But that connective tissue between the books was part of what I liked most about this second book and I truly hope it continues along through the series.

It had been a little longer than I realized since I’d read the first book and I wasn’t expecting so many elements of the plot (and characters) to carry over. But when those former and probable conspirators begin turning up murdered, Didius Falco’s job gets more complicated and the tasks Vespasian assigns him take him away from Rome.Īs with the first book, it took a few short chapters for me to acclimate to the narrative style of the novel as well as the quick pace and multitude of plot threads whipping about, but it’s an energy and sense of humor that I enjoy. Falco is also navigating the tenuous relationship he and Helena Justina (the ex-wife of one of the dead conspirators) may or may not have embarked upon as that plot was uncovered and defeated. This includes everything from disposing of bodies, helping to go through the confiscated estates of conspirators, and tracking down other probable conspirators to bring them around to Vespasian’s rule (bribing them with positions and other means). Picking up a week or two after The Silver Pigs left off, Shadows in Bronze finds Didius Falco working for the emperor Vespasian to help tie up the loose ends from the recent plot to overthrow him. They’ve been the perfect break for when I’ve just come through something I’ve found more difficult or challenging (or boring or tedious), and I think I’ll continue to use them as a palette cleanser of sorts. I’m going to make a point of pacing myself, however, because they also strike me as being the kind of series where if I read them too fast, I will grow tired of the premise or the style simply because of overexposure. Now that I’ve finished Shadows in Bronze, the second book in the series, I’m certain that’s the case. After reading the first book in Lindsey Davis’ Marcus Didius Falco series, I was pretty sure that it was one of those book series that I could easily marathon my way through if I wasn’t careful.

Falco shadows in bronze