Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Starts well, ends well. Sags in the middle, as the viewpoint character is turned into a caricature of herself. Mainly interesting to fans of the Falco series, of which this is a spin-off.
The premise for the story is good. I could have been a great crime nivel. If only the main character hadn't been stupid.
I don't know if it's the author who's not very good at suspense writing, or if it's deliberate to flatter the reader by making the "clever" character reach conclusions slower (like in "the DaVinci code where it's so blatantly obvious it's actually insulting), but it's still really irritating.
Also, enough with the bad romance stuff already!
I don't know if it's the author who's not very good at suspense writing, or if it's deliberate to flatter the reader by making the "clever" character reach conclusions slower (like in "the DaVinci code where it's so blatantly obvious it's actually insulting), but it's still really irritating.
Also, enough with the bad romance stuff already!
This is the first in a series featuring Flavia Albia, Roman informer and daughter of the famous Falco, Davis’s much loved series character. The inconvenient death of Albia’s client (before she has paid her fee) means she stumbles on a possible murder case. Soon she is hunting for a serial killer.
I liked this book despite a major flaw. You have to believe that Albia fails to see something which is blindingly obvious to the reader from early on – and indeed is heavily and repeatedly telegraphed by the author. Sometimes this can be fun in a book, it’s the ‘he’s behind you’ thrill you get at the pantomime. You know more than the character and as well as creating suspense it makes you feel a little bit clever.
Here, though, it doesn’t work because Albia is meant to be an informer. She is supposed to be able to work things out that other people miss. The author does try to cover herself when Albia insists after the big reveal that she was just playing along but it’s hardly convincing.
Despite that, I enjoyed this book a lot. Albia, as a woman faces constraints not experienced by Falco but can also explore a different side of Roman life. And making Albia an outsider is clever because she observes Rome with a fresh eye. Albia has a difficult background and the book has a darker undertone than the Falco novels. The series is clearly being marketed as such, with sombre covers quite unlike the colourful friezes on the Falco novels. Still there is some humour in this story and I love Albia’s pithy observations.
Albia’s family are there but firmly in the background, as if the author wants her to stand on her own and not be in the shadow of her popular parents. Although her kid brother Postumus threatens to steal the show!
All in all I think it’s a good set up and I look forward to reading more.
I liked this book despite a major flaw. You have to believe that Albia fails to see something which is blindingly obvious to the reader from early on – and indeed is heavily and repeatedly telegraphed by the author. Sometimes this can be fun in a book, it’s the ‘he’s behind you’ thrill you get at the pantomime. You know more than the character and as well as creating suspense it makes you feel a little bit clever.
Here, though, it doesn’t work because Albia is meant to be an informer. She is supposed to be able to work things out that other people miss. The author does try to cover herself when Albia insists after the big reveal that she was just playing along but it’s hardly convincing.
Despite that, I enjoyed this book a lot. Albia, as a woman faces constraints not experienced by Falco but can also explore a different side of Roman life. And making Albia an outsider is clever because she observes Rome with a fresh eye. Albia has a difficult background and the book has a darker undertone than the Falco novels. The series is clearly being marketed as such, with sombre covers quite unlike the colourful friezes on the Falco novels. Still there is some humour in this story and I love Albia’s pithy observations.
Albia’s family are there but firmly in the background, as if the author wants her to stand on her own and not be in the shadow of her popular parents. Although her kid brother Postumus threatens to steal the show!
All in all I think it’s a good set up and I look forward to reading more.