Alexandria - Couverture rigide

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0312379013 ISBN 13 : 9780312379018

Synopsis

In first century A.D. Rome, during the reign of Vespasian, Marcus Didius Falco works as a private “informer,” often for the emperor, ferreting out hidden truths and bringing villains to ground. But even informers take vacations with their wives, so in A.D. 77, Falco and his wife, Helena Justina, with others in tow, travel to Alexandria, Egypt. But they aren’t there long before Falco finds himself in the midst of nefarious doings—when the Librarian of the great library is found dead, under suspicious circumstances.

Falco quickly finds himself on the trail of dodgy doings, malfeasance, deadly professional rivalry, more bodies 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 to a disordered universe.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

For Marcus Didius Falco, agent to the Emperor Vespasian, Alexandria holds fascination and a hint of fear. Beautiful, historic and famously unruly, the great cosmopolitan city wears Roman rule lightly. While his wife, Helena Justina, wants to see the Lighthouse and the Pyramids, Falco has a mission at the Great Library that soon turns out to involve much more than stock-taking its innumerable scrolls.

A mysterious death in the world-famous library bring him into immediate conflict with the darker side of academic life. With forensic science in its infancy, even an illegal autopsy fails to find real answers. To solve the crime for the Roman Prefect - if indeed it is a crime - Falco will have to draw on his own doggedness and intuition, at first supported only by Helena's commonsense and the loyal backup of her brother Aulus, who goes under cover as a student among the in-fighting academics. The philosophers lust after fame and fortune so ruthlessly there is soon another terrifying death, this time at the royal zoo.

At the same time, his original innocent mission is overshadowed by the machinations of his Uncle Fulvius, who is living in Alexandria with his partner Cassius for obscure reasons. Their involvement in local affairs already seems shady when they are joined by their crony, Falco's father, Geminus, a man well known for disreputable business practices. If the irrepressible Pa has had any hand in what has gone wrong at the Library, Falco knows he stands no chance...

Quatrième de couverture

I knew my heritage. I came fully equipped with the old prejudice that anything involved with Egypt involved corruption and deceit.

AD 77. Egypt was the destination of choice for Roman tourists, being home to not one but two Wonders of the Ancient World, a Centre of Culture, and home to people with exotic habits. Unfortunately when Marcus Didius Falco pays a visit he discovers it's also a hotbed of schemers and murderers. When the Head Librarian dies in suspicious circumstances, the Roman authorities are only too happy to dump the case on one of the Empire's most celebrated investigators.

If dealing with homicidal bookworms wasn't bad enough, another corpse turns up half eaten by a rampant giant crocodile. A wind that makes people go mad blows up out of the desert - then there are bribes, bamboozlement and arson to contend with, not to mention potentially criminal members of Falco's own family, an exotic dancer and the attentions of a mad priest -- all these make this a typical Falco family vacation.

Praise for Lindsey Davis:
'Like visiting old friends in a familiar and endearing, if sometimes bizarre, environment. Jokes and skulduggery crowd the pages' Guardian

'the story gallops along at a tremendous pace with humour and suspense dispensed in equal measure.' Daily Express

'Another entertaining adventure' Sunday Telegraph

Détails de l'édition

• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0312379013
• ISBN 13: 9780312379018
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 338
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible