Falco and Helena join a commercial tour group in Greece after newlyweds disappear during their journey. Helena's brother Aulus, travelling towards university in Athens, has already become involved in the case.
Following the party through Olympia, Corinth and Delphi, Falco examines guides, lodging arrangements and conflicts among travellers. Further disappearances reveal that the danger is connected with the tour itself rather than with a single isolated site.
The tourist industry allows strangers to move together through unfamiliar cities while depending on guides, schedules and lodging controlled by other people. That structure gives the killer both access and concealment. Falco’s inquiry treats Roman travel as a commercial system in its own right, exposing the practical organisation behind elite enthusiasm for Greek monuments and culture.
Steven Saylor
19 books
Amanda Cockrell
10 books
Anthony Riches
20 books
Christopher Lee Buckner
4 books
Alex Gough
15 books