Fatal Legacy

Flavia Albia, Book 11

By: Lindsey Davis

Narrated by: Jane Collingwood

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

The next witty, must-listen audiobook in the Flavia Albia series.

An unpaid bar bill leads Flavia Albia to her most bitter and complex case yet.

Decades earlier Appius Tranquillus Surus wrote his will: it freed his slaves and bequeathed his businesses to them. He left an orchard to the Prisci, a family he was friendly with, on the condition that his freedmen could still take its harvest.

The convoluted arrangement has led to a feud between the two families, each of which has its own internal strife. Endless claims and counterclaims lead to violence and even death. Lawyers have given up in exasperation as the case limps on. The original will has disappeared, along with a falsified codicil - and might there be another one?

But is there a solution? Two youngsters from each side of the divide, Gaius Venuleius and Cosca Sabatina, have fallen in love, which could unite the feuding families. There is only one problem: were Sabatina's grandmother and father really liberated in the Surus will? If not, the stigma of slavery will stop the marriage and the dispute will rage on forever.

Reconciliation seems impossible, but Albia will try. Her investigation must cut through decades of secrets, arguments, lies and violence to reach a startling truth.

©2023 Lindsey Davis (P)2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Good story and great performance

A convoluted but good mystery and Jane Collingwood makes it immensely enjoyable! I’m very much looking forward to the next installment.

The twists and turns of Roman law.

Difficulty with all the names. I enjoyed the factual build up to the ending recitations of Roman law that gave the good result.

Another entertaining Flavia Albia story

A bit confusing at times, however this is an appropriate reflection of the way Fatal Legacy paints a picture of Roman family life and its complicated interrelationship with slavery. As usual the author allows us to step into and walk around the ancient city. The narration was very good - expressive and well read.

Flavia Albia Does it Again!

Another great one in this series! Love, love, love this narrator and had been eagerly awaiting the audio book version of this (honestly was afraid there wasn't going to be one, it came out so much later than the print copy). I can't say enough about how this series and the Falco one make history feel so alive. Great read!

Another fun romp through Rome

Lindsey Davis does it again. I was a bit lost at points figuring out who was who during the beginning of the listen (I needed a flow chart for the similar sounding family names—wish I could get a pdf of the list of characters with the Audible edition) but had it down by the end. Loved the fun, Matlock-like approach to the finale:). Ms. Collingwood’s narrative skills get better and better with each installment (and I didn’t think she needed improvement but her characterizations are really solid here).

I love this series

I always enjoy these mysteries and also learn interesting details about Ancient Rome. This one is slightly different, focusing on a person’s personal status (slave or free), but the one problem I found, maybe more than with other episodes, is keeping track of the names. A lot of characters with the two main families involved in the case and all their relatives. Don’t let it deter you, but, anyway, you should start from the first book in the series and take it from there.

My least favorite

I love the Falco and Flavia Albia books, some more than others. But, this one I didn't like at all. The performance was great, but I thought the story was quite the opposite. Guess they can't all be zingers.