Lindsey Davis is fine form with this fabulous latest addition to the storied career of ancient Roman informer Flavia Albia. This time Flavia and her adoring husband, former Roman aedile turned contractor Faustus and their household have journeyed out of the city to the scenic (or at least it was scenic before being buried under the ash of Mt. Vesuvius's eruption ten years prior) site of their uncle's latest investment, a buried villa. Their mission is to dig it up and return it to its former glory but its not long before they uncover more than just lovely mosaics. There are bodies aplenty and at least one of them was dead well before the volcano set the world aflame.

This was an absolute delight from start to finish. Full of Davis's hallmark detailed research with the refreshing addition of a new location far from the seedy streets of Rome and brimming with snappy noir dialogue that shouldn't work but always, always does. I adore Flavia and her wacky cohorts and their adventures this time around move at a fast and twisted pace before arriving at a sinister but satisfying end. This is a welcome addition to a wonderful series that will absolutely delight Davis's fans.

This is not an easy book to read. It's a long book, with many characters, with unfamiliar names, and strange place names. Of course, you can keep referring back to the cast of characters at the beginning of the book, but that's not much fun, especially on a Kindle.
After the first few chapters, I wasn't sure I would be able to get through the book. But the story is engaging, and after about 20-25% I got into it. So if you can get past the early chapters, you'll probably enjoy reading it.

Absolutely amazing and unable to put down from start to finish! Flavia Albia never stops being amazing!

Once again Flavia Albia finds trouble when she wasn’t looking for it. Having accompanied her builder husband to Stabiae to clear a damaged house 10 years after the eruption of Vesuvius, she finds the bones of 3 chained slaves, a child and a watchdog. Incensed at the callousness, she is wants answers. The estate’s seller has asked them to find any information about his brother, the estate’s former owner, who disappeared during the eruption. Then the skeleton of the brother is also found and Albia is determined to find answers and justice for all.

Anyone familiar with the series will recognize the fun and recklessness to be found wrapped around Albia’s care for the underdogs in her world. She asks impudent questions, observes everything, takes chances, and comes to a satisfying conclusion. The only disappointment is in the afterward which seems to point to an end for the series. I will miss the whole clan if so.

As a lover of historical fiction and very much a Pompeii girlie as a child, this book was so much fun to read. While this is my first book following this character, I thought that she was such a powerful character and the mystery sucked me. I continued to question throughout the entire story the fate of Publius. While I did find some of the plot points a little unrealistic, this is a great read for anyone looking to try something new in the historical fiction genre OR mystery genre.

I wanted to love this book but it just didn’t do it for me it was a little slow paced and I am not huge into thriller and mystery. That may be a little reason why this book wasn’t my jam! The plot around this book is really cool though I like the cover a lot!! The writing was also very good!!😊 overall good just not my favorite historical fiction :)