Alexandria

A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery

By: Lindsey Davis

Narrated by: Christian Rodska

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

In first century A.D. Rome, Marcus Didius Falco works as a private "informer," ferreting out hidden truths and bringing villains to ground. But even informers take vacations, so in A.D. 77, Falco and his wife Helena Justina travel to Alexandria, Egypt. Before long the Librarian of the great library is found dead and Falco quickly finds himself on the trail of dodgy doings, malfeasance, and the lowest of the low - book thieves! As the bodies pile up, it's up to Falco to untangle this horrible mess and restore order.

©2009 Lindsey Davis (P)2009 BBC Audio

Not the Falco of old

I read the Falco books when they first came out - and I was hooked. But over the years they have deteriorated badly. Occasionally, there is a winner (such as Saturnalia), but more and more, they are bogged down in interminable history lessons (and I was a Classics major, so I enjoy historical detail). But when Helena is opening her mouth every 5 lines to deliver 2 pages on a particular esoteric detail, it's just too much. The author also confuses matters by having dozens of characters (suspects) not one of whom is developed. It was a chore listening to this book.

A Bit Disappointing

This book wasn't as good as the first two in the series.I wanted to like it more than I did, because I really enjoyed the first two books.

It dragged a bit. By the time the mystery is solved, it's a bit anticlimactic; I just wanted to finish it up.

Falco's snarkiness was lacking. Only one of the supporting characters, Philadelphian, was particularly interesting.

The narrator did a decent, if unremarkable, job.

Falco can't catch a break, love this series

Falco goes to Alexandria for vacation with pregnant wife Helena and his two young daughters, and his adopted teenage daughter. What was supposed to be pleasure trip turns into WORK for Falco. He has to solve murders, and the more he finds the dirtier everything gets. But you know Falco and his wonderful wife Helena will work it out. Great series.

Ok listen overall.

I love books about ancient times told through the eyes of the main character of the story. This books did this for the most part, except the story got lost occassionally in the main character's internal dialouge. Very detailed in descriptions of places and settings. Loved it a lot. Wished it moved faster, though.

Worth it.

The narrator tries, but falls down at times. Otherwise, an engaging story that teaches us about the great Library and the famed Lighthouse. Definitely worth a listen.

Parrot

I miss the Parrot they can live 80 years or more. It would be fun to see him in a story.

My first Lyndsey Davis novel

I had read a short story about Marcus Falco in a compendium of Historical Whodunits. I like the character and cast of characters created. This book has long been on my reading list as an excellent "locked door" mystery. It was a good story. Not the best mystery I've read. Two recurring characters of the series appear mid-way through to give character references for suspects. This seemed contrived - just an easy way to give answers where noodling through the problems would have been harder and taken longer. The end result of the average mystery, as opposed to the great story, was OK. Not fully satisfying to me.

One of the best of a great series

This installment has wonderful historical research, a lively plot and subtle character relations. The narrator does it all justice.

Alexandria

Love the narrator and the dialects used.

Huge fun!

An excellent entry to the series about the most delightful Falco! This one has the excitement and danger without a great deal of gory details. I enjoyed it very much!