A review by rosannelortz
Last Act in Palmyra by Lindsey Davis

4.0

In Last Act in Palmyra, Marcus undertakes an Imperial assignment to the wilds of Syria with orders to reports back on the political climate there. While touring the desert towns with Helena, Marcus discovers the murdered body of a member of an acting troupe. Determined to bring the killer to justice, Marcus takes the dead man’s job of adapting and updating old Greek plays for modern day (A.D. 72) performances), and takes the opportunity of sizing up all the actors’ motives for murder along the way. The book highlights the geography of the Middle East as the group travels through the ten towns of Decapolis. Lindsey Davis also subtly educates her audience on the difference between the old Greek plays and the “New” Comedy. Marcus and the readers share an inside joke as he pens his own theatrical contribution, The Spook Who Spoke, the plot of which seems eerily similar to Shakespeare’s immortal work Hamlet.