extreme action and the book follows suit, with extended passages of dull transcription, which call into question the point of it all. In the end all is revealed but one question remains – was it really an accident?

Pandora’s Boy, by Lindsey Davis

Asked to look into the death of a teenage girl by her husband’s annoying first wife, Flavia Albia’s first instinct is to refuse. But then her husband goes missing; seemingly an after-effect of being struck by lightning on their wedding day, and the young informer needs a distraction. Clodia ran with an older, flighty crowd with complicated revolving love lives; was she poisoned by a love potion? The local witch/medium/ cosmetician is under suspicion by the vigils but has gang connections and can’t be pinned down. Albia must enlist the help of a dodgy, but familiar, lettuce seller to solve the mystery and obtain justice for Clodia. And Falco makes a welcome cameo appearance. As usual Davis draws clever parallels between social issues and mores in ancient Rome and those in contemporary life. This time, spoiled, privileged youth are targeted – all they would need is smart phones to fit right in to modern times. A dark tone pervades the story, which ends with a harbinger of criminal gang warfare across the city of Rome. At the very least the newlyweds finally get their household into some order, which should reassure their relatives and augurs well for their marriage.

The Third Nero, by Lindsey Davis

Struck by lightning on their wedding day, informer Flavia Albia’s new husband is dazed and confused. Fortunately she has all her wits about her to deal with the latest plot against the Emperor Domitian. The emperor might be unpopular and paranoid, but civil war in the Roman Empire is not an attractive alternative. Dealing with palace intrigues can be very bad for one’s long term survival, but Albia has intelligence, determination and a husband to nurse back to health. Slightly less engaging than previous Flavia Albia novels, this one is nevertheless the usual nice blend of history and detective story that sheds new light on the activities of imperial Rome and imperial Romans.

The Unmourned, by Meg & Tom Keneally

In this second instalment of the Monsarrat series the ticket-of-leave convict is back in Parramatta, with Hannah Mulrooney installed as his housekeeper. The colony is awaiting arrival of a new governor and Monsarrat has secured a position as clerk to the governor’s secretary. He finds this provides only limited protection from old enemies and not quite enough income for his needs, despite the extra duties assigned that make use of his special skills. These are called on to investigate the murder of Robert Church, superintendent of the Parramatta Female Factory. In this interesting examination of another aspect of early colonial life, history takes precedence over the murder mystery as the Keneallys expose the corruption of the system. Can the two unusual investigators clear the name and save the life of activist convict Grace O’Leary? And can they avoid making more trouble for themselves while they do it? At the end of the tale a third book is flagged, with Monsarrat and Mrs Mulrooney dispatched to investigate a crime in Van Diemen’s Land, as a ‘reward’ for their success.

The Soldier’s Curse, by Meg & Tom Keneally

Set in Colonial-era Port Macquarie, this mystery story pulls no punches on the brutality of convict life. The scholarship is admirable, if somewhat overdone, exposition and historical detail tend to overwhelm characters and plot in the early chapters. Gradually they fight their way through to create an increasingly interesting tale of crime and redemption. Tall and intelligent, Hugh Monsarrat is resentful that his station in life restricts him from rising to his abilities in a London law firm. Ambition outstrips common sense and he finds himself transported to the other side of the world. In Parramatta a rush of blood to a place other than the head sees him throw away his ticket of leave and wind up in the northern penal settlement for second offenders. Serving as a clerk for the moderate governor, Monsarrat makes friends and enemies among the soldiery. When the governor’s wife comes down with a mystery illness he must use all his skills to get to the bottom of it to keep his friends safe and foil his enemies.