Sharing a ewer of Spanish red with his old friend and new partner Petronius Longus, Marcus Didius Falco is on the spot when a man cleaning the local fountain makes a gruesome discovery: a human hand that suggests its owner met a terrifying fate. Naturally, Falco and Petro, formerly of the Vigiles, want to seize on it as their first big case. The officials of Rome, however, prefer to hush up the incident, since a population that riots at the drop of a toga might run wild if body parts are polluting their drinking water.
Soon other delicate, dismembered hands are being found in Rome's two hundred miles of aqueduct. Falco and his partner suspect a serial killer is at large, linked to public festivals, and likely to strike again at the upcoming Roman Games. Even a detective as astute as Falco may not spot a twisted mind in a crowd of 250,000. And if Falco loses this race with time, another pretty victim will make a deadly splash.
About the Author :
Lindsey Davis is an English novelist of historical fiction and best known for her award-winning historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire, the acclaimed Marcus Didius Falco series and the Flavia Albia series. Her novels have won numerous awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award and in 2011 the 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.
Christian Rodska has worked in theaters all over the United Kingdom and in the West End, and he has recorded hundreds of radio plays and poetry programs. Over the last thirty years he has worked regularly in television, from early programs such as Follyfoot and Doomwatch, to Taggart, Sharpe, and Wycliffe. He has recorded over one hundred audiobooks and has won several awards, including fourteen AudioFile Earphones Awards.
Review :
"Bizarre, funny, and satisfying."
-- "Irish Times (Dublin)"
"Davis vividly describes life during the period, but the story is never overwhelmed by historical detail...A riveting, suspenseful, witty read with lots of historical flavor."
-- "School Library Journal"
"Fans of the Falco series won't be disappointed. Those new to the series are sure to be hooked."
-- "AudioFile"
"Filled with scintillating suspense, laugh-out-loud humor, devilishly clever plotting, and a cast of wonderfully eccentric characters...[this novel] is among the best."
-- "Booklist"
"Once again, Davis weaves an intricate, irreverent plot filled with wittily imagined characters."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"The evocation of ancient Rome almost street by street should prove a treasure to readers interested in the era."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"Uniquely entertaining."
-- "Time Out"
