Marcus Didius Falco Books

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Marcus Didius Falco is the name given to a series of historical mystery crime novels written by Lindsey Davis which follow the exploits of a Private Detective solving crimes in the Ancient Roman Empire under the reign of Vespasian.

Readers meet Marcus Didius Falco in The Silver Pigs, the first of the Marcus Didius Falco novels. There they learn that Falco is actually a private informer, a detective of sorts who sells his services to the desperate and the needy at a competitive fee.

Falco, who normally spends his days chasing down the philandering wives of important old men, encounters trouble in the form of Sosia Camillina, a woman with a problem on her hands.

A problem that Falco offers to solve, the decision forcing him to undertake a journey through the back alleys of Ancient Rome and the distant mines of Britain as he combats a cabal of traitors who have no qualms about spilling his blood to get what they want.

While the events of The Silver Pigs initially prove detrimental to Falco’s physical and mental health, he not only comes out of the ordeal stronger but also ready to contend with far grander schemes and antagonists.

The Marcus Didius Falco series tells Falco’s story as he stumbles through the Roman Empire, using his wits to outsmart nefarious plots. Lindsey Davis is an author of considerable skill who loves history with a passion.

And her Falco novels prove as much. She uses each installment in the series to take readers on a tour of the Ancient Roman Empire, providing glimpses into the lives the people that lived in that era, both the commoners and the aristocrats.

The author also delves into Falco’s personal life, his relationship with his angry mother, the father who abandoned them and the siblings and cousins for whom he is responsible.

There is also Helena Justina, the love of his life and whose efforts prove crucial to Falco’s investigative efforts, not to mention Flavia Albia, their moody, troubled adopted teenage daughter who eventually gets her own series of historical fiction novels.

Marcus Didius Falco Awards

The first Falco novel won the Author’s Club Prize (Best First Novel) in 1989. Lindsey Davis was also awarded the Crime Writers’ Association’s Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Prize for Two for the Lions in 1999.

This is on top of the Falco character earning the Sherlock Award (Best Comic Detective) in 2000.

Marcus Didius Falco Books into Movies

Marcus Didius Falco was portrayed by Bryan Brown, an Australian actor, alongside Amanda Pays who played Helena Justina in the movie Age of Treason. That was in 1993.

Lindsay Davis disowned the movie because it diverged drastically from the Falco novels on which it was based.

Best Marcus Didius Falco Books

The Falco series is typically commended for combining the trappings of historical mystery fiction with the structures and styles of contemporary police procedurals, with some of the best books in the series including:

Poseidon’s Gold: Marcus Didius Falco is an imperial spy and casual informer who comes home from a mission abroad in desperate need of some much-needed rest. But all he can find is trouble.

Not only have squatters wrecked his apartment but a friend of his heroic brother Festus has set up shop in Falco’s mother’s kitchen. When Festus’ friend, who is an ex-legionnaire asks Falco to repay his brother’s debt and then he ends up dead, all eyes turn to Falco.

This is as Falco’s mother charges him with clearing the family name.

Three Hands in the Fountain: When Falco and his friend Petronius Longus cement their new partnership, they eagerly jump on the case of a human hand found in the local fountain, certain that its owner probably met a gruesome end.

The officials in Rome would rather keep the occurrence quiet. They know that the local population does not require much of an excuse to riot. But when other dismembered hands are discovered in an aqueduct, Falco joins his partner and wife to get to the bottom of the burgeoning conspiracy.

Other Book Series You May Like

You may also like the “Medicus Investigation” Series by Ruth Downie. Gaius Petreius Ruso is an Army medic in Ancient Rome whose decision to migrate to the 20th Legion in Britannia as a means of finding peace after the implosion of his personal life backfires when he encounters murder and mystery.

Another series to check out is the “Molly Murphy” Series by Rhys Bowen. When Molly Murphy left Ireland for America, she did not expect to become a detective in 20th Century New York. But that is where she finds herself, delving into the seedy lives of the desperate and downtrodden.

What Is The Next Book in The Marcus Didius Falco Series?

There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Marcus Didius Falco Series. The newest book is Nemesis and was released on January, 2nd 2010.

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