Scandal Takes a Holiday - Hardcover

Davis, Lindsey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0712625879 ISBN 13: 9780712625876

Publisher: Century, 2004

Synopsis

Lindsey Davis's sixteenth novel in the bestselling Marcus Didius Falco series is a tale of scandal, piracy and deception. In the wealthy town of Ostia, our hero Falco appears to be enjoying a relaxing holiday. But when his girlfriend, Helena, arrives carrying a batch of old copies of the Daily Gazette - with the intention of catching up on the latest scandal - Falco is forced to admit to Petronius his real reasons for being there. "Infamia," the pen name of the scribe who writes the gossip column for the Daily Gazette, has gone missing. His fellow scribes have employed Falco to find him and bring him back from his lazy, drunken truancy. However, Falco suspects that there is more to his absence than might at first appear. Before long, Falco's enquiries lead him into the world of piracy and the discovery of criminal traditions long believed dead. Is this the right path toward finding Infamia? Why would pirates have taken him? And if they have, will he be found alive?

About this title

From the Back Cover:

THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL MAY PROVE DEADLY...

As an "informer"--a private detective--Marcus Didius Falco has an insider's knowledge of the Empire's less than glorious side. He's also been in the middle of its most dangerous secrets more than once. So when he's hired to find notorious gossip "scribe" Infamia, Marcus figures the missing muckraker is either taking advantage of a vacation bribe from some wealthy wife--or resting up from injuries inflicted by some senator's henchmen. But instead of earning an easy fee, Marcus soon finds himself at odds against a sinister ring of pirates preying on the wealthy; a ruthlessly-vulgar construction magnate...and several of his own less-than-reputable family members. And what he uncovers will lead him through the dark byways and underground of the Empire's busiest seaport...where a cold-blooded killer with nothing to lose waits to bury one cynical informer for good...
"One of the best historical series...wisecracking humor, scathing social commentary, and rollicking adventure."
--Detroit Free Press

"The Rome of Davis' imagination is licentious and entertaining."
--San Jose Mercury News

About the Author:

Lindsey Davis was born and raised in Birmingham, England. After taking an English degree at Oxford and working for the civil service for thirteen years, she “ran away to be a writer.” Her internationally bestselling novels featuring ancient Roman detective Marcus Didius Falco include Venus in Copper, The Iron Hand of Mars, Nemesis and Alexandria. She is also the author of Rebels and Traitors, set during the English Civil War. Davis is the recipient of the Crime Writers’ Association Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, the highest accolade for crime writers, as well as the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award and the Authors' Club Best First Novel award.

About this edition

• Publisher: Century
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0712625879
• ISBN 13: 9780712625876
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320