Marcus Didius Falco and family (just about everyone related to him) are in Ostia, Rome's busy port city. Falco is searching for the missing scribe, Diocles, who happens to write the gossip column for one of Rome's "newspapers." He of course, eventually finds the missing scribe, but not before encountering Rome's nonexistent pirates, imposter vigiles, and his long-lost Uncle Fluvius. Along the way, Falco takes a swim in the ocean, is imprisoned in a tomb, and experiences part of the initiation rites of Cybele. I laughed out loud in spots. I really appreciate Lindsey Davis' skill in setting the scene, and in the way she keeps her characters true, volume after volume.
Scandal Takes a Holiday, the next book in the Falco series, follows our intrepid hero to the port of Ostia where he is trying to ascertain the whereabouts of a missing scribe. This is not just any scribe, however–it is Infamia, the celebrated writer of the scandal column in Rome’s official newspaper. In the process, Falco discovers a corrupt builders’ guild, a kidnapping racket, and the unsettling information that Cilician pirates (the ones that Pompey wiped out a hundred years ago) might be plying their trade once again. I “really liked” this one, but it wasn’t “amazing.” Four stars! I’m going to be so sad when I finish reading this series….
