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Venus in Copper
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Plot Summary of Venus in Copper
"Marcus Didius Falco is hired by a family of Roman freedmen to investigate the proposed bride of one of their members, Hortensius Novus. The girl in question has had three husbands, each of whom died shortly after marrying her.

Before Falco can find conclusive evidence against the girl, Novus dies of poisoning and Falco is off the case. However, the would-be-bride now hires him to find out who killed Novus. Falco finds the plot thickening when he discovers not one but three poisoned items in Novus's last supper.

In the meanwhile, his high-class girlfriend Helena has finally decided to flout society and move in with Falco - except the day she chooses to do so, Falco is throwing a party to which she has not been invited! To make matters worse, Emperor Vespasian's son and co-ruler, Titus is at the party (having given Falco the chief attraction - a huge turbot) and finds Helena more than a little attractive.

Does Falco manage to solve the case without getting ensnared by the professional bride? Does Helena stay or leave? Does Titus put a spoke in the wheel of their already unconventional relationship? Read the book to find out!"

Tiya, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Venus in Copper
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - ancient rome
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Kind of investigator - skilled citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - feelings towards lover
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - private investigator
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - homemaker
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - Italy

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 1
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Venus in Copper
A Mist Of Prophecies by Steven Saylor
The Accusers by Lindsey Davis
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Lindsey Davis Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Alan J. Bishop  

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