The Silver Pigs is the debut novel of
British author
Lindsey
Davis, and introduces her popular detective,
Marcus Didius Falco. The year is
70 AD, and something is rotten in the state of
Rome. The story is told in
the first person, from Falco's own point of view, and this has the twin effects
of telling us a lot about our hero from his view of the world and reinforcing
the book's tone. That tone is of a
Dashiell Hammett or
Raymond Chandler
novel transplanted to the Rome of the Emperor
Vespasian. Our hero is a
private eye, or informer, and the world he inhabits is furnished with the
duplicitous blondes, grimy offices, corrupt officials and chummy policemen
familiar to readers of, say,
The Thin Man.
But (as explained in the introduction to the latest edition) Davis is not merely
duplicating the
gumshoe genre in a different setting. She overturns many of
the stereotypes of the form, filling in areas of the
protagonist's life
usually intentionally left blank by the originators of the genre. Falco has a
big, messy Italian family, a history which extends back before his time in the
legions, and a decent education. Of course, these traits are very useful to the
writer in exploring interesting aspects of
Roman civilisation. A hero who
knows
Greek, and who knows a thing or two about antiques, will be a valuable
guide for the reader if something historic and
Hellenic should show up. But
the history you'll learn through the book (and its many sequels) is never
intrusive. The immediacy of the scenes described enables the reader to stop
fretting about the detailed archaeological research which has enabled them.
Falco's first adventure is a tough case, which begins in the heart of Rome, and
leads him to the edge of the Empire -
Britain, a province he hoped he'd never
see again after leaving the army. In the course of his investigations, he
encounters dangerous senatorial families, the Emperor himself, and a certain
rich divorcee...
I'm not about to reveal the plot of this wonderful book in any more detail,
because I'm thoroughly opposed to spoilers. All I can say is that everyone I've
so far recommended the series to has loved it.
Amazon gives it a five-star
rating - every reviewer has loved it. Begin here to get the maximum enjoyment
from one of the best series of detective novels currently available. When you're
done, proceed directly to
Shadows in Bronze, which continues the plot.