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The 15th novel in the Marcus Didius Falco series begins with Falco and his family back in Rome after a sojourn in Britain. Marcus is working with Helena Justina's two younger brothers, who are now partners in his agency. Marcus is an 'informer' or what might be considered to be a private investigator today. Marcus, along with his best friend Petro, has come up from the rough streets of the poorer side of Rome. Surprising everyone, Marcus has inexplicably won the hand of a senator's daughter. Helena, as intelligent as she is beautiful, is an ideal partner for Marcus and in between caring for their two young daughters she has much to contribute to Marcus' cases. They have also come up in the world in their living arrangements, having traded the walk-up tenement of their earlier years for the elder Falco's house in a slightly more upscale neighborhood. Falco and Associates did a minor job locating documents for the prosecutor in a case against Rubirius Metellus who was accused of trafficking in offices, a corruption charge. The team of investigators ultimately gets further entangled in the Metellus family's troubles which stem from the supposed suicide of Rubirius Metellus after his conviction for corruption in office. When the suicide is exposed as murder, suspicion rests on his family and several members stand accused. Suddenly you can't tell the defendants without a score card. Leave it to Falco to sort out this mess! Falco and Helena have not lost their appeal, and with the addition of their children, dog and members of Helena's family directly involved in their lives, they are as fascinating as ever. However, the lengthy crawl through the Roman courts and legal system did get a little wearying to this reader after awhile. We do get to see corrupt officials, sleazy lawyers, lying witnesses - sounds very familiar! There is also quite a bit of trivia of Roman funeral customs, such as hiring comedians to denigrate the deceased, sort of like an ancient Don Rickles. Falco and his family prevail in the end, in spite of things looking very bleak indeed. As always, Falco is a witty and highly entertaining narrator. Through his eyes we see all the highs and lows of Roman society as Falco attempts to stay just this side of solvent and in the good graces of the emperor without compromising his principles. It is always a pleasure to visit old friends even if their lives have gotten just a little bit staid.
Reviewed by Lorraine Gelly, March 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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