• Three Hands in the Fountain

  • A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery
  • By: Lindsey Davis
  • Narrated by: Christian Rodska
  • Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (419 ratings)

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Three Hands in the Fountain

By: Lindsey Davis
Narrated by: Christian Rodska
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Publisher's summary

Marcus Didius Falco and his laddish friend Petronius find their local fountain has been blocked - by a gruesomely severed human hand. Soon other body parts are being found in the aqueducts and sewers.

Public panic overcomes official indifference, and the Aventine partners are commissioned to investigate. Women are being abducted during festivals, and the next Games are only days away. As the heat rises in the Circus Maximus, they face a race against time and a strong test of their friendship. And they know that the sadistic killer lurks somewhere on the festive streets of Rome - preparing to strike again.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend us your ears: listen to more Marcus Didius Falco mysteries.
©1996 Lindsey Davis (P)2009 BBC Audio

Critic reviews

"As readers follow the sometimes hilarious antics of Falco and Petronius (who are talented sleuths despite moments of buffoonery), they'll feel as if they've been transported back to the first century A.D., so realistic are the historical details in Davis' book, the tenth in this celebrated series. Filled with scintillating suspense, laugh-out-loud humor, devilishly clever plotting, and a cast of wonderfully eccentric characters, number 10 is among the best." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about Three Hands in the Fountain

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Falco is reliably enjoyable listening

LIght hearted detective fare with a twist. These books are a great, well researched glimpse into the day to day life of a Rome which we usually view only through political or military glasses. The plotting is very tight and the characters grow on you as you move from book to book. Recommended for anyone who loves being set down in a fascinating historical milieu and knocking around for a while while unraveling a juicy murder mystery.

The narration by Christian Rodke is consistently excellent and adds a good deal to the charm of these books.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wicked wit

This is the seventh Falco novel I've listened to and although I've enjoyed them all immensely, this one was by far my favorite! It had the best plot of the ones I've listend to and Rodska positively nails Falco's wicked wit. An absolute delight from start to finish! (I don't even bother with the ones that aren't narrated by Rodska because who else could possibly be Falco? Maybe I'll just read those instead.)

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Falcon with a Cockney accent just doesn't work for me

Falcon and Petro have Cockney accents and the cast in general are portrayed as a lot slower and dimmer than they have appeared to me when reading the books or listening to other narrators. I'm finding it very painful to listen to.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I could not finish

This narrator sounds like he has a mouth full of water. I will skip to the next books with Simon Prebble

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Twisty Mystery but the Wrong Narrator

Prefer Simon Prebble. I've listened to half a dozen Falco mysteries and enjoy immersing myself in ancient Roman history and culture as well as the twisty mysteries Davis pens. But I could barely get through this one. The narrator made all female characters sound like old crones and the male characters sounded like street toughs from England.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Disgusting sniffling narration.

This absolutely disgusting sniffling and snarfling is completely unnecessary. I almost quit listening. Only a moron would think this benefits characterization.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Reader makes it REALLY hard to listen

I nearly quit listening several times. This is not a comment on the story (at least I don't think so) I just found it SO hard to understand many of the voices the reader did to distinguish characters. I also found many of the voice choices physically repellent and had trouble listening to them, much less following the story.

There is a HUGE difference between character acting and audio-book reading! Audible please PLEASE inform your talent to this effect! They can be excellent character actors, but if I cannot understand the book I can't turn on subtitles. Rodska really needs to find a balance between character and understandability. Rodska may have been much more jarring as I had listened to the previous 7 books read by Prebble and they are completely understandable (book 1 is also read by Rodska, though not nearly as badly).

I really hope Audible has the rest of the Falco books recorded (or re-recorded) by Prebble. After this I am dreading the last three books of the series because they are read by Rodska. I may just skip them.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Each book in the series gets better

Falco, his wife and family are amazing. the characters have grown since the start and the development has been getting better. There is humor and brutality, but the mysteries, always keep me intrigued. I enjoy historical novels and this series very much.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

3 Hands in the Fountain

This is a delightful book and a delightful series, for anyone who likes the Ancient Rome setting for mystery novels. Christian Rodska is an amazing narrator. He can make many different regional accents so I don't have any trouble telling the characters apart. Lindsay Davis writes about Marcus Didius Falco, P.I. (Public Informer), who is married to the daughter of a senator. Davis' descriptions are entertaining and informative, and the portrayals of family life in Ancient Rome are unique in the genre.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

amazing book

loved this book. it was so suspenseful that I actually caught my breath as my heart pounded with fear.

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1 person found this helpful