A review by tessisreading2
The Third Nero by Lindsey Davis

3.0

Early on in this book, I found myself getting irritated with the plotline - the contortions required to get Flavia Albia involved in the mystery and up-to-date on the background necessitate lengthy and boring "as you know Bob" digressions - but finally came to the realization that you don't read these books for anything even resembling a standalone mystery; you read them because you want to spend more time hanging out with the Didii and their chipper, colorful version of Rome. Davis definitely falls prey to the temptation to project modernism backwards (plumbers with ubiquitous toga wedgies? really?) but it's fun to spend time with everyone again. I was pleased to see Marcia, although there were so many friends, relatives, cousins, and flashbacks that this book got a little crowded.