The Accusers

I seldom read fiction but I make exceptions for some science fiction and very rarely mysteries (my wife is an avid mystery reader and so I get my pick). In these genres I only read works by authors whom I consider to be good writers and that fit my interests in history and science. I realize that this may sound a bit high-handed and arrogant, but I only have a limited amount of time for recreational reading and so have to pick and choose. Lindsey Davis is one of those authors that always fits my standards. Anything written by her is sure to be a good read and is always thought provoking. In her recent book (2003) "The Accusers" she has not disappointed me. Her knowledge of the culture of ancient Rome of Vespasian's time is astounding, at least as far as I can tell. The informer Marcus Didius Falco, his indomitable patrician wife Helena Justina, their various relatives, associates and enemies round out a group worthy of a Russian novel. In "The Accusers" a Roman citizen, beset with legal problems, apparently commits suicide at the urging of his wife and possible collusion of his daughter (suicide would cut back on the liability of the family and save the family fortune, which in another twist has been left not to the man's wife, but to his daughter-in-law!) As it becomes evident that the death was murder, his son Negrinus becomes an easy target of those would profit by the murder. Falco and Associates (Falco's wife and her two brothers are the staff) take on the defense of Negrinus (also known as "Birdy"), who they realize is hiding something. As one might suspect, that secret is the key to the death of the father. By the time you read a few pages you are hooked and want to read more. For me this is the best of mystery writing. I recommend it heartily.

Back in Rome after an extended stay in Roman Britain, informer Marcus Didius Falco and his young brother-in-laws attempt to restart his business tracking down information, assisting in lawsuits, and generally taking advantage of the state of Roman society. Falco gets involved in a case almost by accident--a lawsuit followed by a botched suicide leads to multiple accusations of murder. And all of a sudden, the dead man's son is looking to Falco as his only defender. To get the young man off the charge of murdering his own father, Falco needs a better alternative and one is readily at hand. His client's mother hated the dead man, is busy accusing her son, and has motive, opportunity, and knowledge of poisons. Falco becomes emeshed in a murder case that he brings against the woman. But if he's wrong, or fails to prove his case, he doesn't just lose. The injured parties will come after him and his meager assets. And his opponents are two of the sharpest lawyers first century Rome has to offer. Author Lindsey Davis combines action, history, and courtroom tactics into a compelling and fascinating story. Falco is a bit of a film-noir type hard-edged private eye but he's forced to take the stand in this case and also to decide where his ethics lie. Davis's depictions of 1st Century Imperial Rome are crystal-clear and accurate (as far as my History minor lets me remember) but her research never intrudes into the story. THE ACCUSERS is a welcome addition to a fine series. Recommended.

In THE ACCUSERS Rubirius Metellus, a Roman senator who had recently been convicted of corruption, is dead. But did he commit honorable suicide or was he murdered? Marcus Didius Falco has to find out. There are all kinds of twists and turns in this Roman romp of a mystery before all the answers are revealed.A friend recommended I read the Falco mysteries, but I resisted for a long time, because frankly too many books and so little time. But I'm really glad I did. This is my second Falco; I read the first one, THE SILVER PIGS. I plan on reading all of the ones in-between that one and this latest. Lindsey Davis's writing style is lively, rapid-fire wit. Falco, her creation, is the perfect Roman everyman. He speaks with a world-weary humor but this, of course, covers up his still idealistic soul. An informer cannot afford anything like idealism. And his relatives! Ay! Sometimes they are trying on Falco's nerves, but they wonderfully fun individuals and Falco's interaction with them is hilarious. I think we all have relatives like this.The Falco mysteries set in the Rome of the Emperor Vespasian, in my experience, have been a Roman holiday.

"Everyone always knows already that the dead man was a serial seducer who lied to political colleagues, ran up hefty debts at a brothel, deliberately farted in the Basilica, and was known by an obscene name behind his back."That quote numbers among many irreverent comments in THE ACCUSERS. If you have yet to meet Marcus Didius Falco and his wife, Helena Justina, you have a big treat in store. Lindsey Davis has created a first-rate pair of sleuths defending justice in the debauched Rome of the First Century. They have an outlook on life such that problems can be taken in stride, but pleasures are to be savored: "It was not often I had the beautiful pleasure of extortion from a relative. Life was good for an hour."In 75 A.D. accusers reaped a hefty fee for successful prosecution of individuals they chose to bring charges against. Therefore, fabricating a story, especially about a particularly unpopular citizen, could --- and often did --- bring high rewards. Pursuit of the truth didn't enter into the equation. One character quips, "Trials are not decided by evidence but arguments." Except for the blatant monetary incentive, it sounds much like the courts of today.Boasting clean togas, Falco and his associates pick up a case in the murders court. Their client isn't the first one to be accused of killing Gnaeus Rubirius Metellus. But someone seems to have tried to put it over as a suicide, which just doesn't wash with the accusers. Here's the rub: If Metellus did himself in, then his family would be forgiven the debt owed to the accusers from a prior corruption case. So proving he was murdered becomes a matter of money for the two inscrutable prosecutors. The ancient Romans demonstrate their decadence, greed, depravity and self-indulgence --- but, due to Falco and his team, also their humanity.Each day, Falco assembles his associates and divvies up the investigative tasks. There are many interviews to be conducted, lots of evidence to gather, truth to be sorted from lies. Their own client, the dead man's son, is not forthcoming, refusing to offer any explanation that might exonerate him. Obviously harboring a secret, he remains tight-lipped while Falco and his boys meticulously grill witnesses and chase leads. Meanwhile, Helena Justina quietly hunts for clues with her own technique, which involves using her feminine wiles and devious ways. At the end of the day, they all compare notes over family dinner with their two daughters and their dog Nux. Even the mothers-in-law get into the act. Despite a few bumps in the road, they ferret out the answers.Just the cast of principal characters, described in a witty two-page list at the beginning of the book, sets the humor of the book --- and serves the double purpose of helping you keep track of the couple dozen players with multiple long names. Full of murder, mayhem and riotous corruption, THE ACCUSERS is a hedonistically great read. --- Reviewed by Kate Ayers

Falco's back in Rome in this latest installment and after his two-novel trip to southern Britain he seems all the better for it as he strolls round his old haunting ground with some alacrity. A fast paced, excellently written novel, Davis has restored the faith that was beginning to wane after the previous `Bathhouse' and `Jupiter'.The Accusers finds our erstwhile detective being called upon by one of his informing peers who, having secured the conviction for bribery of one Gnaeus Rubirius Metellus during his son's (Metellus Negrinus) tenure as aedile, finds himself cheated out of his 25 percent fee by the convict's subsequent apparent suicide. Silius Italicus refuses to believe this and hires Falco & Associates to check out the facts.With the Camillii in tow Davis gives us a quick report of the investigation in a format that in entirely new to her writing - a glimpse at Falco's written casebook where details of the suspects are given, leading to a subsequent confession by a herbalist that Metellus Rubirius' eldest daughter, Rubiria Juliana, (there is also the somewhat optimistically naive, Rubiria Carina) had given her father gold coated hemlock pills on the basis the gold would not dissolve and thus prevent release of the poison. However, the gold had failed in its task and as such the conclusion was accidental death. Coming so quickly it is obvious that there is a far more deeper plot, but a desire for funds means that Falco doesn't dig deeper until well after Saturnalia at which point he discovers that Silius has commenced prosecution for murder against Juliana. This also falls apart and eventually we come to the main plot which is Falco's defence of Metellus Negrinus for parricide against both Silius and Paccius countered by his own accusation against Rubirius Metellus's wife, Calpurnia CaraWhat follows is an enjoyable exercise in sleuthing as Falco, ably assisted by the Camillii, works his way through a list of suspects as long as your arm and familial collusion that prevents much of the truth from being outed. Having to figure out where Negrinus' (not so fondly known as `Birdy') attachments to his ex-wife, Saffia Donata (also an ex-wife of his best friend Lucius Licinius Lutea) and the multitude of surviving children actually lie proves a headache as Falco uncovers corruption, scandal and major blackmail.Eventually, half snippets of information and tracking down of various slaves and tradesmen and a soothsayer leads Falco to the eventual triple denouement as he hauls the entire Metelli family into a sitting room to unravel a web of deceit and lies simply to protect a family name that is as spectacular as it is brilliantly exposed.The finest moment of the novel has a rendition of Falco's speech in the murder courts where Davis has a chance to pit her rhetorical oratory against the surviving greats of Roman speech-making (Cicero being the obvious) and, inevitably comes nowhere near them. However, in good humour, Falco's correct slander of