Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Not Free SF Reader November 3, 2007
Bail, bashings and banquet.
Falco is in so much trouble he is in the slammer, thanks to the machinations of his rival Anacrites. His family and friends also have problems with a nasty landlord.
The Emperor, needing some work done, offers and solution, and Falco makes a favorable impression on his younger relatives, as well.
A continuation of the entertaining hijinks in previous books, and you won't be disappointed with this one.
 Venus in Copper November 10, 2006
This is my favorite of all the Falco books. I love the plot, especially the MO of the murderer, I love plebian Marcus' ongoing relationship with patrician Helena Justina, but most especially I love the storyline involving Titus, the turbot, Marcus' brother's shield, and the Praetorian Guard. Read it and weep, because you'll be laughing hard enough to.
Snakes Alive September 25, 2006
This is the third novel in the mystery series featuring Marcus Didius Falco, an informer and sleuth. A series of books that have become hugely popular, so much so that the author is now at the forefront of historical mystery writers. It was probably a stroke of genius on her part to have novels that are extremely well researched and contain all the elements that would be and should be found in Rome in AD70, but to have a lead character who has the vocabulary of a present day New York cop. In this the third novel Falco is starting to feel like an old friend.
Falco is trying to live down the indignity of being released from jail with the help of his mother of all people and he has accepted a case from some rich private clients. He is also in the middle of trying to entice his girlfriend Helena Justina to come and live with him, though why a senator's daughter, especially one who has just lost their baby, would wish to live in the hovel he calls home is anybody's guess.
When the client Falco is supposedly protecting dies, he is immediately re-hired by none other than the chief suspect. The crux of the matter is that Falco must find and expose a woman, a fortune hunter, who has lost more husbands to accidents than it can be believed possible.
Falco has more than a little excitement during the investigation, including a brush with a female contortionist who has a very interesting snake act. He also has the tremendous honour, or otherwise of a "friendly" visit from Titus Caesar himself, right in the middle of Falco attempting to cook a huge turbot without the aid of every chef's must have, a fish kettle.
 A decent new case, but still witty character interaction July 30, 2003
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Venus in Copper," the third Falco novel, marks his first new 'case,' as the previous two novels covered facets of the same extended plot. However, the social scheming of the freed slaves the Hortensii, the reputedly deadly widow Severina Zotica, Falco's clashes with the Emperor's agents, and poisonings at banquets don't provide as exciting a plot as the political conspiracy of the first two novels. In addition, the action never moves outside of Rome, and therefore lacks the charm of the additional rural settings of Britannia and Pompeii featured in the previous novels. Falco still spars with his patrician girlfriend Helena Justina, often in the best of Davis's subtle and evocative prose, and Falco's morose attitude about the future of the relationship is skillfully fueled by the entrance of true historical personality Titus Caesar as a suitor. The Falco-Helena character relationship is the real core of these novels, not the actual plots, so the slightly lesser mystery in "Venus" does not detract from the continuing development of these rich characters.
High on Mystery, Low on History April 21, 2003
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Lindsey Davis is no Steven Saylor - which is both good and bad. On the one hand, Davis crafts a better mystery, with excellent attention paid to dropping just the right amount of clues at just the right time, keeping us guessing til the very end as to who is to blame for what. On the other hand, Saylor is far, far more effective in evoking ancient Rome. Davis' Falco, to quote a previous reviewer, is "a modern mystery in togas." Ancient Rome is the backdrop, but it could just as easily be ancient Greece, or medieval France, or Victorian England. So, which is better: Saylor or Davis? That depends on your tastes, obviously. For the mystery, go to Davis. For the history, go to Saylor. Or, better still, read both!This was my first foray into the Falco series, and I did not feel any loss from missing the first two volumes. Almost the opposite, in fact. These books are very difficult to find nowadays, so do not wait until you find book one to get started.
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