Lindsay Davis's latest Flavia Albia novel now out in paperback

Lindsay Davis's tenth Flavia Albia mystery was published last week in paperback. Desperate Undertaking is now available in hardcover, paperback, kindle and audiobook format. Reviews are very positive, with 88% reviews on Amazon being 4 or 5 stars and the Observer called it "Lighthearted, witty and effortlessly clever, just like its wonderful heroine, this is a window into ancient Rome"

Rome, the very end of December. The Field of Mars is packed with monuments, none more beautiful than Domitian's new Odeon and Stadium. But the area has been overtaken by ugly events: elaborately staged murders. Someone bears a spectacular grudge against the theatrical community, and intends to get revenge in the most spectacular way possible. The killer's method is to re-enact bloody scenes from the gruesome side of popular theatre, where characters in plays really die on stage.

A figure from the past wants Flavia Albia's father to investigate, but Falco is out of Rome for the holidays. Albia seizes the commission. And begins to regret doing so almost immediately. 'The undertaker did it!' the first victim croaks before expiring. This seems to make no sense, because surely people are already dead when they go to their funeral?

Though there is a serial killer at large, the authorities would prefer a cover-up but Albia is driven to discover what is going on. How much blood must be shed before the mania ends? And could her own family be on the list for a frightful stage death?

Hardcover: Publication date: 7 April 2022 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton ISBN: 978-1529354683 Pages: 416

Paperback: Publication date: 13 October 2022 Publisher: Hodder ISBN: 978-1529354720 Pages: 400

Kindle: Publication date: 7 April 2022 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Audiobook: Publication date: 7 April 2022 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Length: 12 hrs 58 mins Narrator: Jane Collingwood