Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Trade Paperback – 9 April 2024)
Series: Flavia Albia – Book 12
Length: 380 pages
My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
Those in the mood for a clever murder mystery in ancient Rome look no further than the 2024 entry in the long-running Flavia Albia series with Death on the Tiber by Lindsey Davis.
I am a huge fan of historical fiction, and one of my favourite ongoing historical series is the outstanding Flavia Albia books by veteran author Lindsey Davis. The Flavia Albia books, which are a sequel series to the author’s long-running Falco series, follow a determined private investigator in ancient Rome who takes on a range of complex cases and murder investigations, often encountering many of the city’s over-the-top inhabitants. I have had an amazing time reading this series over the years, including 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. As such, I try to read every new Flavia Albia book that comes out, and after accidently avoiding it for much of 2024, I recently finished off the 12th book in the series, Death on the Tiber.
Plot Synopsis:
Rome is in chaos. The empire of a mobster chief is falling apart following his death. Rivals, fearsome relatives and associates are taking up position to vie for the spoils.
With hideous murders in the streets of Rome, a lone female traveller arrives with an agenda of her own. But when her corpse is dragged out of the river bearing signs of foul play, Flavia Alba is drawn in, concerned about her fellow Briton’s fate.
Alba’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?
Death on the Tiber was a great addition to the Flavia Albia series that features its own distinctive crimes, while also cleverly tying into several of the author’s previous Falco and Flavia Albia books.
The plot of Death on the Tiber is very compelling, as the protagonist, Flavia Albia, finds herself drawn into the investigation of a murdered tourist pulled out of the Tiber. However, the case becomes personal for Albia when she discovers the victim’s connection to the gangster Florius, an old foe of her fathers, who years before committed unspeakable evils against Albia and who may have finally returned to Rome. Determined to finally hunt down Florius and make him pay for his crimes, Albia begins her investigation and soon finds herself embroiled in a deadly gang war that could tip the balance of Rome’s underworld. Forced to compete with a range of interested parties, including her own vengeful father and uncle, the Roman military and several gangsters and their families who Flavia has previously encountered through her work, the protagonist slowly begins to piece together the events that lead to the victim’s death and the connection to her quarry’s current location.
This proved to be a highly personal and complex entry in the series, and one that I felt served as a love letter to the author’s prior works. A huge range of characters from previous Flavia Albia novels, as well as major figures from the preceding Falco books, are featured throughout Death on the Tiber as the author takes the opportunity to tie together a range of ongoing storylines related to a major antagonist of the Falco books. This allows for quite a fascinating read, especially for those readers familiar with the previous works, and it was awesome to see Davis bring together a compelling cast of returning figures.
The plot moves in some interesting directions as the book nears the end, and Davis adds in a range of compelling layers to the case, including disgruntled mobster wives, a big gang war for the control of Rome, and alternating bands of Roman officials seeking to disrupt events. The conclusion for the book proves to be very emotionally charged, especially as the protagonist comes face to face with her biggest monster and finally gets some closure. The main mystery of Death on the Tiber is also extremely well written and utilised, and Davis does an excellent job tying in a lot of the novel’s leads and investigative plots into the main hunt for the returning Florius. While the reveal of the ultimate culprit behind the killing isn’t especially surprising, the way in which Davis addresses their fate is particularly impressive, and it leads to a very fun final moment in the book. I loved this last little twist, which I honestly think tied the book together very nicely, and it certainly was one of the moments that has stuck with me since finishing Death on the Tiber off.
This ended up being another strong Flavia Albia book as Davis continues to utilise her trademark style in Death on the Tiber. Focused primarily through the sarcastic and cynical Flavia, Death in the Tiber evolves into a twisty hunt for answers, that brings together mystery, criminal intrigue, and the protagonist’s various personal connections. Davis has a very compelling way of writing her stories, and her examinations of Rome through the protagonist’s eyes are often light-hearted, sarcastic, and applying modern mentalities to the ancient society. This results in an impressive read, especially as Davis lays down an exceptional combination mystery and revenge-focussed narrative. While I really enjoyed how well Davis revisited multiple previous books from both the Falco and Flavia Albia series, it does mean that readers do need a bit of pre-knowledge of these earlier works to fully appreciate Death on the Tiber’s plot. Davis does provide some much-needed context at times, which will allow some new or forgetful readers to enjoy this book, but I personally think that people should have at least read the last few Flavia Albia books before Death on the Tiber to really get this book.
Despite the series’ general comedic vibe, Death on the Tiber gets very dark at times, especially as the protagonist is forced to revisit her traumatic history. The author does an excellent job of diving into Flavia’s trauma and pain on the subject, and it was nice for this compelling protagonist to finally get some closure. Davis nicely balances some of these darker moments by including an extensive cast of eccentric characters, many of whom are continuing their storylines from both the Falco and Flavia Albia series, and there are some very fun moments scattered throughout Death on the Tiber as a result. This includes a fun competitiveness with Flavia’s father, Falco, a dive into some other important parental figures in her life, as well as her very strong relationship with her supportive and relentless husband. I personally loved the return of all the various major gangsters Flavia has dealt with over the years, and it was fun to see her try to investigate them after prior experiences. However, two of Flavia’s female relatives end up stealing the show in Death on the Tiber, especially at the end where they showed an ironic sense of justice. An overall great extended cast that served to connect this book to the larger series in some outstanding ways.
With Lindsey Davis’s typical impressive writing and a cool plot laden with mystery and criminal intrigue, Death on the Tiber was an amazing entry in one of my favourite historical fiction series. Entertaining, addictive and very moving, Death on the Tiber had me hooked from the very beginning, and I wish I’d read it sooner. I look forward to continuing the Flavia Albia series this year, especially as Davis has a cool book coming out in April set around the ruins of Pompei with There Will Be Bodies.
The Unseen Library 