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Slide 1: The Accusers (Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries) by Lindsey Davis Love The Book Hate The Price The 15th novel in the acclaimed Marcus Didius Falco series finds the first century sleuth confronting Roman legal forces that may just destroy him-and his family. Fresh from his trip to far-flung Londinium in 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 powerful 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 to a tangle of upperclass secrets and powerful elements in Romes legal hierarchy that may have consequences he hadnt quite bargained for. Personal Review: The Accusers (Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries) by Lindsey Davis
Slide 2: This is number fifteen in a series of excellent detective stories set in Vespasian's Roman Empire and featuring the informer Marcus Didius Falco. Informers in ancient Rome were something between a private detective and a government spy. Back from Britain, Falco and his business partners get involved in a court case. The story highlights both some of the similarities and differences between courts in Ancient Rome and today. One similarity is that there were elaborate, complex and highly controversial court cases about large sums of money, in which the winners could make their fortunes and the losers face financial ruin. One difference is that, while in modern courts the clients can win a fortune or be ruined, you can be certain that the lawyers on both sides will come out well ahead, but in ancient Rome the laywers also faced the prospect of vast returns or utter ruin. (There will of course be those who argue that in this respect the Roman legal system was more civilised than ours ...) The first commission which Falco and Associates receive on returning to Rome is securing and presenting some evidence in the trial of a Senator for corruption. This is accomplished with no great difficulty: some time later Falco hears that the Senator has been convicted. Then two days later, the Senator dies, apparently by his own hand, and possibly to save his heirs from having to pay the fine. (This gives rise to one of the best lines in the book - Falco says of the deceased's lawyer "It was a chilling thought that counselling his client to die may have been good legal advice.") Falco and associates are offered a commission to prove that the death was not in fact suicide. Soon they find themselves prosecuting a new legal case - in which victory will bring great returns, and defeat may bring ruin ... The full Falco series, in chronological order, consists at the moment of: 1) The Silver Pigs 2) Shadows in Bronze 3) Venus in Copper 4) The Iron Hand of Mars 5) Poseidon's Gold 6) Last Act in Palmyra 7) Time to Depart 8) A Dying Light in Corduba 9) Three Hands in the Fountain 10) Two for the Lions 11) One Virgin Too Many 12) Ode to a Banker 13) A Body in the Bath house 14) The Jupiter Myth
Slide 3: 15) The Accusers 16) Scandal taks a Holiday 17) See Delphi and Die 18) Saturnalia 19) Alexandria I initially tried this series because I had enjoyed the "Cadfael" mediaeval detective stories by Ellis Peters. Where Cadfael is excellent, Falco is brilliant. Ellis Peters herself (or to use her real name, Edith Pargeter) said of the early books of the series, 'Lindsey Davis continues her exploration of Vespasian's Rome and Marcus Didius Falco's Italy with the same wit and gusto that made "The Silver Pigs" such a dazzling debut and her rueful, self-deprecating hero so irresistibly likeable.' Funny, exciting, and based on a painstaking effort to re-create the world of the early Roman empire between 70 and 76 AD. It isn't absolutely essential to read these stories in sequence, as the mysteries Falco is trying to solve are all self-contained stories and each book can stand on its own. Having said that, there is some ongoing development of characters and relationships and I think reading them in the right order does improve the experience. For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price: The Accusers (Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries) by Lindsey Davis 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!