This is one of the "deeper" church planting books that I have read. It has caused me to reflect on the challenges ahead and the tools that I will need (from theology to marketing). Stetzer helps the planter make the transition to being a missionary in thought and action. Very good...but eat your wheaties before you begin.

Thom Rainer's (Effective Evangelistic Churches) research has proven it -- the most evangelistic churches plant churches.

Stetzer's book contextualizes church planting through examining postmodernism. What are pomos like, how can we reach them for Christ, and how will that affect the way we "do" church? Stetzer proposes relevant answers to these questions.

Stetzer's book provides a comprehensive treatment of church planting. Ed was a successful church planter and now trains church planters. He understands the world of church planting.
He addresses practical ideas from launch to church structure. The book is full of illustrations, websites, and other books for further research. Plenty of suggestions and advice is given throughout.Church planters will love this book!

Stetzer provides strong philosophical, theological, and historical foundations of church planting. The book would be great to use in an academic setting. Is your church considering the transition to a church planting church? Steter provides all the information you need to take the next step. Your mission leaders seeking to understand the new church planting phenom in America will benefit greatly from this book and be inspired to act.

Church planters, pastors, mission leaders, teachers, and professors . . . this may sound a bit clithe' but if you can only buy one book about church planting, this is it!

Ed Stetzer has written a book that should be required reading for all church planters! His description of the postmodern world we now live in is worth the price of the book.
Stetzer's book is focused on practical application. The goal of this book is to help the planter in the field know what to do.

Lindsey Davis is no Steven Saylor - which is both good and bad. On the one hand, Davis crafts a better mystery, with excellent attention paid to dropping just the right amount of clues at just the right time, keeping us guessing til the very end as to who is to blame for what. On the other hand, Saylor is far, far more effective in evoking ancient Rome. Davis' Falco, to quote a previous reviewer, is "a modern mystery in togas." Ancient Rome is the backdrop, but it could just as easily be ancient Greece, or medieval France, or Victorian England. So, which is better: Saylor or Davis? That depends on your tastes, obviously. For the mystery, go to Davis. For the history, go to Saylor. Or, better still, read both!

This was my first foray into the Falco series, and I did not feel any loss from missing the first two volumes. Almost the opposite, in fact. These books are very difficult to find nowadays, so do not wait until you find book one to get started.

I enjoyed this third book in the Falco series. It was as entertaining as the first one - The Silver Pigs. I think Ms. Davis gives her readers a rare view of ancient Rome, and Falco is a treat! The books are funny and there is a good mystery in them. In this one Falco has no shortage of suspects, and he gets in his usual scrapes trying to suss them out. Helena plays more of a role in this book too, and I think she's going to be a real asset to Falco to help solve his crimes. She can get into places and into households that he can't and helps him get the information he needs. It's almost like Thomas and Charlotte Pitt set in an much more ancient era. Only this hero gets into a lot more scrapes, and gets beat up a lot more than poor Thomas ever does. Read this series if you're looking for light-hearted, funny mystery stories.

With Venus in Copper, Lindsey Davis is continuing her Didius Falco series in fine style. As a fan of mysteries and especially historical mysteries, I was ecstatic to find an author who can write a great story, not just mystery and who injects both fact and humor into the mix. Venus in Copper also adds a lighter note to the Falco storyline. You'll get an insight into everyday Roman life of 2000 years ago and you'll cheer for Falco and his friends (and even for his enemies) in this charming and addictive book. It can stand on its own, but it improved by having read Silver Pigs and Shadows in Bronze first.

'cause I turned all the pages and read most of the words on them, but _Shadows in Bronze_ is a poor whodunit, because the reader knows that before the halfway mark and the whyfors soon thereafter.

Amazon recommended this book to me because I have exhausted all the Stephen Saylor _Roma Sub Rosa_ series and Michael Dibdin's modern Italian detective novels. The action scenes in Saylor's recent books and the last Aurelio Zen mysteries are far superior to Davis's and both Saylor and Dibdin draw more interesting characters than Davis does.

Davis tosses in many characters -- it takes two pages to list the cast of characters. "Informer" Didius Falco is very similar to 20th-century detectives, with a despairing wit, badly paid and badly used by those who hire him. His primary employer is the new Emperor Vespasian, who is an interesting character... Falco's nephew Larius has some charm, too, but I don't buy the patrician lady Helena Justina and ... Didius Falco.

There are interesting details about life across Italy in AD 71, and the book provides some entertainment -- but not enough for detective fiction. A Roman romance novel, perhaps, but that was not what I was looking for. Unless you have exhausted Saylor and Dibdin, I can't see any reason to try Davis.

I know, I know, the story is much more than Falco and Helena. This is the second book in the Falco series (see Silver Pigs for the beginning) and as usual, there is mystery, wit, humor and irony. The characters are very real and you are drawn into Italy (circa AD 70). The style of writing is so vivid that you can actually picture the streets of Rome, with men in togas, street vendors selling their wares, ex-gladiators hulking in the doorways and of course, Falco, going from one end of the city to the other. Falco takes care of another mission for the emperor and in so doing, Helena and he realize their mutual affinity for each other. Finally. After all those misunderstandings. And therefore, since I am a romantic at heart ... this book is about Falco "getting his girl".

Lindsey Davis does it again... and better! Didius Falco returns in this second book of the Falco series. Having helped the Emperor solve the plot from SILVER PIGS, Falco is now engaged to do some follow-up work -- disposing of a body or two -- but discovers that things are far from over.

Before he knows it, Falco is off, once again, pulling at the threads of rebellion that threaten to unravel the just-settled state of Roman affairs. --And it not just affairs of state that threaten to unravel.... Didius must carefully negotiate his developing relationship with socialite Helena Justina while at the same time assisting his teen-aged nephew (send along to look after Falco) negotiate love and life.

Davis proved that her first book was no fluke by crafting another intricate, enticing plot filled with characters that come to life with every word. Her dialog is sharp. Her narration (for the most part) witty and well-paced. Top it off with a lot of attention to historical detail mixed with a dash of anachronistic gumshoe-detecting and what you get is this page-turning delight.

Flavius Vespasianus was one of Rome's better, if less glamorous, emperors - not mad, not bad, and not interested in expansionist military adventures. He came to power as the "last general standing" at the end of the short and brutal civil wars that followed the death of Nero, and proved an excellent safe pair of hands to restore the political and financial stability of the Empire. His upbringing had fitted him well for this. Vespasian was born into a noble family that had seen better days and was heading towards poverty (at least by noble standards). He advanced slowly through the "cursus honorum" or "course of honour", the careful laid out and regulated system of promotions and elected offices that led to high political office in Rome. He proved a capable general and a good and intelligent leader of men, and these qualities finally brought him to the throne where, in a sense, his real work began.
This book is a fictionalised biography but it is also a romance, a tale of the enduring love between Vespasian and Antonia Caenis, who became his mistress but whom he could never marry because of the social gulf between them.
An enjoyable, readable, and informative tale that generates real affection for the main characters in the heart of the reader and throws light on a period of Roman history not always given much attention.

A solid mystery with a good puzzle. Davis's greatest strength is her description of Rome and its daily life. However, the Sisyphean story of Falco and Helena not being able to get married is starting to pall. Memo to LD: time to pick up speed and move these two onto another level in their relationship.

'Last Act in Palmyra' follows the trend established by Lindsey Davis in the Falco series. Ms Davis spends considerable time exploring the growth in the unlikely relationship between Falco and his aristocratic girl friend, Helena Justina. The characters are well-drawn and the wry humour throughout the book makes it an easy read; however Ms Davis does gloss over the squalor and less savoury practices that prevailed in ancient Rome and its empire. Read the very latest Falco book 'Three Hands in the Fountain', a copy of which I have just received from Britain. Ms Davis has maintained her momentum in depicting further Falco's developing domestic life with his new baby daughter

I don't care what everyone else had to say about this book. I really enjoyed it. It was rollicking good fun. Didio and his beautiful Helena are on the road again, this time in Syria, and they join up with a travelling group of performers. The antics and adventures that they get into during the book are hilarious. The actual catching of the killer is done in the most unique way (as part of a performance). Falco gets better with each outing. Ms. Davis' writing is sparkling with wit, and her characters breathe! This book is back to a real whodunit format, and that was fun as well. Bring on the rest!

This was one of the more enjoyable Falco mysteries. I'm a great fan of Shakespeare, and Lindsey Davis's many references to the bard are hilarious. The way she portrays theatre life and it's stereotypical components are very amusing, and the ending left me rolling on the floor with laughter.

"A Body in the Bathhouse" is a mix of the world-weary investigator tinged with the dullness of life in the Britain of 75 A.D. Marcus Didius Falco is an informer for the emperor. He's walks the mean streets of Rome and like most detectives has seen it all, but he soldiers on because he has a wife he loves and children and relatives he tolerates and supports. He also has a ne'er-do-well father whose bathhouse was recently renovated, but the contractors left a smell under the newly laid mosaic floor that leads shortly to the use of pickaxes followed by the inevitable discovery.

Then the story veers northward. From a brief investigation, largely off-stage, Falco suspects two notorious contractors of doing the deed and high-tailing it out of town, to join a massive building project on the coast of Britain. He never explains how he came to this conclusion. It's not only the sole building project in the entire empire, but by a marvelous coincidence, the emperor also wants Falco to go there, to look into a palace being built for the local king that's over budget and behind schedule.

For added story interest, the rest of Falco's family gets dragged along, starting with his wife and their two infants. Since Falco's sister recently dumped the emperor's chief spy, who trashed her house, she comes along as well. Then there are the two cousins, both young and worthless men, who want to learn the informing business.

After a brief, tedious trip through Gaul, they arrive at the building site, Falco meets the king, the architect (arrogant, as always) and the subcontractors, so we get page after page of discussions about sedimented facades, interior flow-throughs, sight-lines, triple-succession promenades, and soon the eyes begin to glaze over when this is followed by a discussion about how building projects were financed and how the bookkeeping was done, and soon you're wishing that you were that body in the bathhouse because then you'll miss all of this.

It takes about 230 pages to set up the dominos which fall in the last third. That's when things start happening, mostly of the running around and beating up or avoiding getting beat up kind, but at least it gets us out of the Roman Empire edition of "Hometime." But there's no real detection going on, and threats foreshadowed through most of the book fizzle out like a damp squibs. Everything turns out all right in the end, of course, and the soap opera situations are mildly diverting, but "Bathhouse" needed a stronger foundation to become a more compelling story.

I really cannot fathom why there are so many negative reactions to Lindsey Davis's latest Falco mystery novel. I read for amusement. And all I demand from a mystery novel (or any other kind of novel for that matter) is that it possess a plot-line that snares my interest (good story line with a few twists and turns, excellent plot development, a few well depicted red herring suspects, and a protagonist that I can take to). Failing that, I'll settle for a novel that entertains and that charms and piques my interest. And as far as I'm concerned, this latest Falco adventure, "A Body in the Bathhouse," does both in spades. Harriet Klausner has already written a rather good plot synopsis, so I'm going to stick to making my case for why I liked this book very much, and why I think it is a good read.

It is true that there is that whole chunk in the middle of the novel that deals with the building project of the Briton High King's palace, but I did not find these bits to be tedious or tiresome at all. After all, Falco had been asked by Vespasian to sniff around and see if the builders were trying to defraud the Empire by padding costs and stealing building material. And I thought that Davis did a rather excellent job of bringing to life the colourful characters involved with this project. So, I saw these bits as a kind of setting of the stage and tone for plot -- for giving the book a kind of 'feel' and atmosphere so to speak. As such, I didn't see these chapters as a distracting and tiresome, but necessary to the development of certain plot themes. Another example of what some may consider as trivial distractions, but which I rather enjoy, is the personal stories of certain series regulars that Davis has been developing over the past few books. Characters such as Falco's sister, the fetching widow Maia, and her relationship with Petro, Falco's best friend. What will happen there? Will their relationship move forward or will it deteriorate because of the part Petro paid in getting her out of Rome and out of Anacrites (her vindictive stalker)'s way? I also wanted to know how things would pan out between Aelianus and Justinus. (By the way, a previous reviewer got it wrong. Aelianus and Justinus are Helena's, Falco's wife, younger brothers, and not his cousins). Both young men have tagged along to Britain in order to 'help' Falco with his twin tasks of investigating the case of possible graft, and of locating Glaucuc and Cotta. The relationship between the two brothers however is practically nonexistent, esp since Justinus had eloped earliar with Aelianus's fiance (chronicled in two previous Falco adventures, "Three Hands in a Fountain" & "Two for the Lions.") Currently however Justinus, his wife and Aelianus, are all living with Helena's parents, and both young men are working for Falco as his assistants -- a very volatile situation indeed. Will the brothers cry pax and become friends again? What impact would Justinus's spell away from his new wife have on his marriage? And will Aelianus ever find his niche in the scheme of things? (I'll admit to having developed a sneaking affection for Helena's least liked brother). So that while the mystery at hand may not have been one of Davis's more stellar efforts, the need to know how things would pan out for all these characters had me fairly devouring the book in one go.

As I've already stated, I read for entertainment. And "A Body in the Bathhouse" definitely entertained. The author maintained her sharp, witty and droll prose style from beginning to end, expertly and with ease. I wish I could write so well. Truthfully speaking, I may not be the best person to give an unbiased review of Lindsey Davis's work since I firmly believe her to be a rather phenomenal writer. But, I really did enjoy this mystery novel very much. It may not be a very complex and clever murder mystery, and it may not have kept me guessing about the outcome of things to the very end, but it definitely engaged my interest. I also didn't find Davis's style to have become studied, trite or tiresome. And she certainly doesn't need lessons from anyone on how to write a good story. My final opinion: the book is a good read; and if you're leery about spending so much on a book that may or may not live up to your expectations, well, there is always the library. Because, truth to tell, I really do think that this is a book that no one should miss.

Well, for myself as a reader, anyway. Falco has bad luck in spades. My eyes didn't glaze over once while I was reading. (Okay, I did fall asleep after chapter 19, but it *was* 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. When I woke up, I grabbed for the book before I grabbed for my glasses and my cat was miffed by how long it took me to fetch her morning ration of canned catfood.)

I love mysteries where our hero/heroine has loads of odd relatives. It's rather nice that with this couple the problem kin are from both sides. After all the trouble Helena's brothers were, it was good to see them put through their paces later on.

The historical details were a plus. I enjoyed having them sandwiched in with dealing with the various workmen.

The last few chapters might as well have been lumped under the title, "The Perils of Public Informer Falco & Family". They go from one very dangerous situation to another to another.

In short, I had a lot of fun with this entry.

The eighth in the Marco Didius Falco series, this entry sees our glib hero investigating the formation of an olive oil cartel in the province of Baetica (southern Spain). The action starts in Rome, at a private party after which Falco's former employer, and current enemy Anacrites is put in a coma. All events converge as Falco heads of to Spain to get to the bottom of things, with pregnant wife Helena in tow. Once there, Falco plunges into the local society and politics of the olive oil bigwigs. As usual, the story is a fun read, with a few moments of action, and the usual frustrations for Falco. It gets a bit a long though, and the greatest narrative tension comes from Helena's pregnancy and its resolution.

The eight book of the series about Marcus Didius Falco sends the Roman informer to Spain, where some major olive oil producers are suspected of plotting a cartel to raise the praise of their highly valued commodity. Author Lindsey Davis dedicates this book to the late writer Edith Pargeter, who as Ellis Peters created the Brother Cadfael series. Davis has been compared as the next Peters, but that is about as fair as calling Dorothy Sayers another Agatha Christie. Both are good writers, but their novels work in different ways. Davis' novels travel a wider piece of ground than the monk's abbey, and her stories are far more varied. Also, what sets Falco apart from his hard-boiled rivals is that he shows great sense about power politics behind the Roman Empire. He may be fooled at times, but he's no fool and rightfully suspicious of everyone's motives, and he toes that line without falling into the despair of cynicism where one concludes that since men and women are capable of venial behavior, then all men and women are venal. He is also capably aided by his high-born wife, Helena Justica, who is also a model of good sense. Their relationship is comfortably complex, and this series is a wonderful ground-zero introduction into life and death during the Roman Empire.

Ancient Roman private investigator Marcus Didius Falco and Chief Spy Anacrites attend the Following of the Society of Olive Oil Producers' banquet. After the dinner party ends, Anacrites is shot by an assailant using a golden arrow that was last seen as part of the costume of an exotic dancer, who is now on her way to Spain.

Falco begins to investigate the attempted murder and soon links the crime to the members of the Society of Olive Oil Producers, who are trying to establish a cartel. However, though he now understands who and why, Falco still has to find proof if he plans to go up against this economic giant. He also has promised his pregnant lover that he will be there when she gives birth. Being a person of high moral principles, Falco takes his spouse with him even if though it means placing her in danger.

A DYING LIGHT IN CORDUBA is the usual fun to read Falco mystery. Rome comes to full life with its economic crime and political shenanigans. Though the criminals are obvious early on in the story , Falco's humorous efforts to prove they did it, adds the needed element to this wonderful historical who-done-it. Falco's efforts turn this fiction into a must read for fans of the sub-genre.

Harriet Klausner

Falco is off his home turf and it shows in this book. Barely a mystery at all, the ongoing Falco /Helena relationship has never been more tedious. Helena's brother is nicely sketched but his emotional crisis is forced and not believable. The murder is easily forgotten for chapters at a time. The ending is a disappointment.

Lindsey Davis has the uncanny ability to capture the Roman attitude and prejudices toward the lands across the Alps. The Romans considered those tall, blonde, celtic warriors to be the most foreign of foreigners, with their hideous rites of human sacrifice and odd Druidic worship. Falco and company tread where most Romans feared to tread, both in foreign, barbarian territory and through the battle grounds of lost legions, slaughtered by the enemy. Yet Davis also understands that people are people, and that some aspects of nature never change, such as trade and prosperity being reliant on local army installations, as the Gauls and Celtic tribes within the Roman province are. The somber tone of this novel is broken up with the humorous and familiar universal traveler with his traveler's woe. As Americans, it is sometimes difficult for us to appreciate what it is like for Europeans who live among Roman relics, whose history is intricately tied to that of Rome. It is easy to overlook the place of Germania in the Roman world, and the fact that it was the tribal north who finally conquered Rome. The Iron Hand of Mars should not be overlooked, nor underestimated. It is a thrilling adventure into unknown territory combined with the humor of travel and the problems of having too many relations.