The IDES of APRIL ~ Lindsey Davis. Flavia Albia #1. 2013 HbDj UNread in MELB

Description: First of a new series of crime novels set in Ancient Rome and featuring Flavia Albia, the adopted daughter of much-loved Marcus Didius Falco. Based on real historical events: mysterious poisonings, in which victims died, often unaware they had been attacked. Albia is now 28 and an established female investigator. Her personal history and her British birth enable her to view Roman society and its traditions as a bemused outsider and also as a woman struggling for independence in a man’s world. The first novel takes place on the plebeian Aventine Hill, with its mix of monumental temples, muddy back lanes and horrible snack bars. We meet Albia’s personal circle – some familiar, some new. We glimpse old haunts and hear of old friends, but the focus is on Albia herself, a tough, witty, winning personality who fearlessly tackles inhumanity and injustice, braving any risks and winning the friendship of unexpected allies. Falco: The Next Generation - Flavia Albia has taken up her father's profession. Only, w Rome is a more dangerous, mercurial place than it was back in dear old dad's day . . .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 t 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 w finds herself under suspicion. Before things go from abysmal to worse, Flavia must sort out what is happening, and who is responsible, in Lindsey Davis' The Ides of April. About the AuthorLindsey Davis, historical novelist, was born in Birmingham, England in 1949. Having taken a degree in English literature at Oxford University (Lady Margaret Hall), she became a civil servant. She left the civil service after 13 years, and when a romantic novel she had written was runner up for the 1985 Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize, she decided to become a writer, writing at first romantic serials for the UK women's magazine Woman's Realm. Her interest in history and archaeology led to her writing a historical novel about Vespasian and his lover Antonia Caenis (The Course of Honour), for which she couldn't find a publisher. She tried again, and her first novel featuring the Roman "detective", Marcus Didius Falco, The Silver Pigs, set in the same time period and published in 1989, was the start of her runaway success as a writer of historical whodunnits. A further nineteen Falco novels and Falco: The Official Companion have followed, as well as The Course of Honour, which was finally published in 1998. Rebels and Traitors, set in the period of the English Civil War, was published in September 2009. Davis has won many literary awards, and was honorary president of the Classical Association from 1997 to 1998.Very Entertaining read!ReviewsImpeccably researched …… Flavia Albia, a young widow, has been an informer (private investigator) for several years, following in her adopted father’s footsteps. Rome in the first century AD is brought vividly to life in this fast paced and amusing story which does have its darker side. Those who have read this author’s Falco series will immediately recognise Flavia Albia. She is independent, intelligent and observant – ideal qualities for an informer to have. But it seems some people in high places don’t want her to find out why people of all ages are dropping dead for no apparent reason and she is warned off. Naturally she doesn’t listen to the warning. Full of interesting and intriguing characters including Albia herself, this is an entertaining mystery which will keep you turning the pages to find out who you can trust and who you can’t. It must be difficult for authors of long running and successful series to introduce a new series but Lindsey Davis has managed it successfully. I always liked Albia when she appeared in the Falco series and she makes an excellent central character for this new series. The book is well written and impeccably researched and reading it makes you feel as though you could just step into Rome and recognise it instantly by sight, smell and hearing. I also feel as though I would recognise the characters if I met them face to face. WONDERFUL ...... I have always loved Davis’ Marcus Didius Falco books, and was deeply saddened when she stopped writing them. As a writer, I can see that after 20 book the series might be wearing a bit thin for her, but as a reader I wanted MORE! So I was delighted to see her starting a new series, in which Flavia Albia takes over her father’s old P.I. business. It not only brings back a wise-cracking P.I. who’s also an ancient Roman—female!—but it lets us get glimpses of the other characters we love through Flavia’s eyes. As mysteries go, I did think that at one point Davis made the killer’s identity a bit too obvious—even to me, and I’m usually oblivious to who the killer is. (I’ve got a couple of smart friends, who unravel my own mysteries the moment I drop the first clue.) But she’s also got a secondary mystery going, and I was quite proud of myself for solving that one. But for me, it’s more voice and character that make a mystery, and Ides of April has that in spades. I leave you with Flavia’s description of her not-so-beloved 11-year-old brother: Venusia flapped around, trying to distract me by querying whether my dear little boy would like some fruit juice or a bowl of raisins. Postumus has never been a child who accepted juice from nagging women who treated him like a three-year-old. Even when he was actually three he behaved like an old man, an old man who had several wives buried out under the woodhouse floor with hatchets in their heads. He gave Venusia his stare, the one that asked openly why did this stupid woman not know all he wanted was to be allowed to go into the sacred woods and find a hedgehog to dismember as bloodily as possible. I’m something of a fan of Postumus—and a big, newly fledged fan of Flavia Albia. Another 20 books please? I thoroughly enjoy the author's facility with words. ....... The colorful way she captures the flavor of ancient Rome had me eating olives and crusty loaves of bread along with the main character as she solved the problem of mysterious deaths that no one was reporting. (Literally, by the way, I had to get up and attack a plate of Kalamata olives and French bread just to satisfy my visceral needs as well as intellectual ones.) I haven't made an effort to cross check for accuracy, but Lindsey Davis writes as if she is crossing the Travertina daily to get to the local watering hole for burned offerings for lunch. I absolutely love the new character she has developed and was, of course, downhearted that it is only the first book of a series. (It had better be a series, or I will have to have words with the writer about leaving the reader wanting more and then not delivering.) My only gripe is the long held belief that the Ides of a month fell on the 15th. In her novel, the Ides of April is the 13th. According to Wikipedia, we are both right!: Idus, Ides—thought to have originally been the day of the full moon, was the 13th day of the months with 29 days, but the 15th day of March, May, July, and October (the months with 31 days). So, isn't it nice to receive a little history lesson with your fictional mystery!? A delicious and dangerous romp ……..If you haven’t discovered Lindsey Davis’s delightful informer (which is what a private investigator is called in Ancient Rome) Marcus Didius Falco, then you’ve missed a treat. I’ve read 14 out of the 20 she has written (I gather there’s a Falco companion, too) as well as another non-Falco story, and loved them all. Now she has gone into the next generation: Falco and Helena’s adopted daughter, Flavia Alba, has gone into the informer business too, even living in the same crummy old place that her father had when he was poor. Flavia Alba is very much her own woman, and as you’d expect a spunky one at that. She has inherited much of the Falco obstinacy and disregard for propriety, which is dangerous in these times, since she is living under the rule of Domitian, a far crueller and more tyrannical (and paranoid) ruler than Vespasian. Despite all this, Flavia is eking a living, and using a large amount of righteousness to do so. Her reaction to the unexplained death of a client – which means she has no chance of getting paid for investigations so far – leads her into close proximity with the gamut of officialdom in her quarter of Rome – and into more trouble than she imagined. It was about chapter 24 when I realised she was probably following the wrong man, and although I was proved right when she realised around chapter 44, there is still plenty of excitement and adventure (and danger) in bringing the miscreant to rights. Exciting chases, Roman matrons reliving their youth through exotic ritual festivities, vigiles and other law enforcement falling foul of each other (often in a very foul manner), and an excellent twist in the tale kept me glued to the pages. A delicious and dangerous romp through Roman ordure and officialdom, with added heartache and animal rescues. I’m already looking forward to the next one! Love Lindsey Davis's new characters great follow-on to the Falco series.…. As a devoted fan of Marcus Didius Falco, I had to see what this second generation would be like. It does not disappoint, but the villain becomes obvious too soon. Let's see how the series develops. FABULOUS ..… Just great, a new look through new eyes at a familiar Roman landscape. Face paced and fun. Falco would be proud. FASCINATING MYSTERY IN ANCIENT ROME ….. I enjoyed this book for what it was a good story in Ancient Rome with an interesting murder. Even more so this was a real murder scenario from that time at least in method. What I didn't like is the random throwaways to things in the interval. I didnt mind the reduced role of our Falco characters this is her story after all. I however was not impressed by some of the references to things that happened such as Lenia just falling off the face of the Earth and Falco not finding her. That doesn't sound right. There is also mention of an unexpected bereavement but never saying who has died. Why mention it if you aren't going to explain. GOOD START – I MISS FALCO… While I'm glad that Lindsey Davis is still writing about ancient Rome, but I don't like the large jump between Albia at 9 or 10 and now Albia at 29. I can understand the author's method in this. I miss Falco but the creativity might have gotten a little stale there. For this story, Albia is definitely a female Falco, though with the vulnerabilities. This does cause her to miss the real culprit which is right in your face early in the book and it's damned obvious. However, the story is very worth following. The descriptions of the people and places of ancient Rome are still all there. There are a few 'hooks' that can be expanded on in later stories. For example, while the oppression of Domitian is alluded too, it's not really expanded on, so you don't get the sense, at least in this story. Oh, yeah, there is a hilarious chase scene in the tradition of the Falco books.Marvellous Reading! WHY do ebayers buy from US?Because you KNOW what you're getting. My close up photos are of the actual item & form part of my description!! POSTAGE IS $14.90 WITHIN AUSTRALIAWe pack your books with care - using secure, lightweight, waterproof packaging to ensure that they are well protected in transit.*All items will be shipped within 3 business days of receipt of payment. Payment can be made by Direct Deposit Bank Transfer or Paypal. 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