REVIEW: Death on the Tiber by Lindsey Davis
In first century Rome, a murder victim found in the Tiber leads to a brutal gang war and Flavia Albia to a confrontation with her long-hated nemesis, with all that she loves in the balance.
First century Rome is plagued by all the evils the have beset major cities since time immemorial: crime, corruption, squalor, and worst of all, tourists. When a barge full of those entitled creatures arrives in Rome, they hit all the touristy hot-spots (the Amphitheatre, the Capitol, the dodgy bars with dubious entertainments) before departing for the next destination – leaving behind one of their party, dead and floating in the Tiber. While the authorities first try to pass her death off as a suicide, it’s quickly proved that the victim strangled to death and her body dumped. When Flavia Albia, a private informer, learns that the victim was in Rome searching for the man who abandoned her, Florius, Albia’s vicious nemesis, Albia is determined to find out the truth behind the murder and finally have her revenge.
Florius is the husband of the leader of the Balbinus, one of Rome’s most vicious criminal gangs, giving him even more reason to have murdered his former mistress. Currently engaged in a brutal turf war, with bodies dropping everywhere, Florius is fighting for his very survival and has little interest in one dead body. Now Albia must risk everything, including the life she has carefully built, if she is finally to bring Florius to justice. If justice is even possible.
Dear Ms. Davis,
My goodness what a tangled web is woven in this book. There are so many characters, so much that happens. Past, present, and (maybe from something near the end) future collide here as Albia’s past haunts her and Rome appears in danger of being torn apart from both vicious gangs and the LEOs charged with “keeping the peace.”
Flavia Albia and her husband (the wonderful) Faustus are picking through marble sales sites looking for that perfect column needed to refurbish a shrine when Albia’s next case appears. The drowned body of a woman has been taken from the Tiber and the official nitwits onsite appear incapable although they are officious. Something about the fact that the woman needs justice as well as having been from Albia’s birthplace – Britannia at the end of the world – lights a fire in Albia. In the past, she has taken on a case merely because men seem ready to dust their hands of it as the victims were women. But she soon discovers that this is far more than a dead woman. It is just the start in a gang war that could engulf all of Rome.
In my review of the last Albia mystery, “Fatal Legacy,” I mentioned how Roman naming conventions almost got the best of me as so many related characters had variations of the same name which made keeping them apart a challenge. As this story has rival gang families who are also often related, it took me a while to get everyone straight in my head.
Albia soon realizes that the murdered woman’s death is just the kick off point in the massive shakeout going on among Roman ruffians jockeying for position and power. The descriptions of some of their events almost sounds like something out of a modern meeting of NYC mafia families. But she still wants to discover why the murdered woman traveled from Britain to Rome searching for a man whom several of the Didius clan as well as Uncle Petro loathe. Also who killed her, or had her killed, and why?
Some of the characters have been in previous books – and were just as scary then as now. These people don’t play around. They have contract killers on retainer – so to speak – and have no compunction in ordering dirty deeds. There are times when Albia is in the homes of some of these people and drilling them with questions when I thought “Albia is either a woman with ovaries of steel or one who needs her head examined.”
The law enforcement officials are also scary as we’ve heard much over the years and books about Albia’s thoughts on the vigiles (useless thugs), the Urban Cohorts (brutal bastards), and the truly scary Castra Peregrina secret spies that nobody wants to talk about. The ones whose interrogation techniques make even the vigiles squirm. Good thing Albia’s tough father Falco trained her to not only be a good investigator but also strong enough to stand up to these men who bash first and usually never bother to get around to questions later.
Albia also has to face something from her past in Britain. She survived it but it still has some power over her as does the memory of the man who did it. For Albia, this case is personal. I’m still thinking about her choices but I appreciate that she made the choices and she is at peace with them. Yay that she has a strong and loving family surrounding her ready to defend her and see justice done for her but she ultimately calls the shots. The last scene, whoa. I wasn’t expecting that but it plus the tough women in the story immediately brought to mind Kipling’s poem with the phrase “for the female of the species is more deadly than the male.”
I loved seeing so much of Faustus, Falco and Petro and it reminds me that someday I need to go back and finish the back half of the Falco books but for now, I’m looking forward to what Albia and Faustus will get up to next. B
~Jayne
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Jayne–Thank you for the great review. I’ve had this on hold at my library for months and I’m anxious to get my hands on it. Good to know the wait is worth it.
My memory is like a sieve these days. I hope Davis drops enough clues re: Florius’ past encounters with the family to bring me up to speed!
@Barb in Maryland: Yes, there are plenty of clues. Have you read the entire Falco series? I admit I’m only halfway through it so haven’t read the book where Falco and Helena Justina adopt Albia in Britain but if you know this story, you might be able to refer back to it. Let’s just say Albia hates the man’s guts.
@Jayne: Jayne, yes I did read all the Falco books–as they came out. So it has been eons since I read the one you are referring to. However, I can track it down for a quick refresher, no problem. Thank you.