The 13th novel featuring Marcus Didius Falco finds the Roman P.I. in the midst of a home improvement that brings an unwanted “visitor” to his bathhouse.
Poor Marcus Didius Falco: The two shiftless contractors working on his new Roman bath house have left him with a horrible smell emanating from the below-ground furnace...and some gruesome site debris. Meanwhile, the king of the Atrebtes tribe in faraway Britain is planning...

Marcus Didius Falco, the cynical, hard-boiled investigator from the rough end of Rome, is back from a difficult mission in North Africa. As a result of his hard work, Emperor Vespasian awards Falco with the title of Procurator of Poultry for the Senate & People of Rome, or keeper of the city's sacred geese. Not much of a salary, of course, but the title does give him a better standing with his in-laws. Now, all Falco wants is to spend time relaxing

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Fresh from his trip to Britain, Marcus Didius Falco needs to re-establish his presence in Rome. A minor role in the trial of a senator entangles him in the machinations of two real life lawyers at the top of their trade. The senator is convicted, but then dies, apparently by suicide. It may have been a legal move to protect his heirs, but Falco is hired to prove it was murder. As Falco shows off his talents in the role of advocate, he exposes himself...

Returning to Rome after his mission to Germania, Falco finds that his mother is being harassed by a centurion named Censorinus, who says he is chasing a debt owed to him by Falco's brother Festus. Censorinus claims that Festus was involved in a syndicate, shipping valuable statues from Greece - and that even when his ship sunk, Festus had guaranteed that everyone in the group would get their money back. Now, however, Festus is dead, and Falco knows

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"In the first century A.D., during Domitian's reign, Flavia Albia is ready for a short break from her family. So, in July, she returns to Rome, leaving them at their place on the coast. Albia, the daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, now retired as private informer, has taken up her father's former profession and it's time to get back to work. The first order business, however, is the corpse found in a chest sent as part of a large lot to be sold by the...

"Chrysippus, esteemed banker, patron of the arts, and scroll merchant," offers to publish Falco's work, but when Falco hears the proposed price and then learns that Chrysippus has been murdered, Falco assembles all the suspects.--Jacket.

A man falls to his death from the Tarpeian Rock, which overlooks the Forum in the Capitoline Hill in Ancient Rome. While it looks like a suicide, one witness swears that she saw it happen and that he was pushed. Normally, this would attract very little official notice but this man happened to be in charge of organizing the Imperial Triumphs demanded by the emperor. The Emperor Domitian, autocratic and erratic, has decided that he deserves two Triumphs...

"In 90 A.D., following the Saturninus revolt in Germany, the Emperor Domitian has become more paranoid about traitors and dissenters around him. This leads to several senators and even provincial governors facing charges and being executed for supposed crimes of conspiracy and insulting the emperor. Wanting to root out all the supports of Saturninus from the Senate, one of Domitian's men offers to hire Flavia Alba to do some intelligence work. Flavia...

"Flavia Albia, daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, has taken over her father's business as a private informer. She only has two hard and fast rules: avoid political cases and family cases--because nothing good comes of either of them. Unfortunately, since Albia isn't good at avoiding either, it's really more of a guideline. So when her Aunt Junia demands Albia track down a couple of deadbeats who owe her money, it's an offer Albia can't refuse. It turns...