Books

Deadly Election

Flavia Albia book 3

When a decaying corpse is discovered by her father’s staff as they prepare for an auction, Flavia Albia steps in to take responsibility and get the container washed hygienically. For a better view of her suspects as the bidding hots up, she takes over the gavel. I can already hear the outraged cries of hidebound traditionalists who think Roman men were men and their women stayed invisible. Albia has her own ideas of helping a family business.

Meanwhile Manlius Faustus is helping an old friend stand in what passes for an election in undemocratic imperial times; he persuades Albia to help dig up dirt for spin-doctoring purposes, allowing them to marvel at the appalling candidates and see more of each other. Albia soon starts to suspect a mysterious link to her corpse – but surely no one would murder a candidate or a voter; can politics be that dirty? Then where, she soon wonders, is the supposedly devoted wife of the ‘good family man’ that Faustus wants them to support?

And can it be that the romance she keeps telling us isn’t going anywhere is going somewhere?…

Reader Favourite:

‘Isn’t thirty-six rather old to run away from home?’ I asked.

‘I believe in waiting until you are old enough to enjoy things.’ Chosen by Vera Hough