Deadly Election

Lindsey Davis. Finished 23rd February. Recommendation: Part of a series

There are two things you may have noticed by now with this blog. One, that I struggle to write reviews (if that’s what you can call them) as soon as I finish a book (see two reviews backdated posts published today), and two, that I love Davis’s series. Having taken a long break from the Flavia Albia series, mainly by accident with reading for uni having got in the way, shortly after finishing Deadly Election’s predecessor I asked my mum to send me it in the post. This is testament to Davis’s brilliant writing style – she is one of my favourite authors to read purely for enjoyment as I love her characters and plots.

This novel in the series focused on an election of a Aedile, a type of local official in Ancient Rome, but when a body is found in a chest belonging to one of the families involved in the election, Flavia steps in. What follows is an enjoyable plot, that despite perhaps lacking in a surprise ‘whodunnit’ ending, makes up for in the development of the relationship between the protagonist detective and her friend and employer Manlius Faustus who is also the local magistrate. I think I’ll have to have a break from this series for a while so I don’t catch up with its author, but will look forward to delving back into it when I do!