Rating: 
Summary: Another Great Story
Review: If you have not read any of the Falco series, I strongly recommend that you do so, but start at the beginning. Lindsey Davis gets better with each outing. Her characterization is wonderful, and she peoples her books with lots of eccentric and wonderful people. If you read the series in order, you will get to know them all, plus be able to understand the undercurrants that run between Falco and the many people that are close to him. In this book we see Falco on the search for a missing child. His search exposes him to a very disfunctional family. No wonder the little girl was missing! Her grandfather and all her relations are the worst lot you'll ever meet. The search for the child becomes a race against time, and the last few chapters are "edge-of-your seat". All the while the quips and jokes just seem to flow from the pages. Falco finds himself in a very dangerous and embarrassing position where the lack of wearing a loin cloth under his tunic becomes of paramount importance. This is a wonderful, fast-moving book. Through all the turmoil and danger, Falco finds out that he has a number of people that are very loyal to him and this comes as a pleasant surprise to him, since two of his partners were people he didn't like or didn't trust, and the other - his friend Petronious - had been distant of late. Wonderful Book!
Rating:
Summary: Another exceptionally good "Falco" novel!
Review: Lindsey Davis continues to prove that she is one of the finest writers of the "mystery" genre. Actually, her books are so much more than the usual simple "who done it?".One Virgin Too Many is humorous, historically interesting and full of unexpected twists. Marcus Didius Falco and the ever patient and supportive Helena Justina continue to develop and grow as characters. I have been captivated ever since her first novel in this series, Silver Pigs, and highly recommend you read this series in sequence. They are all equally well written and you will find yourself becoming quite vested in the numerous characters who consistently reappear throughout the series. Lindsey Davis has a remarkable gift for character development that will suck you in and have you coming back for more. Fortunately, amazon.com.uk allows one to purchase Davis' books one to two years earlier than they are published in the U.S. In fact, I highly recommend her next book in the series (#12), Ode to a Banker. It is also excellent
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best!
Review: Not too long ago I decided to pick up Silver Pigs, the first in the Falco series. I liked it so much I started reading every other book in the series. Although many of her books have been very entertaining I thought that this was one of the best books in the entire series.
Falco has returned from Africa a new man. Vespasian has finally agreed to let him join the middle class and has awarded him a considerable sum of money in the process. As an added bonus he has now become Procurator of the Sacred Geese. When a child comes to him in need of an investigator he turns her down and regrets his decision. The plot takes him to the Vestal Vigins to discover the truth.
This book is funny, endearing and has some unbelieveable twists. Altogether I would say one of the best books in the series!
Rating:
Summary: Adventure, Intrigue, and Historial Information in One
Review: Now that he has a child to support, you knew that sooner or later Falco was going to need a day job. Trust Falco's luck that it would be one he's not going to consider the honor outweighing the drawbacks. Trust Ms. Davis to make sure that Falco will still have to investigate. In the hands of a less competent author, the reader might complain that it's too coincidental that Falco's sacred geese gig gets him closer to the religious community in which the murder takes place, not to mention the connections his brother-in-law and neice have with the case. With Lindsey Davis, it just seems inevitable. What little I know about the Vestal Virgins comes mostly from "I Claudius", so the details provided here were very welcome. (Virgin Constantia was fun to meet.) I must say that the restrictions the Flamen Dialis, the top man among priests, must live under seem incredible (that anyone would take the job, let alone want it). If they really worked to keep the fellow out of trouble, it might be worthwhile trying that trick on some modern politicians. Actually, the priestly family of little Gaia Laelia, the child who thinks one of her relatives is trying to kill her, is an excellent example of the effect an unnatural way of life can have on the generations that follow. If you've ever envied royalty, the example of Queen Berenice of Judea should give you pause. In spite of my disapproval of her past and the way she turned to a grown son after failing with his father, I felt sorry for her. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I think Falco has plenty of reason to feel as he does about Anacrites. I would be horrified if either of my sisters might marry any of the men against whom I filed my on-public-record EEO complaints, and none of them tried to have me killed. (Of course, I would expect my sisters to have better sense.) I have a different favorite suspect for Maia's next husband, but I could be wrong. Ms. Davis is avoiding one of the sins of mystery series by having the characters change and grow, with one exception: Falco's family. Well, I wouldn't expect his parents to change; they're pretty set in their ways. But I was ticked off about the way his sister blamed him for her worthless husband's death. I lent my copy to one of my brothers, and he was angrier about it than I was. He was particularly irritated that Helena didn't stick up for Falco and complained vehemently that some of the women in his family seemed to think that teaching Falco a lesson was more important than that a little girl might die. When Falco's nephew was starting to act like the man of his family, my brother wanted Falco to point out to the lad that he did the same thing when his brother ran out on the family to join the army and his father just ran out on the family -- and look at the way the family treats him. He wanted Falco to advise his nephew to look at his grandmother and realize that was what his mother would be like in ten years. (Now there's a hideous thought.) However, my brother did stay up until 3 a.m. to finish this book, so he obviously found it otherwise good. If you've never read any of the Falco books before, you may certainly start with this one. The handy cast list and references to earlier mysteries should keep you from getting lost. However, I also recommend starting with SILVER PIGS and reading the books in order. That way you'll get to fully savor the character progression and continuity, not to mention getting more enjoyment out of the books' humor.
Rating:
Summary: Adventure, Intrigue, and Historial Information in One
Review: Now that he has a child to support, you knew that sooner or later Falco was going to need a day job. Trust Falco's luck that it would be one he's not going to consider the honor outweighing the drawbacks. Trust Ms. Davis to make sure that Falco will still have to investigate. In the hands of a less competent author, the reader might complain that it's too coincidental that Falco's sacred geese gig gets him closer to the religious community in which the murder takes place, not to mention the connections his brother-in-law and neice have with the case. With Lindsey Davis, it just seems inevitable. What little I know about the Vestal Virgins comes mostly from "I Claudius", so the details provided here were very welcome. (Virgin Constantia was fun to meet.) I must say that the restrictions the Flamen Dialis, the top man among priests, must live under seem incredible (that anyone would take the job, let alone want it). If they really worked to keep the fellow out of trouble, it might be worthwhile trying that trick on some modern politicians. Actually, the priestly family of little Gaia Laelia, the child who thinks one of her relatives is trying to kill her, is an excellent example of the effect an unnatural way of life can have on the generations that follow. If you've ever envied royalty, the example of Queen Berenice of Judea should give you pause. In spite of my disapproval of her past and the way she turned to a grown son after failing with his father, I felt sorry for her. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I think Falco has plenty of reason to feel as he does about Anacrites. I would be horrified if either of my sisters might marry any of the men against whom I filed my on-public-record EEO complaints, and none of them tried to have me killed. (Of course, I would expect my sisters to have better sense.) I have a different favorite suspect for Maia's next husband, but I could be wrong. Ms. Davis is avoiding one of the sins of mystery series by having the characters change and grow, with one exception: Falco's family. Well, I wouldn't expect his parents to change; they're pretty set in their ways. But I was ticked off about the way his sister blamed him for her worthless husband's death. I lent my copy to one of my brothers, and he was angrier about it than I was. He was particularly irritated that Helena didn't stick up for Falco and complained vehemently that some of the women in his family seemed to think that teaching Falco a lesson was more important than that a little girl might die. When Falco's nephew was starting to act like the man of his family, my brother wanted Falco to point out to the lad that he did the same thing when his brother ran out on the family to join the army and his father just ran out on the family -- and look at the way the family treats him. He wanted Falco to advise his nephew to look at his grandmother and realize that was what his mother would be like in ten years. (Now there's a hideous thought.) However, my brother did stay up until 3 a.m. to finish this book, so he obviously found it otherwise good. If you've never read any of the Falco books before, you may certainly start with this one. The handy cast list and references to earlier mysteries should keep you from getting lost. However, I also recommend starting with SILVER PIGS and reading the books in order. That way you'll get to fully savor the character progression and continuity, not to mention getting more enjoyment out of the books' humor.
Rating: 
Summary: best of both worlds
Review: One Virgin Too Many offers a great combination of historical fiction with a modern voice that makes it more palatable and less pretentious.
Rating: 
Summary: Falco Falters
Review: This is a fine series so when I began this volume I had hopes that it would be of the same standard as the others. Ms. Haney has a genuine gift in giving readers the "texture" of everyday life in imperial Rome (at the time of Vespasian and Titus in this one). The dialogue and the characters are both engaging. So what went wrong? A young girl appears to speak with Falco believing someone in her family wants to kill her. And away we go, on and on and on! I was weary by the time I got to the rather flat conclusion and felt that a good editing would have been most helpful; the length of this book (326 pages) really cannot support so thin a story. I was left wondering what had happened and if somehow I had missed something as there was so little going on.
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