Review: The Ides of April by Lindsey Davis

The Ides of April by Lindsey DavisFormat read: print book borrowed from the Library
Formats available: ebook, hardcover, paperback, audiobook
Genre: Historical mystery
Series: A Flavia Albia Mystery, #1
Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Date Released: June 11, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Flavia Albia is the adopted daughter of Marcus Didius Falco and Helena Justina. From her mother, she learned how to blend in at all levels of society; from her father, she learned the tricks of their mutual professional trade. But her wits and (frequently) sharp tongue are hers alone.

Now, working as a private informer in Rome during the reign of Domitian, Flavia has taken over her father’s old ramshackle digs at Fountain Court in the Surbura district, where she plies her trade with energy, determination, and the usual Falco luck. Recently hired to help investigate a fatal accident, she finds herself stuck with a truly awful person for a client and facing a well-heeled, well-connected opponent.

That is, until her client unexpectedly dies under what might be called “suspicious circumstances.” While this is not a huge loss for society, it is a loss for Flavia Albia’s pocket. Even worse, it’s just one of a series of similar deaths for which she now finds herself under suspicion. Before things go from abysmal to worse, Flavia must sort out what is happening, and who is responsible.

My Review:

Silver Pigs by Lindsey DavisThe Ides of April reminds me of the best and worst of the Marcus Didius Falco stories. The reader does have to like the narrator’s voice (in this case Falco’s adopted daughter, Flavia Albia). It takes forever to get both the story and the mystery set up and finally running. Both that story and that mystery are immersed in the daily life of Imperial Rome, which in detail tends to be surprisingly like modern life.

And there is that element of the bear dancing: you’re not surprised it’s done well, you’re surprised it’s done at all. By “it” I mean the concept of a hard-boiled detective series set in Imperial Rome circa 69-79 AD in the case of the Falco series. Or in Flavia Albia’s case, sometime after 81 AD, and Flavia seems to be slightly less hard-boiled, not to mention female.

On the other hand, unlike her father, Flavia seems to have been raised to the business from the point where the Falcos adopted her. She has an outsider’s perspective on Rome and its citizens, and she feels the need to be independent and productive.

While Flavia (and Falco’s) occupation as an informer or inquiry agent may seem anachronistic, Flavia’s employment in particular doesn’t seem that way. Women in this time period had more independence than in many later periods until our own.

The case itself is interesting because it’s based on a snippet of real history. There was a mysterious “needle-poisoner” who apparently was never caught. So Flavia Albia’s introduction is one potential scenario.

But what we see is Flavia making her way. We do not see her formidable parents, and that’s probably a good thing. They remain supportively in the background, as they should. This is her story. Flavia is standing on her own two feet, even when they sometimes lead her astray.

There is definitely a part of this case where she is very much led astray. But she gets herself back on track before the end.

And, like so many of the stories starring her parents, once she gets back on track, the adventure (and misadventure) whips up to a page-turning pace before all the loose ends are tied up.

Escape Rating B: Flavia Albia’s story is one that rewards an initial investment of time and tracking of all the dramatis personae. Flavia has a large adopted family, and there are a number of friends and frenemies who are tracking her, not just because of her own cases, but as leftovers from her parents’ salad days. Keeping everyone straight takes a bit of doing.

This is a classic mystery in the sense that all the clues are laid out for the reader, but it is necessary to piece them together. I figured out who probably “done it” but not the motives for quite a while.

A big part of what makes this story interesting is Flavia Albia herself. Her point of view may seem, or may be, a bit 21st century, but it is in keeping with her mother’s perspective. Also, Flavia Albia is an outsider who has the veneer of an insider. It makes her a good investigator. She’s also an interesting woman because she is independent.

She makes mistakes, and then sees them and grows from them.

One thing I wonder about for the future. She forges an interesting working relationship with the runner, who of course, is more than he first appears. It reminds me a lot of the early days of Falco’s relationship with Helena Justina. I wonder…

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12 for 2012: My most anticipated books in 2012

It’s very difficult to figure out what books I’m looking forward to most in 2012. I mean when I started to look at lists, I realized that most of what I was anticipating were the next books in series, or new books from authors I already knew. But when I looked at the list of my best reads from this past year, most of them turned out to be authors who were new to me. It’s a puzzle, isn’t it?

This doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the series books that I read. I certainly did. But it’s the discoveries that turned out to be the most memorable. Maybe that’s because they were such surprises.

Just the same, these are the books I am planning to stalk NetGalley for review copies. And if I can’t get a review copy? Well, then I’ll just have to buy a copy and review it anyway. There’s even a reading challenge about reading one book a month just for fun!

But the books I’m looking for in 2012 are…drumroll, please!

When Maidens Mourn by C.S. Harris will be the next book in her Sebastian St. Cyr historical mystery series. What Angels Fear is the first book, and St. Cyr is a detective of the amateur and aristocratic variety. He should be the hero of a Regency romance, and in other circumstances, he might have been. But his service in Wellington’s army has left him much too tormented for that. His personal life makes him a tragic hero; the demons that drive him make him an ideal detective, if only to keep him from becoming a criminal. March can’t come soon enough on this.

Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb. This is Eve Dallas’ 34th outing. I’ve read all of them. Usually in one sitting. I still can’t figure out how she does it, but Robb/Roberts does it really, really well. This book means there will be one warm night in February.

Restless in the Grave by Dana Stabenow. I think I will always have a fondness for Alaska stories. Heck, I still tell Alaska stories, and it’s been 6 years now since I left Anchorage. But living in Alaska is something that changed my perspective, probably forever. The situations Dana writes about in her novels are always a tiny bit familiar, even the ones set in the Bush. Because Alaska is possibly the world’s biggest small town, and there weren’t six degrees of separation, there were three at most. Even for cheechakos like us. Dana writes damn good mysteries, but I always read them for a taste of the place we almost called home.

Master and God by Lindsey Davis. I love Davis’ Marcus Didius Falco series. The whole idea of a hard-boiled detective operating in Imperial Rome has always been utterly delicious. And Falco’s wife Helena Justina is made of awesome. Master and God is not a Falco book. It’s historical fiction set in the same time period. Davis wrote one other work of historical fiction set during the Falco period, The Course of Honor. I read it years ago and it was fantastic. If Master and God is half as good, it will be well worth reading. Come to think of it, I hope people re-discover The Course of Honor. It was incredibly good and I don’t think it got half the attention it deserved.

The Bride Wore Black Leather by Simon R. Green. This one has been teasing me every time I look at Amazon. The recommender can figure out I want to read this, so it sorta/kinda looks like it’s available, but it’s not. January 3, 2012. Come on already. For those fans of the Nightside, John Taylor is finally going to marry his long-suffering (in more ways than one) girlfriend, Suzie Shooter. He just has one last job to finish up before he meets her at the altar. But no job in the Nightside is ever easy, especially not for John Taylor.

Redshirts by John Scalzi. This sounds like it’s going to be really cool. And really, really funny. And yes, the redshirts in the title are those redshirts. Like in Star Trek. The ones that always get killed at the beginning of the mission. What happens if a bunch of them figure it out? And decide that they are not going to let it happen to them? This sounds like something only Scalzi could possibly do justice to. In June, we’ll all find out.

An Officer’s Duty by Jean Johnson is the next installment in her series, Theirs Not to Reason Why. I loved the first book, A Soldier’s Duty (reviewed here), and I can’t wait to see where Johnson next leads her time-travelling heroine, Io, in her quest to save the human race from utter extinction. July 31 is way too far away for this one.

Copper Beach by Jayne Ann Krentz. I knew that someday the Krentz was going to link the Victorian era Arcane Society of her Amanda Quick novels to her contemporary Jones & Jones psychic investigations to her futuristic romances under her Jayne Castle pseudonym. I read them all, but the links make for an added twist that I love. In January Copper Beach starts a new subseries, Dark Legacy.

Crystal Gardens is the start of a second subseries, Ladies of Lantern Street, that Krentz is starting in April under her Amanda Quick name. That means it’s a Victorian era story, at least for the first book. All of the Arcane Society books, both contemporary and Victorian, have been excellent romantic suspense.

Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh is the 11th book in her Psy-Changelings series, and the first to be published in hardcover. Although her Archangel series hasn’t wowed me, the psy-changeling books have never failed to please. I only wish that the release date was earlier than May. And I wish the US version had a better cover. The UK cover is awesome. (UK on left, US on right.)

Dragon Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. I want to go back to Liaden. I want to catch up on the books in between (there are several) that I haven’t read, and I want to finally find out how things are going. Liaden is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, space opera science fiction romance universes of all time. Dragon Ship is due Labor Day. I think I have enough time to get caught up. It will be so worth it.

This last book is an absolute flyer. It sounds really cool, but who knows.

The Yard by Alex Grecian. What if, after Scotland Yard failed to capture Jack the Ripper, they started a Murder Squad? 12 detectives specifically charged with investigating the thousands of murders in foggy, grimy, crime-filled London. How much luck would they have? When one of their own is murdered, the Yard’s first forensic pathologist is put on the track of the killer. I love historic mysteries, and this sounds very, very cool. In May, I’ll find out.

 

These are the books I’m looking forward to this year. I wonder how many will end up on my “best books of 2012” list.

What are your most anticipated books for 2012?