Good read but this series is going downhill (Alexandria - Lindsey Davis)

Member Name: mouche202

Product:	Alexandria - Lindsey Davis
Date:	03/08/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great central characters, interesting take on history

Disadvantages: Not as interesting as the earlier books

I have been a huge fan of Lindsey Davis's Falco novels for over 15 years now. My best friend used to collect them - not an easy job in India where they weren't available in normal bookshops - only occasionally in secondhand stalls. She managed to build up a close-to-complete collection that we both devoured eagerly and one of the first things I did after moving to the UK was to borrow the entire series in sequential order from the library.

When I saw the latest in the series - Alexandria - was out, I was thrilled. But before I review the book itself, a bit of background about the Falco series. Marcus Didius Falco is a detective (or an informer as it was called) in the Rome of Vespasian - the emperor who built the Colosseum. The series begins with him at almost the very bottom of the social ladder - his army career has backfired, informing doesn't pay, and thanks to an absentee father and dead war hero brother, he finds himself the head of a large and raucous family of sisters, brothers in law, nieces, nephews (legit and otherwise) and a mother who hates his many colourful girlfriends. Though the mysteries he solves are always interesting and give fascinating insights into how the Roman world operated, the heart and life of the books has always been Falco himself and his wise and wonderful girlfriend - later wife - Helena Justina.

Now the trouble with this is that loyal readers will love Falco and Helena no matter what, new readers may find it a bit difficult to start in the middle of the series since - it has to be admitted - marriage, babies and middle class respectability have made Falco and Helena a trifle boring.

Having said that Alexandria is a great read - the mystery is set in the great library at Alexandria, one of the wonders of the ancient world. Falco has brought his family on a sightseeing trip to the pyramids but stumbles across a body on his first visit to the library. As the emperor's unofficial agent, he gets embroiled in a story of corruption, incompetence and greed that involves murderous crocodiles, mysterious black robed strangers, and pontificating academics galore. The mystery is interesting and the solution is clever but somehow this novel failed to sing for me. As Flaco says on meeting an old friend who is now acting strangely - it is very unsettling when someone you know so well gives signs of being a stranger. I felt the same way with this book. While all the ingredients of a great Falco story are present, somehow it fails to have a heart. Even so it's a better read than most but new readers may want to start with 'Silver Pigs' or one of the earlier novels to really understand what Falco-mania is all about.

Summary: Worth a read but newcomers to Falco should try an earlier book