The Bottom Line
In "The Jupiter Myth," by Lindsey Davis, Falco makes a successful literary transition from pathetic, but loveable lower class peon to respectable, equestrian class investigator.
Pros
- Resolves hanging relationship issues
- Delightful characterizations as always
- Twisty turning plot complications
Cons
- World seems less ancient than usual
Description
- Immediately following "Body in the Bathhouse," Falco et al. are still in Britain.
- Despite Falco's "respectability," gladiators and old flames continue to pepper the storyline.
- Looks at the social ramifications of Boudicca's rebellion and relations between Rome and Britain.
- Maia's irascible widowed sister, kidnapped to Britain, pays attention to more than one suitor.
- Londinium has been hit by a protection racket, with the inevitable toll in corpses.
- The head honcho/local king is upset because his criminal friend was murdered before he could flee.
- Falco's good buddy Petronius is acting odd even before he learns two of his daughters have died.
Guide Review - Jupiter Myth by Lindsey Davis
Fourteenth in the Marcus Didius Falco series, "The Jupiter Myth," by Lindsey Davis, directly follows "The Body in the Bathhouse." Following the murder (by being tumbled head first into a wine vat) of a murderous architect, who just happens to have been good friends with the local king, Falco discovers all the local pubs have names based on the mythological sexual exploits of Jupiter. Since Falco and company are still in Britain -- where other gods might be expected -- Falco senses a connection between the foreign literary allusions, a child prostitution ring, and the claims of a rediscovered paramour that the local gladiatorial school had been threatened. If only Petronius would cooperate and all Falco's women would stay where they belong!
Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
