Conspirata by Robert Harris

It's not fair that I mark this as read because I didn't actually read it. I got a little over an hour in and caught myself mentally bearing up to make it through it. I got all the way through the first one (Imperium) but it was like eating a never-ending plate of broccoli so when I started the second one I suppose my subconscious recognized that I may need a little shoring up to make it through. And then it hit me-hey, I'm a grown up and if I don't want to read this based solely on the fact that I didn't enjoy the first one, I don't have to. So I didn't. I came to this enlightening conclusion just days before 12.21.12 and I decided that if the world was going to end, the final curtain would not close on me reading something I didn't enjoy. So even though the world didn't end, I have moved past this book and have no plans of revisiting it.

You will find an official plot line description at: 
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3629971-conspirata.