Description: Marcus Didius Falco is about to get involved in a nasty noir crime, involving gangsters, gladiators, and romance.For Falco, a relaxed visit to his wife Helena's relatives in Britain suddenly turns serious. He and his family are staying in London when Falco is summoned to the scene of a murder. The victim, Verovolcus, was a renegade with ties to Roman crime magnates operating in London, but he was also close to King Togidubnus. So when he is discovered dead, stuffed headfirst down a well, a tricky diplomatic situation develops that Falco must defuse.His investigation leads him into the seedy underbelly of London. There is a newly built amphitheater in town, one with female gladiators, but Falco soon realizes that the initially troublesome gladiators--including one from his own bachelor past--may just give him the edge he needs to solve Verovolcus' murder as the gangsters are pursued back to the Italian town of Ostia for a final showdown.
Brief description:
Lindsey Davis is an English novelist best known for her award-winning historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. The acclaimed Marcus Didius Falco series earned her the Crime Writers' Association Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award, and Alexandria made the New York Times bestsellers list. She is also the author of the acclaimed historical novels The Course of Honor and Rebels and Traitors. Her novels have won numerous awards, including the 2011 Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association for lifetime achievement. Born and raised in Birmingham, England, she read English at Oxford and worked for the civil service for thirteen years before becoming a writer.