English Mystery Author

Author of the Marcus Didius Falco series of mystery novels, set in First Century Rome. Ms. Davis was born in Birmingham, England and grew up there. She read English at Oxford and joined the civil service. Her first published fiction was a series of romantic stories in Woman's Realm magazine.

She then researched a novel about the First Century Roman Emperor Vespasian and the love between him and his mistress Antonia Caenis. This work inspired her first Falco novel, The Silver Pigs, published in 1989. The novel about Vespatian, Course of Honour, was eventually completed and published in 1997.

She has since that time published fifteen additional novels about Falco's adventures:
Shadows in Bronze (1990)
Venus in Copper (1991)
The Iron Hand of Mars (1992)
Poseidon's Gold (1993)
Last Act in Palmyra (1994)
Time to Depart (1995)
Dying Light in Corduba (1996)
Three Hands in the Fountain (1997)
Two for the Lions (1998)
One Virgin Too Many (1999)
Ode to a Banker (2001)
A Body In The Bathhouse (2002)
The Jupiter Myth (2003)
The Accusers (2003)
Scandal Takes a Holiday (2004)

Ms. Davis has won a number of awards, including Authors' Club Best First Novel award for The Silver Pigs in 1989, Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, Crimewriters' Association Dagger and the Sherlock Award for Best Comic Detective. Her novels have been translated into several languages, audiobooks, a BBC radio serial and a film (Age of Treason, starring Bryan Brown) that Ms. Davis would likely prefer not to remember.

As Ms. Davis got a bit tired of answering miniscule questions and complaints about some of the details of her novels, she now introduces one minor, intentional error into each novel for fact-hounds to find. (I think this is a pretty cool response.)

One thing I find refreshing about Lindsey Davis' books is the continuity of characters' memories and experiences. If something happens to Falco in one book, he may see a similar situation several books later and react accordingly (likely with a wry, "I had seen something like this, and was not to be fooled again!"). That sort of realistic memory and experience makes the characters come alive for the reader.

Lindsey Davis manages to blend very clever and complex characters with intricate, but somehow comprehensible, plots. The interplay between the two primary characters, Falco and Helena, is brilliantly funny and evokes the screwball comedies of yesteryear. Making stories that are funny and still able to keep the readers on the edge of their seats is a rare talent, and Ms. Davis exercises that ability very well. Witty dialogue, unforgettable characters and terrific historical touches make her novels a pleasure to read.

Sometimes criticized by the history buffs for not including more historical detail and the mystery fans for writing too much about ancient Rome and not enough about the mystery, occasionally avoided by American audiences for being "too English," Ms. Davis continues undaunted and her fans greatly anticipate each new work.


REFERENCES:
The Free Dictionary.com article: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Lindsey%20Davis
Her website: http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/
My Unicorn's Lindsey Davis bibliography: http://www.myunicorn.com/bibl2/bibl0211.html