It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
Scandal Takes A Holiday

Scandal Takes A Holiday

(Marco Didius Falco: book XVI): another gripping foray into the crime and corruption at the heart of the Roman Empire from bestselling author Lindsey Davis

Summary

Fans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor, C. J. Sansom will absolutely love this captivating page-turner of a historical mystery from multi-million copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Full of twists, turns and tension - you'll be hooked from page one...

'Davis's writing zings with fun' -- Daily Mail
'One of the best of the current writers in this field' -- Donna Leon, The Times
'Very addictive and, at times, difficult to put down' -- ***** Reader review
I was mesmerized and thrilled -- ***** Reader review
Lindsey Davis at her best -- ***** Reader review
A cracking good read -- ***** Reader review
*****
ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO DIE FOR...

In the wealthy town of Ostia, our hero Falco appears to be enjoying a relaxing holiday. But when his girlfriend, Helena, arrives carrying a batch of old copies of the Daily Gazette - with the intention of catching up on the latest scandal - Falco is forced to admit to Petronius his real reasons for being there...

'Infamia', the pen name of the scribe who writes the gossip column for the Daily Gazette, has gone missing. His fellow scribes have employed Falco to find him and bring him back from his lazy, drunken truancy. However, Falco suspects that there is more to his absence than there might first appear...

Reviews

  • This is the sixteenth Falco novel, and they have built up a large following. It is not hard to see why. They are amiable and unpretentious...The research that has gone into them allows the externals of Roman life to be presented in an evocative way. Yet the interior life of the characters remains reassuringly modern...Philip Marlowe in a toga.
    Times Literary Supplement

About the author

Lindsey Davis

Historical novelist Lindsey Davis is best known for her novels set in Ancient Rome, including the much-loved Marcus Didius Falco series, although she has also written about the English Civil War, including in 2014 A Cruel Fate, a book for the Quick Reads literacy initiative. Her examination of the paranoid reign of the roman emperor Domitian began with Master and God, a standalone novel, leading to her new series about Flavia Albia, set in that dark period.

Her books are translated and have been dramatized on BBC Radio 4. Her many awards include the Premio Colosseo (from the city of Rome) and the Crime Writers' Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. Most recently she was awarded the City of Ubeda Historical Novel Prize, also for lifetime achievement.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more