Ahh, another madcap adventure with Marcus Didius Falco!! A book that is not only fun, but engages your brain fully. You can't read this with half a brain; there are too many things you have to infer from double-meaning conversations and cryptic descriptions. But you also don't want to miss any of the humour!

I enjoyed the second instalment of this series more than the first. This is partly because, if I'm honest, the whole fraud plotline in book 1 didn't always make 100% sense to me. Whereas the “hunt the conspirators” plotline to this one was crystal clear and very entertaining with all its twists and turns and journeys up and down the country. Even though this book was much longer, I really raced through it. I was fully engaged.

I can never guess what Falco is going to do next, I can never read his mind, and in some ways this makes him an infuriating protagonist to follow but in others it makes it greatly entertaining and certainly keeps up the suspense and “I wonder what's going to happen next?” factor. The Ancient Roman culture is once again all-encompassing and the Flavians are thriving. Every passage involving an animal was hilarious, whether it was the antics of the sacrificial goat, or Nero the bull, or Little Sweetheart the ugly horse. Amazing.

Bring on the next one!

CAWPILE rating:

Characters: 9.5/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Writing: 9/10 although there was a particularly hilarious typo in the first edition copy I was reading
Plot: 9/10
Intrigue: 9/10, particularly good in the first half I think when you're not quite sure who's committing these additional murders
Logic: 9/10
Enjoyment: 10/10

CAWPILE average: 9.36
= goodreads rating: 4.68*