Shadows in Bronze

by Mary Cutler (Adapter), Lindsey Davis, Anton Lesser (Narrator)

Rome, AD 71. Against his better judgement, Marcus Didius Falco secretly disposes of a decayed corpse for the Emperor Vespasian, then heads for the beautiful Bay of Naples with his friend Petronius.

He conveniently forgets to mention to his companion that this will be no holiday. They have been sent to investigate the murderous members of a failed coup, now sunning themselves in luxurious villas and on fancy yachts in Neapolis, Capreae and Pompeii.

The idyllic seaside location fails to help his doomed romance with Helena Justina, whom Falco met and courted so stormily in The Silver Pigs. The deeper he probes, the more it seems that Helena is inextricably connected to the elite plotters, in ways that the smitten Falco cannot bear to contemplate...

Anton Lesser and Anna Madeley star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation by Mary Cutler of Lindsey Davis's second bestselling Falco novel featuring the Roman detective. It was first broadcast from 24 January to 28 February 2005.

Genres: Audiobook, Mystery, Fiction, Historical

3 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[sabisteb aka callisto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nach dem Erfolg des ersten Hörspiels wurden bei Teil 2 3 CD statt 2 aufgenommen. Trotzdem ich das Buch kannte, konnte ich dem doch sehr vielschichtigen Kriminalgeschichte teils schwer folgen, was möglicherweise an einer unglücklichen Kürzung der Geschichte liegen könnte. Dieses Hörspiel schließt dierekt an Teil 1 und wenn man die Bücher nicht kennt, sollte man es auf keinen Fall einzeln anhören, sonst kann man der Geschichte möglicherweise nicht richtig folgen, da zu viel Querverweise auf Teil 1 eingefügt sind.
Insgesamt aber ein wirklich tolles BBC Hörspiel, das jedoch teils nicht so einfach zu bekommen ist.

[Shifra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished listening to this book and am still scratching my head trying to determine how much i enjoyed it. the story takes place in rome during the first century. Marcus is a roman detective that is lovesick over a wealthy widow as he tries to uncover a conspiracy. good enough to finish but am i anxious to follow his next adventure not in the immediate future.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't get a Kindle edition of the next book in the series, so I grabbed the BBC audio production. Very nicely done, even if I get the impression it was heavily abridged (obviously it would have to be, clocking in at only 3 hours or so) and the acting does away with some of the tight prose I came to expect from the first book. Still, a nice little story that's told well.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the book itself as much as I did the first time I read it, but like the first audio book in the series, the narrator sounds much older and more British than Falco's 30 year-old Roman was likely to sound.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying the dramatizations of this series.

[Jayjay Sanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books so much. Beautiful parallels drawn with the modern day. Falco is so much fun!

[Tressa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The presentation of Shadows in Bronze felt like a 1940s noir, which I enjoyed. I did wish that there was more about Roman life, though.

[Agnesxnitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read the book of this audio dramatisation, so please link to my other review to see what I thought of it :)

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is in the Roman empire, with modern sensibilities. It is an entertaining listen.

[Neale Sourna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. Anton Lesser. Interval music from BBC still too loud.