See Delphi and Die

March 13, 2006
In Davis's engaging 17th ancient Roman historical to feature "informer" Marcus Didius Falco (after 2004's Scandal Takes a Holiday
), Falco takes his deductive powers to Greece, where two young women tourists have died under mysterious circumstances. Accompanied by a large entourage, including his independent and sharp-witted wife, Helena, Falco soon finds that one tour, promoted by the shady Seven Sights Travel outfit, has a suspiciously high mortality rate. The long trail of corpses Falco uncovers puts the sleuth in danger of running out of suspects. While the way Falco unmasks the killer may be less than ingenious, the author's vivid picture of life in A.D. 76 and the sparkling characterizations, particularly the amusing byplay between Falco and Helena, will satisfy most readers. For those new to this popular series, which has a new publisher, Davis provides a short introduction to Falco and his world.

Starred review from July 10, 2006
This story of a pride of lions that escape from the Baghdad zoo during Operation Iraqi Freedom bombing is simple, lavishly drawn and devastating. The four lions—Zill; his two wives, the young, ideological and passionate Noor and the older, more cautious Safa; and his son, Ali—must negotiate life outside their pen. The insanity of war and of Saddam's state comes out in Henrichon's stunning images, which can move seamlessly from earth-rocking video game to a grieving peaceable kingdom. A turtle mourning his dead family notes that the local humans called their tanks "the lions of Babylon," and then the tanks rush in. Later, an image of Safa facing a portrait of a winged lion backed by lightning is startling, as she wanders the splendor of an abandoned palace in wonder. Without taking sides, Vaughan has his marvelously imagined characters debate the concept of freedom versus desire for safety, and fills the animal conflicts between lions, antelopes and monkeys with all-too-human tropes of honor and betrayal. Pride
parodies the surrealism of war, with bewildered yet realistic animals among the ruined, megalomaniacal monuments of Baghdad—and the total effect is memorable.

Starred review from April 1, 2006
In Davis -s ancient Rome, people operate pretty much like their modern-day counterparts, so it -s no surprise that there are travel agents, tour guides, and Roman tourists on worldwide getaways. Now two women have died while on vacation in Greece. Marcus Didius Falco -s brother-in-law and sometimes employee, Aulus Camillus Aelianus, asks for help when he gets involved with the people accompanying a young bride found beaten to death in a sports club. Falco, an informer for the Emperor Vespasian, has been downsized yet again, and his mother-in-law wants youngest son Aulus to study law in Athens and will pay Falco -s expenses if he makes sure Aulus goes to school, so the trip is on. Making her Minotaur debut with this 18th Falco adventure, Davis ("Scandal Takes a Holiday") writes dense prose that requires careful reading, slipping in a random clue that may become vital to figuring out who did what or what really happened. Every book in this series is a delight, the characters so finely drawn that they have become good friends and the plots so unusual and frothy with humor that it comes as a surprise when the climax is so shocking and original. Fans will snap it up. Highly recommended.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2006
If Sam Spade traveled back in time to A.D. 76, he'd be Marcus Didius Falco, the Roman sleuth at the center of Davis' mordant series. In the seventeenth outing, Marcus, who tackles crime on behalf of the emperor (and with the help of his tart-tongued wife, Helena), casts his cynical gaze on the case of two women who met their demise on tours of Olympia, Greece. Both women perished during excursions sponsored by Seven Sights, a dubious travel agency whose slippery host dispenses a litany of lies. Marcus focuses on the more recent victim, Valeria Ventidia, who was found beaten to death with a long-jumper's hand weight. Although there's no shortage of suspects among Seven Sights' colorful clientele, Valeria's shifty, jealous husband is at the top of the list. Davis provides vibrant period detail, from majestic Greek temples and teeming Roman slums to reprehensible rulers sporting tunics trimmed with gold. Some readers of this series may have difficulty accepting the hard-boiled veneer that Davis lays over ancient Rome, but for those willing to suspend disbelief, it makes a marvelous conceit.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)