Arrow Books A Dying Light In Corduba Davis Lindsey

Drowning in mystery, dying on stage • The spirit of adventure calls Marcus Didius Falco on a new spying mission for the Emperor Vespasian to the untamed East. He's picking up extra fees from his old friend Thalia, the snake dancer, as he searches for Sophrona, her lost water organist. With the Chief Spy Anacrites paying his fare, Falco knows anything can go wrong • A dangerous brush with the Brother, the sinister ruler of Nabataean Petra, sends Falco and his girlfriend Helena on a fast camel-ride to Syria. They join a traveling theatre group, which keeps losing members in non-accidental drownings • The bad acting and poor audiences are almost as bad as the desert and its scorpions - then as the killer hovers, Falco tries to write a play

‘The first concern of an author is to do down his colleagues.’ • In the long, hot Roman summer of AD 74, Falco, private informer and spare-time poet, gives a reading for his family and friends. Things get out of hand as usual. The event is taken over by Aurelius Chrysippus, a wealthy Greek banker and patron to a group of struggling writers, who offers to publish Falco’s work. A visit to the Chrysippus scriptorium implicates Falco in a gruesome literary murder, so when commissioned to investigate, Falco is forced to accept • Lindsey Davis’s twelfth novel wittily explores Roman publishing and banking, taking us from the jealousies of authorship and the mire of patronage to the darker financial world, where default can have fatal consequences…

The ancient sports of murder and myth • Stunned by a dramatic appeal from his otherwise cool mother-in-law, Falco cannot resist. His brother-in-law has been diverted from his route to Athens University by a man whose newly married daughter disappeared, with her husband, while visiting the Olympic Games as part of an extended wedding trip. Suspecting a classic cover-up, Aulus enrols Falco's help in solving the case. And of course his mother-in-law hopes to hurry her son along to university by passing the case over to Falco • Joining the rest of the married couple's tour group on the remains of their Grand Tour, Falco and Helena seize the opportunity to interview the owner/manager of 'Seven Sights Travel', as well as the other guests • Seemingly not getting very far, they can at least make the most of the splendid sights; but finally, on reaching Delphi, Falco and Helena unravel the mystery of the bride and groom

‘What did he eat last? Whom did he eat, in fact?’ • Lumbered with working alongside reptilian Chief Spy Anacrites, Falco has the perfect plan to make money – he will assist Vespasian in the Emperor’s ‘Great Census’ of AD 73. His potential fee could finally allow him to join the middle ranks and be worthy of long-suffering Helena Justina • Unexpectedly confronted with the murder of a man-eating lion, Falco is distracted from his originaltask, uncovering a bitter rivalry between the gladiators’ trainers. With one star gladiator dead, Falco is forced to investigate and the trail leads from Rome to the blood-soaked sand of the arena in North Africa

A frightened child approaches Roman informer Marcus Didius Falco, pleading for • help. Nobody believes Gaia's story that a relation wants to kill her - and neither • does he • Beset by his own family troubles, by his new responsibilities as • Procurator of the Sacred Poultry, and by the continuing search for a new • partner, he turns her away • Immediately he regrets it. Gaia has been selected as the new Vestal Virgin, and when she disappears Falco is officially asked to investigate • Finding Gaia is then a race against time, ending in Falco's most terrifying exploit yet

'The fountain was not working. Nothing unusual in that...' • Marcus Didius Falco and his laddish friend Petronius find their local fountain has been blocked - by a gruesomely severed human hand • Soon other body parts are being found in the aqueducts and sewers • Public panic overcomes official indifference, and the Aventine partners are commissioned to investigate. Women are being abducted during festivals, with the next Games only days away • As the heat rises in the Circus Maximus, they face a race against time and a strong test of their friendship. They know the sadistic killer lurks somewhere on the festive streets of Rome- preparing to strike again

Contractors on schedule for corpses in Britannia • AD 75: as a passion for home improvement sweeps through the Roman Empire, Falco struggles to deal with a pair of terrible bath-house contractors who have been causing him misery for months • Far away in Britain, King Togidubnus of the Atrebates tribe is planning his own makeover. His huge new residence (known to us as Fishbourne Palace) will be spectacular - but the sensational refurbishment is beset by 'accidents'. The frugal Emperor Vespasian is paying for all this; he wants someone to investigate • Falco has a new baby, a new house, and he hates Britain. But his feud with Anacrites the Chief Spy has now reached a dangerous level, so with his own pressing reasons to leave Rome in a hurry, he accepts the task

Rome, AD 71: Against his better judgement, Marcus Didius Falco secretly disposes of a decayed corpse for the Emperor Vespasian, then heads for the beautiful Bay of Naples with his best friend Petronius. It's an opportunity to forget his doomed romance with the beautiful and bright Helena Justina • He conveniently forgets to mention to his companion that this will be no holiday - they have been sent to investigate the murderous members of a failed coup, now sunning themselves in luxurious villas and on fancy yachts • Nor does the idyllic seaside location help matters with Helena. The deeper he probes, the more it seems she is inextricably connected to the elite plotters, in ways that the smitten Falco cannot bear to contemplate

Reckoned by those about him to be the most handsome man in the country, Edward the fourth has risen to the throne with the help of Warwick, the kingmaker. But even Warwick's trusted advice cannot convince the King to ignore his passion for the beautiful widow, Elizabeth Woodville - and when she refuses to become his mistress the two are married • Beloved of the people, Edward proves himself to be a strong king, but his love of luxurious living soon begins to impact on his royal duties. Despite his mistresses, Elizabeth is loyal to the illustrious king, providing him with many children, among them Edward the fifth and Richard Duke of York. But Edward lived recklessly and on his death an incident from his past comes to light that will change the course of history

India 1942: everything is in flux. World War II has shown that the British are not invincible and the self-rule lobby is gaining many supporters. Against this background, Daphne Manners, a young English girl, is brutally raped in the Bibighat Gardens. The racism, brutality and hatred launched upon the head of her young Indian lover echo the dreadful violence perpetrated on Daphne and reveal the desperate state of Anglo-Indian relations • The rift that will eventually prise India - the jewel in the Imperial Crown - from colonial rule is beginning to gape wide

Sunderland, 1941 • With a brief break in air raids providing some much-needed respite from the war, things are looking up for head welder Rosie, who has fallen head over heels for Detective Sergeant Miller. But how long can their romance last in such uncertain times? • Life remains full of challenges for Gloria, who must face her abusive ex-husband and confront her own guilty conscience about baby Hope’s real father. The secret is tearing her apart but if she admits the truth, she will risk losing everything • Both women are determined that their love and faith will be enough to keep the most difficult of promises, but nothing is as simple as it seems…

“What’s your dream, son?” • A six year-old boy, head bowed, mumbles the eternal answer: “Be a footballer….” Steadman Scott, football’s most unlikely talent scout, smiles indulgently, and takes him in from the street. He knows the odds. Only 180 of the 1.5 million boys who play organised youth football in England will become a Premier League pro. That’s a success rate of 0.012 per cent • How and why do the favoured few make it? What separates the good from the great? Who should they trust – the coach, the agent or their parents? • Michael Calvin provides the answers on a journey from non-league grounds to hermetically sealed Premier League palaces, via gang-controlled sink estates and the England team’s inner sanctum. He interviews decision makers, behavioural specialists, football agents and leading coaches