Book 9 - Falco

Three Hands In The Fountain

(Marco Didius Falco: book IX): a thrilling Roman mystery full of twists and turns from bestselling author Lindsey Davis

Lindsey Davis

- 4.4 • 15 Ratings

- £0.99

- £0.99

Another engrossing historical mystery bringing Ancient Rome to life in all its gruesome glory from the pen of multimillion-copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Fans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor and C. J. Sansom will not be disappointed...
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'Uniquely entertaining' - Time Out
'Bizarre, funny and satisfying!' - Irish Times
'As always, Davis wears her research lightly, bringing Ancient Rome to vivid life in a series of delicious vignettes' - Val McDermid
'Exciting and gripping' - ***** Reader review
'I love this book. What an amazing author and what an amazing series!!' - ***** Reader review
'Another excellent Falco book that is impossible to put down' - ***** Reader review
'Well written, humourous, interesting and a great read!' - ***** Reader review
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A SERIAL KILLER STALKS THE GAMES

'The fountain was not working. Nothing unusual in that...'

Marcus Didius Falco and his laddish friend Petronius find their local fountain has been blocked - by a gruesomely severed human hand.

Soon other body parts are being found in the aqueducts and sewers.

Public panic overcomes official indifference, and the Aventine partners are commissioned to investigate. Women are being abducted during festivals, with the next Games only days away.

As the heat rises in the Circus Maximus, they face a race against time and a strong test of their friendship. They know the sadistic killer lurks somewhere on the festive streets of Rome - preparing to strike again...

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 29 MAR 1999

Secret-agent/sleuth Marcus Didius Falco (A Dying Light in Cordoba, etc.) returns with gusto for another case of mystery and intrigue--this time involving a serial killer--in ancient Rome. As the novel opens, Falco has just come back from a perilous mission to Baetican Spain and is ready to tackle his new role as father to his first-born daughter. But his commitment to paternal responsibilities begins to lag when he and his old friend, Petronius Longus, make a gory discovery--of a severed human hand in one of Rome's many fountains. As the inquisitive buddies do some reconnaissance work, encountering similar body parts in the Roman water supply, they learn that there is, in fact, a tradition of corpses circulating in the waterworks. Furthermore, these dead bodies often appear after public festivals. The threat of contaminated aqueducts coupled with the imminent Roman Games brings Falco and Petro to confront the authorities on the matter. Official desire to keep the problem under wraps forces the pair to determine the killer's identity on their own, with the help of Helena (Falco's wife), Anacrites (a spy and boarder in Falco's mother's home) and other toga-wearing tipsters. Once again, Davis weaves an intricate, irreverent plot filled with wittily imagined characters.

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