One Virgin Too Many - SPOILER Thread - (Falco #11) (Oct/Nov 25)

[Susan]

Welcome to our Oct/Nov 25 buddy read of One Virgin Too Many Book 11 in the Marcus Didius Falco series was first published in 1999.

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's been selected as the new Vestal Virgin, and when she disappears Falco is asked to investigate.

Finding Gaia is soon a race against time, ending in Falco's most frightening exploit yet.

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

[Susan in NC]

I enjoy these characters and love to follow personal developments, but this was just “meh” for me, hence three stars, as in good, but didn’t hold me spellbound- although the last couple chapters with the well rescue were gripping!

I think it was all the religious roles and rituals, which made it feel more like a Roman cultural history book, i felt the mystery got rather bogged down.

Rather, the first murder mystery, the bloody corpse that Helena’s grumpy brother (as opposed to the pleasant one who likes Marcus) literally stumbled on in the sacred grove, got pushed aside in favor of the missing child. As it should be - the little girl might still be alive. But I became bored trying to follow the relationships and characters in the little girl’s odd family. Clearly they were dysfunctional and miserable, and I soon suspected there was some tie-in to the murder in the grove, but it just went on and on with no progress…

Also, I have a problem with reading about Ancient Rome - keeping the names of characters straight! Makes it hard to care if Falco has a big reveal, but I can’t grasp the import because I’m not sure who he’s talking about!

[Sandy]

I liked this better on my second read - I don't remember the first well, but I only gave it three stars which I have now upped to four. I did keep referring to the tiny family tree of the Laetri. I agree that the use of family names, formal names and personal names does get confusing, though, in my opinion, not as bad as the British upper class where Sebastian St Cyr became Lord Devon (from another historical series).

This book had many fun family interactions. Nux got to shine it this book; first for being an item of interest to all the male dogs in the neighborhood, then uncovering her bloodhound abilities. Falco smuggles his infant daughter into the bath / gym. And the grumpy brother prancing around with wheat sheaves in his hair. I always have to remind myself that corn to Falco is wheat as American corn comes from the new world.