Invitation to Die

In 89 B.C.E., Roman emperor Domitian throws a terrifying banquet for the Senatorsone that everyone is certain they won't survivein Lindsey Davis's Invitation to Die: A Novella of Ancient Rome.The emperor Domitian is paranoid, autocratic, and violent. And he has a special grudge against both the Senate and the Camilli. So when a strange invitation to a banquet appears given by Domitian, it's not good news for Aulus and Quintus, the Camillus brothers. Both are Senators, brothers-in-law of Marcus Didius Falco, a disreputable private informer with his own past with Domitian, and nephews to a man who plotted to depose Domitian's father.

But they dare not refuse an invitation from mercurial and vengeful Domitian. And their concerns were well foundedDomitian has gathered the most powerful men in Rome for what is known to history as The Black Banquet. The place markers are tombstones with names on it, the servers are...