Two for the Lions

Falco, Book 10

By: Lindsey Davis

Narrated by: Gordon Griffin

"What did he eat last? Whom did he eat, in fact?"

Lumbered with working alongside reptilian Chief Spy Anacrites, Falco has the perfect plan to make money - he will assist Vespasian in the Emperor's 'Great Census' of AD 73. His potential fee could finally allow him to join the middle ranks and be worthy of long-suffering Helena Justina.

Unexpectedly confronted with the murder of a man-eating lion, Falco is distracted from his original task, uncovering a bitter rivalry between the gladiators' trainers. With one star gladiator dead, Falco is forced to investigate and the trail leads from Rome to the blood-soaked sand of the arena in North Africa.

©1998 Lindsey Davis (P)2015 Audible Studios

This series continues to delight

Halfway through and still delighted. The characters are great, the writing is superb, the stories are fun, and every time I learn interesting facts about life in the Roman Empire. For example, this time I learned that people spoke Punic in North Africa even under the Roman Empire. I also learned more about Roman methods of execution - and did some extra credit reading to understand why a person might be executed by being fed to a lion vs being crucified (not in this book). Let it not be said that the Romans were concerned about cruel and unusual punishment! And yet, they were so civilized in other ways. The book even has discussions about the value of punishing criminals in such a gruesome public manner in an arena, to the delight of the crowds. But to read about the bestiarii and yet find the book delightful in spite of the gruesomeness of it all attests to the talent of the author.