This is to be published in April. I was lucky enough to get it to review for Amazon Vine, I've always loved this author's take on Ancient Rome and I'm sure this will be the start of another great series.
This is the review I posted for Amazon Vine:
I've loved all the Falco books, and was dismayed to realise that the rather downbeat Nemesis was likely to be his last investigation. Now, some years later in the unhappy reign of the Emperor Domitian, his adopted daughter, Flavia Albia, has stepped into his old office in Fountain Court, and is doing quite nicely as an informer and investigator in her own right.
Albia is still in many ways the wilful child of the Falco books, but at 29 and ten years a widow, she has her head screwed on and knows what she wants and how to get it. Drawn, reluctantly on the part of her male counterparts, into the investigation of a series of sudden deaths by poison, she proves her worth and stands firmly on her own feet.
It is the detail of Roman life, the wonderfully drawn characters (even the minor ones) who come right off the page, and the sometimes wicked humour, that make this book, and the Falco books, such a delight to read. We may not meet Falco directly here, but his presence is still very much felt I love the way the story is told in modern English and I do not find this detracts from the historical feel.
There is romance here, if rather hasty and possibly ill-judged, Albia is very human; pathos, in the horrible fate of the foxes sacrificed to Ceres which upsets her enough to take matters into her own hands; love of family - even for her obnoxious younger adopted brother Postumus (of whom I'm sure we will hear more); loyalty and determination.
Tiberius, the runner for the aedile, Andronicus the charmer, Ronan the door keeper, Junillus her deaf cousin, Robigo the fox - too many vibrant characters to name but they all fit perfectly into the story.
It is true that Albia's Rome is not Falco's Rome; this is a feminine take on life in the city and adds a new dimension to our understanding of what life might have been like.
I did guess the murderer early on, and also the other puzzle in the book, but loved every minute of Albia's investigation. Hope this will be the start of another great series.