''Fatal Legacy'' is a historical crime novel by British writer

Lindsey Davis Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award. Life and career ...

, the eleventh in her Flavia Albia series. It was published in the UK on 6 April 2023 by

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

() and in the United States on 18 July 2023 by

Minotaur Books St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 ...

(). The plot, set in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

AD 90 AD 90 ( XC) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Domitian and Nerva (or, less frequently, year 843 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination AD 90 for this year has ...

, involves, amongst other aspects of Roman life: an unpaid bar bill; a missing

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

and

codicil Codicil may refer to: * Codicil (will), subsequent change or modification of terms made and appended to an existing trust or will and testament * A modification of terms made and appended to an existing constitution, treaty, or standard form con ...

; a rabbit farm; an

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

planted variously with walnuts, apricots and cherries; freed

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

; suspicious deaths; and feuding families with labyrinthine family trees. Before publication, the author wrote: "The joke of this plot is that it is impossible to summarise". It takes place on the Aventine and

Caelian The Caelian Hill ( ; ; ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a moderately long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill overlooks a plateau from whi ...

hills and at the

Forum Romanum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along ...

. The cover of the first UK hardback edition shows a pair of

shears Shears may refer to: Cutting devices * Scissors, also called shears * Hair-cutting shears * Blade shears, typically used for shearing animals * Grass shears, for lawn trimming * Kitchen shears, scissors used in the kitchen for food preparation * ...

against a

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

showing a

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

. The cover of the first American edition shows a woman holding a large dagger behind her back, and an armoured Roman soldier, inside a building. Writing in ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', Margaret Cannon called the novel "as light as air and as witty and amusing as Davis’s finest Falco books of yore". ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' wrote that it was "more low-key than past entries, but no less gripping", while ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' called it "dark mystery encased in a rich portrait of ancient Rome." The

Historical Novel Society The Historical Novel Society (HNS) is a nonprofit international literary society devoted to promotion of and advocacy for the genre of historical fiction. Definition of historical fiction There are varying definitions as to what types of literat ...

also gave a favourable review.

References

Novels set in ancient Rome British historical novels Flavia Albia novels 2023 British novels 21st-century British novels Hodder & Stoughton books Novels set in the 1st century {{2020s-AncientRome-novel-stub