Murder in Purple and Gold

Name: Murder in Purple and Gold
Rating: 4.6 (266 reviews)

by Lindsey Davis

Book 17 in the Flavia Albia series.

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Audio available 4.6

Flavia Albia is walking her dog near the Circus Maximus after dark when she discovers the body of a young charioteer. The victim was a promising driver for the Purple faction, trained by a celebrated former champion and expected to become one of Rome’s sporting stars. Suspicion quickly falls on a rival driver from the Gold faction, the team supported by Albia’s husband, Tiberius Manlius Faustus.

Albia enters the competitive world of Roman chariot racing, where drivers are often enslaved boys risking their lives for the possibility of wealth and freedom. Team rivalries, fanatical supporters, commercial interests and rumours of black magic complicate the investigation. As she tries to clear the accused driver, Albia uncovers tensions within the racing factions that lead towards a dangerous contest held before the increasingly suspicious Emperor Domitian.