Publisher's Weekly Review
In his latest engrossing case (following A Time to Depart, 1997), ancient Rome's preeminent sleuth, Marcus Didius Falco, explores political skulduggery that has a decidedly modern ring. After Chief Spy Anacrites is attacked and left for dead on the same night one of his agents is killed, Falco must untangle a knot of patrician Roman politics that winds from palace to province and encompasses economic malfeasance that might reach even to the Emperor. Under the aegis of Vespasian's Chief Clerk Laeta, Falco connects the assassins to the Society of Olive Oil Producers of Baetica. Tracing the group to Spain, Falco uncovers a plot with roots in Rome to form a cartel. The villains seem evident early, but the labyrinthine means Falco must employ to thwart them keep readers absorbed. As engaging and wryly insouciant as ever, Falco holds to his tested methodology of stirring up trouble to see what happens, while this time worrying about Helena Justina, his pregnant lover. The moments of high humorincluding a scrimmage among a dog, a chicken and an ex-gladiatorare tempered by a sense that this is the beginning of the end for Rome and that Falco is doing all that one man can to hold off the night. Davis delivers another fast-moving narrative that makes ancient Rome feel as real as the streets of New York or L.A. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Not even the impending birth of his first child can stop Marcus Didius Falco, the most raffish private eye in Imperial Rome (Time to Depart, 1997, etc.), from dragging his love Helena Justina off to Iberia in search of the exotic dancer who has the key to a series of brutal attacks on the peaceful members of the Society of Olive Oil Producers. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The best historical mysteries combine scrupulous period detail with a modern sensibility. It's a tricky proposition: too much history detracts from the character-driven pleasures that most mystery readers crave, while a too-hip hero quickly degenerates into costume-drama absurdity. Through eight novels in her Marcus Didius Falco series, Davis has managed to walk this tightrope flawlessly. Falco, the informer-cum-sleuth who navigates the corrupt political waters of the Roman Empire with an appealing mix of integrity and self-interest, is just hip enough for the room; he wears his cynicism like a raincoat, but he won't be confused with Sam Spade at a toga party. This time out, Falco investigates the beating of Anacrites, Rome's chief of spies. The trail takes him to Baetica (in Roman Spain), where powerful olive-oil producers may be tampering with free trade. Meanwhile, Falco's lover, Helena, is about to give birth to their first child. Fascinating details about the olive-oil market lubricate the plot nicely, while Falco and Helena's bantering about the baby-to-be evoke Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt on Mad about You. Recommend this one not only to fans of Steven Saylor's Gordianus the Finder novels, another Roman mystery series, but also to anyone who enjoys contemporary Italian detectives, say, Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen or Donna Leon's Guido Brunetti, both of whom know a little something about corruption Italian style. --Bill Ott
Library Journal Review
In a series addition that rode the London Sunday Times best sellers list for several weeks, first-century Roman sleuth Marcus Didius Falco gets involved in deadly doings in the olive oil business. Soon he finds himself on the run, which is tough with a pregnant girlfriend in tow. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
