4.5

In Three Hands in the Fountain, Marcus returns to Rome to find out that his longtime friend Petronius Longus has been thrown out of his home–his affair with Balbina Milvia (daughter of the mob boss our boys tracked down in Time to Depart) has become public knowledge and Arria Silvia can endure the humiliation no longer. As painful as this domestic situation is, there are even more horrific doings afoot in the capital of the world. Human body parts–hands, feet, heads–have been showing up in the water supply all around the city, and the mutilated torsos that belong to these appendages are drifting down the Tiber. These “festival fancies”, as Marcus’ crass brother-in-law Lollius terms them, only show up during and around the time of the games (spectacles of gladiator fights and chariot racing that occur approximately three times a year). As he investigates, Marcus discovers that these festival fancies have been appearing for years. He is dealing with a maniacal serial killer, one who preys on pretty young women in public places. When Claudia Rufina, the Baetican heiress betrothed to Helena Justina’s brother Aelianus, vanishes, the quest for the killer becomes personal. Can Marcus find the killer before he does away with Claudia?

In Three Hands in the Fountain, Lindsey Davis provides a brilliant description of the Roman water supply, the interconnectedness of the aqueducts, and their sources up in the hills outside the city. She also hits just the right note in describing the Roman enthusiasm for sport. Marcus standing up in the chariot arena screaming for the Blues (while Helena Justina rolls her eyes and adjusts his seat cushion), is the perfect parallel to the modern football enthusiast and his longsuffering wife. This book–with its serial killer suspense–was one of the most exciting Falco novels in the whole set. Hard to put down, indeed.

Falco needs to save the day again, and he does it in superb fashion. I particularly like the twist at the end. Davis kept me guessing.

Entertaining read. Falco always has a cynical reaction to the world, and his methodical, yet intuitive approach gets results

Back to great form,intertwining events and characters around a very grisly use of the aqueducts.

Three Hands in the Fountain starts when Falco makes a gruesome find, and continues in a page-turning, plot-twisting chase after a serial killer. As usual for a Davis novel, the reseach into life in 1st-century ancient Rome shines through. In particular, Falco gets to meet and work with Frontinus on this case - Frontinus being a real person.

The events are early in Frontinus' career, before his rise to fame. Davis builds this case as what sparks Frontinus' interest in aqueducts. He was appinted some 20 years later to write a report to Nerva about Rome's water supply. His two-volume report survives to this day and gives us much of what we know about Roman aqueducts - and this carries through back into Davis' historical mystery

Be aware that while it's not necessary to read the books in order, it certainly helps - certainly so far into the series.

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[a:Assaph Mehr|14422472|Assaph Mehr|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1445823325p2/14422472.jpg], author of [b:Murder In Absentia|29500700|Murder In Absentia (Felix the Fox, #1)|Assaph Mehr|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1457914061s/29500700.jpg|46845657]: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.

I think I might need to take a break from this series for a while. Women being gruesomely murdered by a serial killer is never appealing to read about, no matter what era a book is set in, and Falco's misogynistic side seemed to come to the fore in this one.