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| Plot Summary of Scandal Takes A Holiday |
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"
Mysterious Press, Sept 2004, 24.95, 332 pp.
ISBN: 0842968125
In 76 AD Rome anyone who has a country home goes there to get away from the summer in the city. The gossip columnist of the state run Daily Gazette is missing. Dicclep, who goes under the pseudonym of Infamia told people he was working while visiting his aunt in Ostia, but when he doesn't sent copy back, his bosses hire informer (private investigator) Marcus Didius Falco to find him. Falco discovers that the aunt died last year and Diccles rented a shabby room near the port. Among his belongings he finds tablets with writing on them and the name Damagoras, who might be a pirate.
When Falco confronts Damagoras, the wily wealthy foreigner admits knowing the columnist and says he was going to write a book about the seaman's adventures. Although Falco doesn't believe the man is not a former pirate, he finds that their definitely are pirates are working in Ostia, kidnapping young women and demanding a ransom from their wealthy fathers. When the pirates realize the interest Falco and the authorities are taking in their lucrative kidnapping business, they decide to kill him.
It is always fun to read a new Marcus Didius Falco mystery and this novel is no exception. While trying to solve the case, Falco has to deal with his children, his wife, “his wife's family” and his own eccentric relatives who providing comic relative to a very complex storyline. Lindsey Davis makes the reader feel as if they have time traveled back to Ancient Rome because her descriptions of day to day living are so vivid and visual. This is an exciting historical mystery that doesn't glamorize Rome but shows it as it really was warts and all.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Scandal Takes A Holiday |
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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).
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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 - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- ancient rome
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Crime plotlets:
- escape/rescue from kidnappers
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- breaking up gang
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted...
- hunted by killer/stalker
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 60's-90's
Profession/status:
- pirate
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Italy
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Click here for more information about this book
Lindsey Davis Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Alan J. Bishop
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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