Hoping to find the murderer of a Roman playwright, Falco--chief spy for Emperor Vespasian--joins a traveling theater group, putting his dramatic and detective skills to the test. By the author of Poseidon's Gold. Marcus Didius Falco, first-century Roman private eye, searches for a beautiful circus musician while also working for the emperor's chief spy. Falco's girlfriend, Helena, accompanies him to Syria, where they are both accused of murder. Excellent historical fiction. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. An unusual angle and some spirited writing characterize Davis' latest entry in her popular mystery series set in ancient Rome. Columbo in a toga, Marcus Didius Falco is a shambling, self-deprecating, bumbling hero whose unorthodox crime-solving methods nevertheless get results. Falco's latest adventure--taken in the company of his bossy beloved, Helena Justina--is double trouble. First, he's supposed to find a missing circus musician whose fine physical attributes are as bountiful as her musical skills. Second, Falco's sometime benefactor, Emperor Vespasian, wants him to undertake a dangerous spying mission to Petra, a rich market town that Vespasian may want to acquire for the Roman empire. A mysterious murder soon after Falco and Helena reach Petra nearly lands the two in prison--but not for long. Soon they are traveling with a band of thespians in search of the murderer and the missing musician. A delightful adventure that's charming, witty, intriguing, and clever. Emily Melton It's a.d. 72 and once again detective-informer Marcus Didius Falco (The Iron Hand of Mars, 1993, etc.) undertakes a mission-- this time for Emperor Vespasian's spymaster Anacrites--to gather information on the land of Nabatea, which Rome has ideas of annexing. Falco will also be looking for Sophrona, the water organist for his circus-owner friend Thalia who vanished one day with a group of visiting Syrians. With his elegant mistress and partner Helena, Falco is climbing a sacred mountain in the desert city of Petra when he discovers a strangled body in a cistern near the peak. The victim turns out to be Heliodorus, playwright for a troupe headed by one Chremes and including clowns Tranio and Grumio, leading man Philocrates, leading lady Phrygia, several musicians, and others. Vaguely threatened by The Brother--the master priest of the mountain, who seems aware of his mission--and certain that Heliodorus' murderer is one of the troupe, Falco accepts Chremes's invitation to replace the dead man in the company--along with Helena, of course. Traveling laboriously through terrain either hostile or hospitable, Falco and Helena become part of the troupe--coping with a second murder, almost accidentally accomplishing Falco's mission for Thalia, and eventually unmasking the killer. Falco's mind-set here is 20th-century wiseguy, a concept, riddled with leaden irony and jokey asides, that rapidly palls. Scholars of the period and of theater history may be fascinated by the lengthily detailed and no doubt impeccably researched accounts of touring companies, towns, and countryside. For others: a long, dull journey. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Used Book in Good Condition