“There
are rules for private informers accepting a new case. Never take on
clients who cannot pay you. Never do favours for friends. Don’t work
with relatives. If, like me, you are a woman, keep clear of men you find
attractive.
“Will I never learn?”
In Ancient Rome, the number of
slaves was far greater than that of free citizens. As a result, often
the people Romans feared most were the “enemies at home,” the slaves
under their own roofs. Because of this, Roman law decreed that if the
head of a household was murdered at home, and the culprit wasn’t quickly
discovered, his slaves—all of them, guilty or not—were presumed
responsible and were put to death. Without exception.
When a couple is found dead in
their own bedroom and their house burglarized, some of their household
slaves know what is about to happen to them. They flee to the Temple of
Ceres, which by tradition is respected as a haven for refugees. This is
where Flavia Albia comes in. The authorities, under pressure from all
sides, need a solution. Albia, a private informer just like her father,
Marcus Didius Falco, is asked to solve the murders, in this mystery from
Lindsey Davis.