The Silver Pigs

I love historical detective novels, and this one, set in AD 70, is a great way to immerse yourself in the Roman world. Lindsey Davis does her research, creating a real, lived-in space that makes the ancient past feel alive and present.

Another big plus is that it’s hilariously entertaining: I’m regularly guffawing out loud while reading it. Best of all? It’s the first book in a fantastic series, and I’ve enjoyed following private instigator Marcus Didius Falco, and then later his daughter, Flavia Alba, over a number of adventures across the city of Rome and the wider Empire.

I have always loved historical fiction, but Marcus Didius Falco was the first character I met who really brought Ancient Rome alive for me. He might be living 2000 years in the past, but his voice is incredibly modern; he’s both relatable and funny!

I loved the idea of a wisecracking private eye in Ancient Rome, and I still do. It’s why I ended up writing one myself. And the descriptions, not just of Falco and his friends and family, but of the city of Rome itself (and much of the rest of the empire, in later books), are just… show more.

What happens when you take a tough, ex-legionary who solves crimes for a living, and give him a large extended family of nosy sisters, eccentric uncles, and a mother who shall be obeyed? You get the wickedly funny noir send-up featuring Marcus Didius Falco. In addition to being cracking good mysteries, every book in this series brings fascinating details of ancient Rome to vivid life through Ms. Davis’s snarky and memorable descriptions. 

In this first book, Falco finds himself working undercover in a sliver mine in Britannia, a brave but ill-advised scheme that almost ends in his death. In the… show more.

Rome 70 A.D. The author has managed to create a very likable and very unlucky main character that brings a lot of laughter. The descriptions of ancient Rome are amazing, there is adventure and mystery and it is overall one of the books I go back to when I want to have fun and go back in time. An absolute worthy read!