Flavia Albia is asked to look into the death of a 15-year-old girl, which has set her family at odds with her parents now wanting to divorce and her grandmothers resorting to fisticuffs.

I enjoy Albia as a narrator but somehow this one felt a bit lacking. At one point we did seem to be veering towards a recurrent theme of organised crime, which is not something I particularly enjoy. ( )

When Flavia Albia is confronted by her husband's ex-wife with a puzzle waiting to be solved, she is inclined to refuse. Then her husband goes missing and she needs to be kept occupied. How did a fifteen year old girl die in her bed.
I love reading these mysteries by Lindsey Davis. Is anything ever straightforward. The books are so well-written, the mysteries intriguing, and the characters so well-rounded.
A NetGalley Book ( )

Pandora's Boy is book six in Lindsey Davis' Flavia Albia series, the cases of the adopted daughter of the hero of her earlier First Century Rome mystery series: Marcus Didius Falco. Falco is still alive, but Domitian is on the imperial throne. The Emperor has had reason to hate Falco since his first book, Silver Pigs. Falco used to do some work for Domitian's father, Emperor Vespasian, but he won't work for Domitian. Instead of being a public informer (private detective), Falco runs his late father's auction business. Fortunately for Davis fans, Albia is old enough to take up where her father left off. In many ways, she couldn't be more of a chip off the old block if she were Falco's biological daughter.

Flavia got married to a plebeian aedile, Tiberius Manlius Faustus, at the end of book four, The Graveyard of the Hesperides. Tiberius was struck by lighting after the ceremony. That was in August 89 A.D. Book five, The Third Nero, in which Albia undertook some work for the palace, took place in September of that year. Now it's October. Tiberius is still recovering, but he's well enough to feel restless..

It was a second marriage for both partners. Flavia was a widow, but Tiberius was divorced. It's his obnoxious first wife, Laia Gratiana, who brings a case she wants Albia to solve. A girl of good family has been found dead in her bed. Her father suspects she was poisoned by a love potion. Albia says no, but takes the case when Tiberius disappears.

Albia discovers that Clodia, the dead girl, liked to hang out with her older brother's friends, one of whom is 'Pandora's Boy'. His grandmother is supposed to be just an herbalist who specializes in beauty creams, but turns out to have connections that it would not be wise to cross. If Clodia was murdered, will it be safe to find out who did it?

NOTES:

Chapter I: Albia explains why she hates to be called 'Flavia'. I laughed at what Albia wishes she had a dog to do to Laia.

Chapter III: Albia visits Falco at his auction showroom because he has customers in the Quirinal district, where the dead girl lived.

Chapter IV:

a. Albia meets Scorpus, lead investigator of the First Cohort of Vigiles (counterpart to her uncle Petronius Longus at the Fourth. She tells us what the Fourth Cohort calls the First, and what she suspects the First thinks of the Fourth.

b. We learn what Scorpus wrote up about the Volumnii case.

Chapter VI: Albia tells us Helena Justina's views on educating daughters. She also mentally quotes Falco on the subject of telling one's child not to do something.

Chapter VIII: One of Albia's grandmothers belonged to the Bona Dea cult. Helena refuses to join.

Chapter IX: A stay dog shows up when Albia is eating out. We'll see her again.

Chapter X: Albia sees Min, the Man of the Mountain stone statue (Min is a god of fertility and sexual prowess). Albia, who visited Egypt in Falco book 19, Alexandria, explains why a particular long-leafed Egyptian lettuce is presumed to be an aphrodisiac and promotes fertility.

Chapter XIII:

a. Falco's advice about a daughter of his tippling in taverns made me laugh.

b. Albia thinks Iucundus reminds her of her great-uncle Fulvius and states the one story about Fulvius that they ever questioned.

Chapter XIV: Albia tells us what her parents do if they think Julia and Favonia are being exposed to potential harm.

Chapter XVI: Albia tells us what Falco thinks of civil administrators and what Helena says to that.

Chapter XVIII: Albia gave Tiberius that scar on his left hand in her first book, The Ides of April.

Chapter XIX: Albia uses the informer's entry she got from Falco and he got from a slick accountant.

Chapter XX: Helena and Falco took in Albia in Falco book 14, The Jupiter Myth.

Chapter XXIV: Albia's uncle who studied with Minas of Karystos in Athens is Aulus Camillus Aelianus, the elder of Helena's younger brothers.

Chapter XXV: the stray brown dog turns up again.

Chapter XXVI:

a. Tiberius interviewed Young Roscius, nephew of the top man in the Rabirius gang, in Albia's book two, Enemies at home.

b. Albia jokes with Mamillianus about Falco's reaction to her marrying a magistrate.

Chapter XXVIII:

a. Albia tells us what her Uncle Petro does if a magistrate is likely to visit.

b. We see the revised version of Scorpus' notes from chapter IV.

c. For the matter of Balbinus Pius, see Falco book 7, Time to Depart. Helena and Falco rescued Albia from Florius in The Jupiter Myth.

Chapter XXX: If you think the penalty for hitting a cop is bad, check out the penalty for hitting an aedile.

Chapter XXXIV: Falco and Helena ate turbot in his book .

Chapter XXXVII: For that recent election Albia mentions, see her book 3, Deadly election.

Chapter XXXIX:

a. Laia Gratiana spearheaded a festival when a mad killer was out to get her in Albia's book, .

b. The pale brown dog sits beside Albia and Tiberius.

Chapter XL: Oh, dear. Julius Karus is on special detachment to the Castra Peregrina (see the last book, The Third Nero. He's part of Operation Phoenix, the successor to Operation Bandit King.

Chapter XLIV: Albia and Falco have a talk about the discovery in chapter XLI.

Chapter XLV: The brown dog is at a bar with Tiberius and Dedu the lettuce salesman. Albia is stern with the dog.

Chapter LVI: A statue of the goddess Salus, or Hygeia, and her snake reminds Albia of her brother Postumus' birth mother, Thalia, a circus performer who has appeared in several Falco books.

Chapter LXII: Yes, the fawn-colored dog appears to be getting her way.

The answer to young Clodia's death was not one I would have expected when Albia started her investigation. The brief scenes with Falco and Albia telling us about her parents and other relatives were welcome, as always. Of the murders that occur during the book, the curse uttered against the killers of the last one is truly awe-inspiring. There's a hint that this could provide a plot, or even just a sub-plot, in a future book.

Cat lovers: We're out of luck.

Dog lovers: There's a new supporting character. ( )

When Flavia Albia's husband's ex-wife comes calling to offer Flavia a job, she is determined not to take it, on principle. But then Manlius Faustus disappears without trace – likely still suffering from the after-effects after being struck by lightning – and so our intrepid informer relocates to the Quirinal to investigate the sudden and mysterious death of a fifteen-year-old girl. But the illustrious surroundings hide some dark secrets and shocking violence ...

This is already the sixth Flavia Albia title, and it seems that Lindsey Davis has decided to give the series a darker, and more political, undertone. In my opinion this started with the previous volume, The Third Nero, and has increased a marked notch in Pandora's Boy. The plot is fairly standard fare, with what I felt a fair amount of padding, but the imminent return of Domitian, plus the prospect of gangland warfare breaking out in Rome and a reacquaintance with characters from Flavia's past, raises the stakes for Flavia and her husband.

Though I felt this volume wasn't the best in the series, and there were signs that Flavia Albia was getting a little carried away in her criticisms of others, I still think this series is worth reading, and the seventh volume, A Capitol Death, is already lined up on the shelf. ( )

Another glimpse of Roman society through a murder mystery, and this time the focus is on Roman youth. Albia reluctantly agrees to investigate the death of a 15-year-old girl, more to distract herself from other problems than because she genuinely wants the case. There were fewer expository lumps in this book than in others in this series—young adults who haven't quite matured probably don't need as much explanation for the modern reader as other aspects of Roman culture! The story strikes a nice balance between Albia's wry observations of Roman life and her concerns about her marriage, the government, gangs, etc. Certainly there were mysteries to be solved: who was where, what was the dead girl up to on the last night of her life, and was there a love potion involved? But I enjoyed this book more for the continuing story of characters I like rather than the mental puzzle of a mystery.

So, yes, generally I enjoyed reading this, and I'm looking forward to the next installment! But... 1. I'm annoyed at the American publisher for the dust jacket. I can forgive the cover art: while it has nothing to do with the story, it does tie this book to the previous ones in the series. (Still, the British cover art is classier!) But the plot description has what I consider a spoiler in it. It was obvious that the reference to Albia's friend meant Iucundus—it's not like she has many friends—and I would've preferred not knowing he was doomed. Grr. 2. As I said, I usually like Albia's observations and criticisms. But the sniping about another character's weight felt mean-spirited, and added nothing either to my understanding of that character or my appreciation of Albia's personality. ( )