Pompeii by Robert Harris

First off, I give this book a "PG 13" rating. It's a great book, but has some questionable items in it. It was also a very slow read. That is, until the last 100 pages, then it got interesting. But you had to go through 100+ pages to get to the good part.
The story follows Attilius, the new Aquarius, who is in charge of the water supply to all the towns surrounding Vesuvius. Up until the day before the eruption, Vesuvius was thought to have been just a mountain peak, not a dormant volcano. As the water supply becomes "poisoned" and Attilius sets out to find whats causing it all, he discovers that Vesuvius may not be just a mountian peak at all.
The story follows him all the way up to the eruption of Vesuvius, and what happened afterwards.

Now, if you dont know anything about Pompeii or Herculaneum, then let me first remark that they were very much like Sodom and Gommorah. Debauchery galore. But I still have an immense interest in Pompeii, but then it really just a morbid interest of the body casts... (I know, I cant help it though...)

So, just be wary of reading this book if you are sensitive to sensual matters.