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A review by otherwyrld
Enemies at Home by Lindsey Davis
3.0
This is the second in the Flavia Albia stories and while it was better than the first book, I found myself still missing her father Falco in these stories.
Flavia is hired to investigate the murder of a couple a few days after their wedding, and the theft of some valuable silverware. Suspicion naturally falls on the household slaves, but it is a far more complicated story than that, and she has to pick her way through a tangled web of lies and omissions to get to the truth.
In some respect these stories are darker and more angry than the Falco books as we, through the eyes of Flavia, are forced to confront the harsh realities of Roman life. As a woman, she struggles much more than her father did, but this pales by comparison with the lives of the slaves that we get to meet here. Most of them, it has to be said, will not come to a good end in this story, though to a certain extent they brought their doom upon themselves by not protecting their master in the first place, and then by lying about what really happened to the authorities.
While I enjoyed this book, I still felt that it lacks a certain spark for the most part, and certainly is not in the same league as even the lesser Falco novels. There are a couple of occasions when promise is shown - one where a group of women sit around getting drunk together in defiance of all Roman convention, for example. The epilogue, in which the case has been solved, shows a lot more promise, so if the author can build on this then the series will be worth reading. I would also like to see a bit more about the politics of the time featured - Vespasian and Titus played a major part in the Falco stories, and I would like to read more about how Domitian affects the world in which this series is set.
So, possibly 3 1/2 stars for this book.
Flavia is hired to investigate the murder of a couple a few days after their wedding, and the theft of some valuable silverware. Suspicion naturally falls on the household slaves, but it is a far more complicated story than that, and she has to pick her way through a tangled web of lies and omissions to get to the truth.
In some respect these stories are darker and more angry than the Falco books as we, through the eyes of Flavia, are forced to confront the harsh realities of Roman life. As a woman, she struggles much more than her father did, but this pales by comparison with the lives of the slaves that we get to meet here. Most of them, it has to be said, will not come to a good end in this story, though to a certain extent they brought their doom upon themselves by not protecting their master in the first place, and then by lying about what really happened to the authorities.
While I enjoyed this book, I still felt that it lacks a certain spark for the most part, and certainly is not in the same league as even the lesser Falco novels. There are a couple of occasions when promise is shown - one where a group of women sit around getting drunk together in defiance of all Roman convention, for example. The epilogue, in which the case has been solved
Spoiler
only for Flavia to fall deathly ill and has to be nursed by her employerSo, possibly 3 1/2 stars for this book.