Title: The Silver Pigs
Author: Lindsey Davis
Series: Marcus Didius Falco
Genre: Historical Mystery
Setting: Ancient Rome, AD 70
Blurb: AD 70. Roman informer Marcus Didius Falco stumbles into a conspiracy involving stolen silver, political corruption, and a sharp-tongued senator’s daughter, Helena Justina.
What worked for me. This is a re-read for me. I don’t remember how much of the series I read when it was originally published, but I decided to go back and re-read the whole thing. That’s because so much worked for me. The prose was easy to read, and I love the characters of Falco and Helena. Taking the action from Rome to Britannia and back again was great because you got to see life in both the heart of the Empire and the provinces. And the details of Roman life and Imperial government squared with what I learned in my Roman history class in college. (That doesn’t make me an expert by any means, but I don’t expect Lindsey to be one either.)
What didn’t work for me. Will you forgive me if I don’t nitpick this one? In fact, nothing really stands out. It lives up to what I expect from the genre.
Final thoughts. If you have an interest in Roman history, or just like a fun mystery with some political intrigue thrown in, I recommend this book.
The Philomath 
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