A suspicious death and subsequent murder send Flavia Albia down a twisted path to expose corruption and betrayal in Lindsey Davis’s next historical mystery, Pandora’s Boy. First century Rome is not the quiet, orderly city that it pretends to be and in this environment, a very clever private informer can thrive. Flavia Albia, daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, is a chip off the old block. She’s … the old block. She’s taken over his father’s old profession, and, like him, she occasionally lets her love of a good puzzle get in the way of her common sense. Such is the case when one such puzzle is brought to her by the very hostile ex-wife of Albia’s new husband.
It seems that over on the Quirinal Hill, a naive young girl, one Clodia Volumnia, has died, and there’s a suggestion that she was poisoned by a love potion. The local witch, Pandora, would have been the one to supply such a potion. Looking into the matter, Albia soon learns that Pandora carries on a trade in herbal beauty products while keeping hidden her much more dangerous connections.
Albia soon discovers the young girl was a handful and her so-called friends were not as friendly as they should have been. The supposedly sweet air of the Quirinal hides the smells of loose morality, casual betrayal, and even gangland conflict. When a friend of her own is murdered, things become serious and Albia is determined to expose as much of this local sickness as she can–beginning with the truth about the death of little Clodia.
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Will Someone Please Tell Me the Truth
The novel opens with Flavia Albia about a month into her wedded bliss with her husband, Tiberius Manlius Faustus, a plebeian aedile. Out of the blue, Laia Gratiana, Tiberius’s first wife, who he divorced ten years earlier and with whom Flavia has a down right frigid relationship, arrives with a commission for Flavia. The 15 year old daughter of Laia’s friend had died. There were rumors that she had been poisoned. Laia wants Flavia to investigate. Tiberius thinks the case is interesting, and they could use the money. Flavia was not going to work for Laia. Flavia finally leaves them alone. Later, she cannot find her husband, and he left without even leaving a note. When Tiberius does not return, Flavia fumes and decides to take the case to get her mind of her absent husband.
Ah, the case—a pristine body, died of a broken heart or poisoned by a love potion, witchcraft? The parents have differing opinions; the grandmothers had come to blows. The possibility of unrequited love leads to a group of friends of the older brother who are more mature and into more mature behavior. Throw in a witch, her grandson studying to be a lawyer and a notorious crime family, stir, and outcomes an intriguing mystery. The one thing that appears certain is that Falvia is being told only part of the truth at best.
Obviously, the disappearance of Flavia’s new husband and what happens gives much interesting insight into their relationship. Falco has a speaking part in this novel so the current status of Falvia’s family is provided. The background and current status of Laia and her relationship with Tiberius adds richness to this novel. All of this is woven seamlessly into the main storyline and enriched my enjoyment in reading.
What I liked the most was the ending where Flavia gathers together in one place all the people involved in the case, throws in some surprise witnesses, and solves the mystery. I enjoyed the use of this old technique from before fingerprints, DNA and other forensics made this ending no longer workable.
As in the Falco and this series, there were only a few instances of vulgar language. There were no graphic sex scenes. One well-endowed Egyptian god does play a significant role in the novel. My usual caveat with Lindsey Davis novels is especially true with this one. I recommend reading this novel with a kindle. The reason is the author uses much obsolete British terms to give an air of being long ago. This is normal and most of the words were in the kindle dictionary. What made the kindle more valuable was the section on a feast at the thermopolium, Fabulo’s. For most of the dishes served I hadn’t a clue what they were. Highlighting the word and requesting a Google search made this section much more understandable.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this novel. My imagination was captured quickly and kept it through the whole story. You should be able to enjoy Pandora’s Boy even if you hadn’t read any of this series or Falco series before. I rate this novel with five stars.
I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from St. Martin’s Press with a request for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thanks St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this novel early.
Another installment in the wonderful Flavia Albia series by Lindsey Davis. Fascinating glimpse into life in Imperial Rome with engaging characters and well-plotted mysteries. These books are best read in order.