REVIEW: Fatal Legacy by Lindsey Davis
In first century Rome, Flavia Albia takes on an easy case that soon proves to be anything but as, at every turn, bodies —old and new — dog her path.
Flavia Albia, daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, has taken over her father’s business as a private informer. She only has two hard and fast rules – avoid political cases and family cases because nothing good comes of either of them. Unfortunately, since Albia isn’t good at avoiding either, it’s really more of a guideline. So when her Aunt Junia demands Albia track down a couple of deadbeats who owe her money, it’s an offer Albia can’t refuse.
It turns out to be a relatively easy job, requiring only some half-hearted blackmail, and it leads to some new work – tracking down some essential paperwork for the debtor family. But nothing is truly easy in Rome – if Albia doesn’t find the paperwork that proves that family’s ancestor was a properly freed slave, the family could lose everything. The more she digs, the more skeletons she finds in their closet, until murder in the past leads to murder in the present. Now, it’s serious, even deadly, and Albia has precious little time to uncover the truth.
Dear Ms. Davis,
After last year’s blood fest book, I’m happy that this one – though it has some violence and a lot of injustice that needs to be sorted out – isn’t quite as gruesome. Flavia Albia is again hired to do one thing – one easy thing – that soon spirals into something that she just can’t let go. She’s smart and she’s cynical but she will do her best just because it’s what ought to be done.
To try to describe the plot is beyond me. Truly, it’s so convoluted and so intricate that to untie the Gordian Knot would be child’s play in comparison. The legal case at the heart of the plot might not have dragged on as long as that in “Bleak House,” but for 40 years two families have disputed the ownership of an orchard and railed against each other. But something even worse is at stake though. Is one man free or enslaved?
With a large cast of characters, it pays to try and remember who they are and how they’re related. Yet, just when I thought I had a handle on that, new layers would be revealed. As a private investigator, Flavia Albia is used to those she interviews – as well as often her clients – lying to her face. The ones in this book have it down to a fine art.
I’ll be honest and say that there are plenty of times when I had to stop and mentally review the who’s who here. Given the Roman naming system, many had similar appellations. The two families involved also had a few intermarriages. It was confusing. As Albia tried to figure out what her real case was about and then gathered clues, for a long time nothing appeared to join up. Then once things began to fall into place, I had some “Ah ha!” moments.
Albia does figure out who owns the orchard. I was more invested in the fate of a few people – one who had been lied to by a truly detestable slug and one who felt he was at fault for something. Seeing Albia get them justice was sweet. That it occurred with Helena, Falco, Albia’s siblings and husband in attendance provided the juicy cherry on top. B
~Jayne
AmazonBNKoboBook DepositoryGoogle
Yay! Great review, Jayne.
I already have this on hold at my library. Good to know that the wait is worth it.
@Barb in Maryland: While reading this you may, for a while, wonder how this stuff has anything to do with that stuff. Just sit tight and wait for all to be revealed.