A review by cyrce
Shadows in Bronze by Lindsey Davis

4.0

Off the heels of his misadventures in The Silver Pigs, Falco is on clean up duty in Shadows in Bronze. After exposing the conspiracy against Vespasian, Falco has decided to accept work for the new Emperor of Rome in order to raise his status. All so that he can be deemed worthy of his lady love, Helena.

The work, however, does not go as expected, and leads to yet another conspiracy against the Emperor!

Spoiler

For most of the book, Falco is dealing with the fallout from uncovering the conspiracy and his relationship with Helena has suffered for it. After dumping a body down into the sewers and witnessing the death of a man involved in the conspiracy he accidentally stumbled upon, Falco is sent off to deal with the remaining plotters and warn them of the danger that may be stalking them. The problem is that he ends up falling in with Helena Justina again.

Unlike the other mystery novels I’ve read, I do like how the plot of this book flowed seamlessly from the first one. It wraps up all the threads started in the first book. The relationship between Helena and Falco was compelling as well. Rather than end up together permanently, the pair of them fight and fall in love and fight once more. The clashes and misunderstandings between them make them seem more real to me and the way Helena is integral to the mystery Falco is working to solve doesn’t seem forced. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next in the series.