In past books Lindsey Davis has satirized banking, antiques, the building industry and many other trades, drawing parallels between Ancient Rome and life today. Now she is turning her spotlight on the world of dodgy travel agents, and package tours in particular. I always enjoy her books more when they are set outside Rome, and I thought this was one of her best for some time. The pace was brisker than usual and, as well as all the wise-cracking and jokey references to those days being rather like today, there was a good strong plot and some genuine humor, tragedy and sharp character sketches. There are some convincing portrayals of various places, descriptions of the very real-seeming perils of travel in the ancient world and a fascinating look at what the Olympics used to be like. I certainly didn't guess whodunit, and the twists and turns had me turning those pages and enthralled. Lindsey Davis at her best, I think.