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Desperate Undertaking 2022
Desperate Undertaking is a historical crime novel written by British author Lindsey Davis, marking the tenth entry in her Flavia Albia series. The book was released in the UK on 7 April 2022 through Hodder & Stoughton () and in the United States on 27 July 2022 by Minotaur Books ().
The story takes place in Rome during late December 89 AD, centered around the Field of Mars and involving murders within the theatrical world. The novel is split into several sections with titles including "Laureolus", "Pasiphae", "Oedipus Rex", "Medea", "Selurus the bandit king of Sicily", "Orpheus or possibly Daedalus", "Aeschylus", "Jason", and "The Girl from Londinium".
The first UK hardback edition features a damaged bas-relief image of a seated man holding a theatrical mask, taken from "Relief of a seated poet (Menander) with masks of New Comedy, 1st century B.C.–early 1st century A.D.", housed at Princeton University Art Museum. An acknowledgement on the dustjacket identifies this artwork. The American edition cover shows a young woman in white and purple garments facing a Roman theater while gripping a large dagger.
Publishers Weekly gave the novel a starred review, noting it "reinforces Davis’s place at the top of the Ancient Roman historical subgenre". Kirkus Reviews and the Historical Novel Society also provided positive assessments.
Details
- Publisher
- Hodder & Stoughton
- ISBN
- 9781529354713
- Series
- Flavia Albia
