There Will Be Bodies

There Will Be Bodies (#1,346) by Lindsey Davis delivers on its promise, but certainly not in the way that private investigator Flavia Albia and her husband Tiberius Manlius Faustus expect in this entertaining mystery series

Tiberius grew up in his uncle Tullius' house.  They theoretically share the family fortune, but that's a notion more than a fact as Tullius can squeeze a sesterce so hard the gods would shriek.  He's inveigled Tiberius Manlius to renovate a vacation villa for him he bought for a song not too far from Mt. Vesuvius.  The eruption was over ten years ago, but there's a catch; the villa is still half buried in volcanic debris.  If Tiberius can clean it up for him, they will have the use of the property during the project.  A seaside villa sounds like a good idea when it might be prudent for the family to be out of reach of the Emperor for the time being.  The seller of the property warns them at a meeting that his brother went missing at the time of the eruption - so be on the lookout for any clues to his whereabouts.

Flavia Albia and Tiberius Manlius along with their household therefore aren't surprised to find skeletal remains on the property, but they are shocked by the circumstances and the number of bodies.  Flavia, of course, has been commissioned by the former owner to identify his older brother, if possible, but now she's on a mission to identify the other bodies on the property and the circumstances which led to their deaths.  Even though it happened ten years ago, Flavia Albia is stirring up a hornet's nest amongst those who presumed the victims would never be found.  The pirates! The pirates, O beware!