Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Grove of the Caesars

By: Lindsey Davis
Narrated by: Jane Collingwood
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Julius Caesar left his gardens to the citizens of Rome, a peaceful sanctuary across the Tiber. Now the gardens and their sacred grove are dangerous haunts, especially for women alone.

'Don't go to the Grove,' people mutter, but when her husband has to leave Rome, it falls to Albia to supervise his building project in an old grotto. Why has someone buried tattered scrolls by obscure philosophers - and does it involve a worse crime than terrible writing?

Soon that puzzle is overtaken. A woman disappears from her husband's birthday party; she meets a dire fate, then Albia learns that on the same night, two louche slaves given to her family by the brooding Emperor Domitian also vanished in the gardens.

Apparently, it is well known that a killer lurks there. The vigiles have failed to investigate properly for decades and this won't improve when the sinister agent Karus arrives. Albia must co-operate, in order to give the many victims justice and find answers for grieving relatives. But can she herself remain safe? And, after others have failed, can she at last identify the predator who has made the Grove his killing ground?

©2020 Lindsey Davis (P)2020 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Voices of Rome cover art
The Course of Honour cover art
Medicus cover art
Vesuvius by Night cover art
The Frangipani Tree Mystery cover art
Falco: The Complete BBC Radio Collection cover art
Marius' Mules I: The Invasion of Gaul cover art
The Capsarius cover art
Invitation to Die cover art
A Plague on Both Your Houses cover art
The Unquiet Bones cover art
The Fifth Knight cover art
A Rooster for Asklepios cover art
The House of Hardie cover art
None so Blind cover art
A Conspiracy of Violence cover art

What listeners say about The Grove of the Caesars

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    117
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    108
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    95
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Lindsey David triumph!

With Tiberius Manlius away, a dodgy scroll or two and a string of murders, does any Flavia Albia fan actually expect she’ll follow orders to stay home?

Just listen out for the line, “Never trust a man who affects not to own a comb!” Delightful dig at a politician!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

scrolls and gardens

good pace, with family life as a rest after thrilling adventures. Plus plenty of humour and background knowledge : excellent .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

another cracker

excellent as always highly recommended if you like the Falco / Albia series . looking forward to the next story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

another great story

love these stories. Brilliantly read. So atmospheric with historical accuracy that has you standing in the streets of Ancient Rome, feeling the heat, smelling the smells!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Eighth and Best so Far

This is a thoroughly plotted and ingenious mystery seeing Flavia Albia at her best. The plot elements twist, twine and wonderfully resolve with a perfect audio-book performance. An audio-book to please you, despite its mature themes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I now have Flavia’s voice in my head!

The first audiobook of this series. An excellent narration for an excellent story. Loved the narrator’s skill on this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

When I read the first two books in this series I missed Flavia Albia’s father Falco but now I love this series not because it is an offshoot of that series but because it is good in its own right. I am enjoying the character development and the stories are always quite gripping. There is a fine line in sarcastic humour and also I am enjoying a portrayal of an independent minded working woman who just happens to be married. Great books. I am looking forward to the next one!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best in this great series

Flavia Albia investigates murders by a serial killer in Ancient Rome. Rome is fascinating, busy and relatable in this series. There is a nice balance in this book between the pathos of the murders and the mystery to be solved, with a bit of affection and romance in the background connected to the family life of the central character. The whodunnit has a plausible, satisfying resolution.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story and excellent performance

Another compelling Flavia Albia story. I’ve really warmed to this character, although Falco was a hard act to follow.
What really stands out in this offering is the excellent narration. The characterisation was superb, truly convincing. Great work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Too many characters

I love this series but lost track of what was going on and had to keep going back to pick it up again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!