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 Ancient Rome, the number of slaves was far greater than that of free citizens. As a result, often the people Romans feared most were the "enemies at home," the slaves under their own roofs. Because of this, Roman law decreed that if the head of a household was murdered at home, and the culprit wasn't quickly discovered, his slaves, all of them, guilty or not, were presumed responsible and were put to death. Without exception. When a couple is...

"A suspicious death and subsequent murder send Flavia Albia down a twisted path to expose corruption and betrayal in Lindsey Davis's next historical mystery. First century Rome is not the quiet, orderly city that it pretends to be and in this environment, a very clever private informer can thrive. Flavia Albia, daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, is a chip off the old block. She's taken over her father's old profession, and, like him, she occasionally...

"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.