(A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery). Warner, Mysterious Press. 372p. map. c2001. 0-446-67906-2. $12.95. SA
Number 13 in the Marcus Didius Falco series, set in the Rome of Vespasian, A.D. 74, finds our intrepid hero/private informer up to his Falernian in--poetry? Yes, Falco gives a public reading of his satirical verses to great applause, drawing the attention of a publisher who is soon murdered. Falco investigates. The usual characters aid him--his wife, the patrician Helena ...