The Grove of the Caesars

''For a totally exhilarating romp through Ancient Rome, Lindsey Davis'' latest Flavia Alba novel won''t be beaten and offers an immersive experience of a vibrant world full of real, recognisable characters'' Mike Ripley, Shotsmag

Don''t go to the Grove . . .

Julius Caesar left his gardens to the citizens of Rome, a peaceful sanctuary across the Tiber. Now the gardens and their sacred grove are dangerous haunts, especially for women alone.

''Don''t go to the Grove,'' people mutter, but when her husband has to leave Rome, it falls to Albia to supervise his building project in an old grotto. Why has someone buried tattered scrolls by obscure philosophers - and does it involve a worse crime than terrible writing?

Soon that puzzle is overtaken. A woman disappears from her husband''s birthday party; she meets a dire fate, then Albia learns that on the same night, two louche slaves given to her family by the bro