Falco Shadows In Bronze

April 1, 1991
No caveats for readers of Davis's second playful, well-plotted mystery featuring imperial agent Marcus Didius Falco and based in first century, C.E., Rome. Nero's successor Vespasian has squelched an early treasonous plot and assigned Falco to take care of loose ends, which include the body of the uncle of the high-born young widow Helena Justina, whom Falco met and courted stormily in Silver Pigs. Disguised as an idle vacationer in the company of his comrade and captain of the Aventine Watch, Petronius Longus and family, Falco travels south to Neapolis, Capreae and Pompeii (eight years before its destruction) where he uncovers and must thwart a new conspiracy involving the shipment of Egyptian grain to Rome and an unwitting Helena. Like a toga-clad McGee or Spenser, Falco has a modern sensibility that wears its ancient trappings comfortably, whether he's sneaking down a narrow Roman street or feasting sumptuously at a sunlit coastal villa. A rousing horserace in the Circus Maximus, balanced with a touching romantic resolution, rounds out this action-packed entertainment, enlivened by Davis's vivid characterization of both major and minor players, and his clear delight in--and easy authority with--the story's time and place.

Never was ancient Rome so saucy as it is in this mystery/romance, which takes detective Falco from the palaces of Rome to the sun-drenched Italian countryside. The setting would be nearly idyllic were it not for the scandalous traitors sunning themselves and a murderous madman on the loose--not to mention the problems Falco is having with his love life. This BBC dramatization is full of stormy performances. The best moments feature Anton Lesser's alternatingly dopey and cunning Falco as he pleads for forgiveness--or escape--from ladylove Helena Justina, portrayed by Anna Madeley. While one might wonder about the similarity between ancient Roman culture and that of modern-day Britain, sound effects and appropriate music help one maintain suspension of disbelief throughout. F.G. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine