Last act in Palmyra (original 1994; edition 1994)

by Lindsey Davis

Series: Marcus Didius Falco (6)

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1,077	26	19,788	(3.68)	48

Informer Marcus Didius Falco has two commissions that take him east. The first comes from the emperor by way of Falco’s nemesis, Anacrites. Not wanting Helena Justina to know about the first commission, he accepts a second from Thalia. It seems that Thalia’s water organist ran off with a young man, and Thalia wants her back. The last news of her -came from the Decapolis. After a misadventure in Petra, Falco and Helena fall in with a group of traveling players headed for the Decapolis. Since there is strength in numbers, Falco and Helena join the troup, with Falco replacing the recently deceased playwright. Falco can look for the missing water organist as the group tours the Decapolis, and he can also look for the murderer who dispatched his much-disliked scriptwriting predecessor.

Although the plot has some deficiencies (including a dropped story line early on), I particularly enjoyed its setting. Petra is always fascinating, and the Decapolis is familiar to me from Sunday School since Jesus traveled there. It’s an unusual setting even for historical fiction, but it really worked for me. (

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cbl_tn | Jul 7, 2024 |

English (19) Spanish (5) Danish (1) All languages (25)

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cbl_tn | Jul 7, 2024 |

I found this not quite as beguiling as the previous series entry, but still very enjoyable. Falco is sent to what we now call the Middle East, possibly to get rid of him, of course. Helena accompanies him (a little far-fetched), and they fall in in with a group of traveling players before the real action starts. There are whiffs of Mr. Micawber, and more than a whiff of Hamlet in the play Falco finally decides to write. But the grit of the desert, the dangers of the factions, the bustle of the oases are all quite vivid. Some not-quite-justifiable crises serve to gather all the various vested interests in time to, as Falco would say, sort things out. (

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ffortsa | Dec 13, 2023 |

So far this is my least favourite of the Falco series. It lacks the pace and excitement of the other books. in this we are dragged through the deserts of Syria, Palestine and Jordan to very little purpose other than to get Falco and Helena out of Rome for a bit. I finished it in the vague hope that it might improve once they reached the next of the ten towns, unfortunately my faith was misplaced. (

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Cotswoldreader | May 26, 2023 |

Not the best installment, but Marcus and Helena together are still enjoyable. (

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natcontrary | Aug 16, 2022 |

Marcus Didius Falco and Helena Justina join a troupe of performing actors after finding a dead body at the High Place in Syria. Within the troupe is the killer, but who really committed the crime? (

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phoenixcomet | Nov 17, 2021 |

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/2134496/#12499527 (

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MissYowlYY | Jun 12, 2020 |

The usual Falco fun and games, not the best with the narrative pace just a tad slow. 7 Aug 2015 (

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alanca | Aug 7, 2015 |

Private informer Marcus Didius Falco reluctantly agrees to work for Emperor Vespasian by undertaking a preliminary visit to the rock city of Petra (remember the temple from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?). That visit is cut a little short thanks to some chicanery and Falco finds himself investigating a murder and joining a touring theatrical group. With his girlfriend, Helana Justina, his group works its way toward Damascus. The usual amazing wealth of detail on Roman life with a large helping of Falco's sardonic humor. A great entry in the Falco series. (

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NickHowes | Jul 20, 2015 |

This excentric journey into the East, Falco and Helena travel through the Middle East from Petra, all around the Decapolis to Damascus ending in a grand spectacle in Palmyra. Helena is less present and the mystery is a bit longish. This is a reread for me still I didn't remember most of the plot. Still, it's entertaining, well plotted and is almost an ancient world travelogue and a good one. Still 4 stars. (

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writerlibrarian | Apr 4, 2013 |

Davis would have to write a pretty dreadful Falco book for me not to enjoy it. This time Marcus and Helena are heading east to Syria, in the company of a theatre troupe, tracking down a murderer and a missing water organist. The murder mystery aspect of this was rather drawn out and slow to progress. By the end of the book I didn't really care much who the murderer was. (

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cathymoore | Dec 18, 2012 |

Marcus Didius Falco has been sent out of Rome on a dangerous mission to spy out the Lands of the East. An Imperial order sends him and his beloved Helena Justina, the daughter of a Senator, to the rose red city of Petra. There they discover a murdered playwright. Falco feels obliged to investigate the murder. They join up with a travelling group of performers and soon become embroiled in more murder and mayhem, making him wish he had not left his beloved Rome. The antics and adventures that they get into are hilarious.

There is any number of possible suspects, and the scenes leading up to the denouement make for exciting reading. The actual catching of the killer as part of a performance is masterful.

Lindsey Davis's many references to the Bard are hilarious. The way she portrays theatre life and it's denizens is very amusing, and the ending had me in fits of laughter.

Falco gets better with each outing. (

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Jawin | Nov 27, 2011 |

This one -- number six in the series -- is the one where my very high opinion began to slip a bit. It's still a wonderful recreation of the Roman milieu (this time involving an extended excursion to what is now Syria), and the characters are still engaging and interesting. But the story is perhaps a tad less compelling -- or maybe the problem is that Falco is settling down to domesticity, no matter how exotic. (

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annbury | Sep 6, 2010 |

Marcus and Helena tour the Decapolis, disguised as members of a travelling acting troupe. Not one of my all-time favorites from the series, but their romance is fun, and Davis has built it carefully. It's nice to watch the relationship develop and deepen. The mystery is well-plotted and fair, that is, the clues are in the text, but not obvious. (

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teckelvik | May 24, 2010 |

In this novel, we find roguish investigator Falco and his patrician girlfriend Helena traveling through Roman Palestine with an itinerant theater troupe. Although I generally enjoy the Marcus Didius Falco mysteries, this one seemed to lack a strong plot and to consist, rather, of a pastiche of Davis's customary techniques (colorful characters, interesting geographical settings,humorous banter) without really telling a very satisfying story. I much preferred the first couple of novels in this series.

You can read my general comments on this mystery series here:
http://acatholicreader.blogspot.com/2010/03/mysteries-of-ancient-rome-part-3-mar... (

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lisanicholas | May 21, 2010 |

Marcus Didius takes on two cases that take him East to ancient Decapolis, Nabatea, Syria and Judea with a traveling acting group. He also ends up investigating a murder on the way. Fun to read about the ancient geography of the time.

nolak | May 12, 2009 |

A bit disappointing, really. Number 6 in the series, starting to get a bit samey and the clunkiness of the writing becomes more obvious. Still, entertaining. (

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notmyrealname | May 8, 2009 |

Yes, yes! Beat up those Christians! Must love Davis's hard-boiled, side-of-the-mouth detective of the Roman Empire and his high-born, high-minded lady. Called an Informer, Falco wanders through the everyday life of the Empire, from Roman Britain to Syria. This particular story may end up with the less than novel device of reenacting the crime, but Davis's detail is so rich I can pardon her anything.

marfita | Nov 4, 2006 |

Fiction, Historical fiction, Roman history, Detective and mystery stories, Marcus Didius Falco series, The sixth novel in the Falco series, Falco and Helena Justina, in Petra, east of the Roman Empire, encounter a theatre group, Falco accepts the invitation to replace the deceased playwright Heliodorus, First published by Century, London, 1994; First Italian edition, Milano, Tropea, 2004, 477 pp., translated by Maria Elena Vaccarini. (

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