Saturday, November 30, 2019

BOOK REVIEW: A Capitol Death by Lindsey Davis

I was past due for the next Lindsey Davis Flavia Alba mystery, #7, A Capitol Death.  

Shortly before the feared and despised Emperor Domitian returns to Rome to claim a double triumph for a lackluster military campaign, an important official in his transportation department is found dead at the foot of the Tarpeian Rock. A witness saw him moments earlier at the top of the rock. He wasn’t alone.

Flavia Alba, daughter of the retired, renowned detective/informer Falco, has been tasked by her husband, Tiberius, a local magistrate, to solve the murder. (He’s a bit busy helping to arrange the triumph. Plus, he’s still recovering from being struck by lightning on their wedding day.)

With her typical dogged persistence, intelligence, and trademark snark, Flavia Alba interrogates coworkers and acquaintances of the dead man – a man so nasty the list of suspects keeps growing –  in order to solve not just one, but two murders. 

After a slow start, the danger builds as clues start falling into place and she closes in on the murderer.

Tiberius plays less of a role in this investigation. I hope to see more interaction between the two in future books because that spark enlivens the novels. Book 8 is due out next summer!

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