Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday post, I look at the next upcoming book in one of my favourite historical fiction series with Death on the Tiber by Lindsey Davis.

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Fans of this blog will know that I have a lot of love for historical fiction, as it was the genre that I started my reviewing career with.  While I do not read as much historical fiction these days as I would like, one series that I always go out of my way to read is the Flavia Albia series by Lindsey Davis.  A sequel to Davis’ iconic Falco series, the Flavia Albia books follow the titular protagonist as she investigates a series of compelling crimes in ancient Rome, while also trying to manage her chaotic personal life.

I have had a wonderful time reading and reviewing all the books in this great long-running over the years, with several appearing on this blog.  This includes The Third Nero, Pandora’s Boy, A Capitol Death, The Grove of the Caesars (one of my favourite books of 2020), A Comedy of Terrors, Desperate Undertakings (one of my favourite books of 2022) and Fatal Legacy.  All these books were awesome in their way, and I love the elaborate mysteries, unique historical insights, and fun comedic moments that Davies adds into her stories.  As such, I always make an effort to grab the new Flavia Albia book each year, as I know I will have a great time with it.

Well it looks like I do not have too much longer to wait before getting my next Flavia Albia fix as Davis has a new novel coming out later this year with Death on the Tiber.  Set for release in Australia on 9 April 2024, Death on the Tiber will draw the protagonist into another deadly case, one that will force her to go up against an old enemy from her past.

Plot Synopsis:

The brilliant new novel in the must-read, laugh-out-loud Flavia Albia series.

Albia’s quest to find the killer becomes deeply personal when she discovers a man at the centre of the plot is an old adversary of hers. Will she be obsessed by revenge? Can she let the past go, or will it consume her?

There are many cool bits in the above synopsis for Death on the Tiber that has me very excited.  Not only do we see Albia sticking her nose into the middle of a gang war, but the murder of an involved party has some great potential.  It is always fun to see Albia go up against some of the most dangerous people in Rome, especially as she is always dramatically underestimated, and I am expecting some fun humour around that.  I am also once again holding out for a big, over-the-top set piece somewhere in the book, as those usually end up being pretty damn fun.

However, the big element of the synopsis for Death on the Tiber that has me most excited is the mention of an old adversary.  A different synopsis online reveals that this adversary is Florius, an enemy of her father in the Falco series, who caused great harm to Albia years ago in The Jupiter Myth.  Albia has been bearing emotional wounds from this event for years, and it has come up a few times throughout the recent books.  As such, it will be interesting to see another confrontation between the two, especially as Albia might go out of her way to get revenge.  It will be pretty heartbreaking to see Albia risk the unorthodox family she has spent the last several books building up to settle this old grudge, and I am sure it will make for some excellent and emotionally charged reading.

Look, there is no way that I am not going to grab and enjoy Death on the Tiber when it comes out in April.  I am such a huge fan of Lindsey Davis and her Flavia Albia series, and I am always so excited to dive into her new mystery.  Death on the Tiber sound like it is going to be a particularly interesting and memorable part of the series that continues some long-running storylines.  I cannot wait to see how Death on the Tiber turns out and this has the potential to be one of my top books of 2024.