Memento Mori (Ruso Medicus Series) by Ruth Downie

Memento Mori brings us a crime story set in ancient Roman Britain, this time in the spa town of Aquae Sulis, today's Bath, England. The town today boasts many Roman ruins including the mineral baths, and those baths play a central role in this tale. As always, the author looks to history for inspiration, and provides amateur historians lots of information and era flavor to enjoy.

Ruso is the main character of the series set in AD123 (in this book). He's a Roman-Gaul (modern day France) who served as a doctor (medicus) in the Roman army. In the course of the series, Ruso followsd the example of many of his fellow service members, and marries a local woman. Tilla, Ruso's British wife, contrast entertainingly with her husband, with the two forming a cohesive whole that is very appealing.

One thing I've admired about the series is how the life of the Roman soldiers, as seen through Ruso and his comrades, always links the story and characters firmly to modern times. That is true in this book too. Ruso in this book has retired from service and moved in with his wife's relations in Northern England. But being Ruso and Tilla, a crime surfaces very quickly to draw them south to the spa town to help out an old friend. There are several old friends in the book, which will please followers of the series.

Much of the humor in the series comes from the contrast between British and Roman customs and ways of thinking. Sections alternate between the third-person limited point of view of Ruso and Tilla, and a few other characters now and then. Those perspectives ring true, as do the interactions between husband and wife. All the characters feel very human, which has been a strength of the series from the beginning.

I felt that the narrative flows logically and is easy to follow, and it is entertaining all along the way. I tend to get restless reading the middle section of crime and mystery novels, at the point where the author mixes it all up and adds in red herrings and odd strands of side stories, but that didn't happen with this book (nor with the others in the series). I enjoyed it all!

These are all the books in the Ruso Series to date:

1. Medicus (reviewed on this site)
   
2. Terra Incognita
3. Persona Non Grata
4. Caveat Emptor
5. Semper Fidelis
6. Tabula Rasa (reviewed on this site)
7. Vita Brevis (reviewed on this site)
8. Memento Mori (reviewed on this site)

 The Kindle version of the book has this alternate cover.

From the book's description:

The eighth gripping novel in the bestselling Medicus series, in which Ruso and Tilla investigate the death of the wife of Ruso's friend in the sacred hot spring of Aquae Sulis.

A scandal is threatening to engulf the popular spa town of Aquae Sulis (modern-day Bath). The wife of Ruso's best friend, Valens, has been found dead in the sacred hot spring, stabbed through the heart. Fearing the wrath of the goddess and the ruin of the tourist trade, the temple officials are keen to cover up what's happened. But the dead woman's father is demanding justice, and he's accusing Valens of murder.

If Valens turns up to face trial, he will risk execution. If he doesn't, he'll lose his children.

Ruso and Tilla do their best to help but it's difficult to get anyone--even Valens himself--to reveal what really happened. Could Ruso's friend really be guilty as charged?

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

The Throne of Caesar (Gordianus Sub Rosa Series) by Steven Saylor

This is likely the last book in this series of 16 books set in Ancient Rome, spanning the end of the Republic and the beginning of Imperial Rome, featuring the fictitious Gordianus the Finder, a private investigator. Gordianus, as usual, rubs shoulders with the famous and infamous of this era in this book.

Fans will be happy with all the Roman words and concepts that help bring the past to life, as well as the references to previous books and people from the series. Actually, it feels like this one was written with the fans firmly in mind, to give them a satisfactory ending to the series.

The first person account by Gordianus brings the reader quickly up to date with the character and his life, as well as the era of emperor-dictator Julius Caesar. Moving swiftly and smoothly into the story, the author mixes dialogue and description with historical information and cultural color.

There are special asides that appear to be meant for historians or amateur historians, for example, references to things to come in the near and far future for the characters. We see Cicero hoping his treatises will be his path to lasting fame, when students of Latin will know that his entertaining correspondence and precise legal arguments have always been valued more than his dull, over-labored treatises. Marc Antony, his martial wife Fulvia, Cleopatra and various others have events foreshadowed too.

There are also timely meditations on the nature of dictators and their followers. Questions about narcissistic leaders and their authoritarian tendencies arise, as well as what to do when a leader, especially a dictator shows signs of mental illness.

From the beginning of this series, there has been the hint that the main character was an imagined ancestor of a later mysterious one-named real Roman Emperor, Gordianus. This book shows how a family could rise in society to that height, keeping that hint alive. 

This writer has never spared the gory details of Rome's institutionalized sadism of torture, slavery, war-mongering, paternalistic misogyny, etc., and we get plenty of it in this book too. Actually, I'll admit that by the end of this book, I felt ill from the horrid crimes and retributions, and was not glad to have read the book, which is a feeling I've had at the end of several of the previous books in this series. Gordianus's narration is part of the issue, since he is portrayed as quite typical of his era in many of his horrid beliefs and attitudes. This is one for the die-hard fans, however, so don't mind me.

From the book's description:

In The Throne of Caesar, award-winning mystery author Steven Saylor turns to the most famous murder in history: It’s Rome, 44 AD, and the Ides of March are approaching.

Julius Caesar has been appointed dictator for life by the Roman Senate. Having pardoned his remaining enemies and rewarded his friends, Caesar is now preparing to leave Rome with his army to fight the Parthian Empire.

Gordianus the Finder, after decades of investigating crimes and murders involving the powerful, has set aside enough that he’s been raised to the Equestrian rank and has firmly and finally retired. On the morning of March 10th, though, he’s first summoned to meet with Cicero and then with Caesar himself. Both have the same request of Gordianus—keep your ear to the ground, ask around, and find out if there are any conspiracies against Caesar’s life. Caesar, however, has one other important matter to discuss. Gordianus’s adopted son Meto has long been one of Caesar’s closest confidants. To honor Meto, Caesar is going to make his father Gordianus a Senator when he attends the next session on the 15th of March.

With only four days left before he’s made a Senator, Gordianus must dust off his old skills and see what conspiracy against Julius Caesar, if any, he can uncover. Because the Ides of March are approaching...

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

I Am John, I am Paul by Mark Tedesco

This historical novel is a first-person account by the titular John of his adult life in the Ancient Roman Empire in the fourth century. The subtitle of the book is A Story of Two Soldiers in Ancient Rome, because John recounts much about the life of his friend and fellow soldier Paul, too. The story is focused on John's spiritual growth while doing his duty as a son, brother, soldier and friend, but that doesn't mean there isn't any action in the story. There is plenty, and it involves the royal family at times!

The writing is smooth, literate, and professionally edited, reminiscent of classic historical fiction set in the Roman era. The reader is not loaded down with details, but what is referenced is always spot on historically, showing that much research and learning was done by the author in preparation for telling the story. He even includes some interesting notes on elements of the story, which is based on the martyrs John and Paul of Rome, and mentions his main sources, for readers who are interested in furthering their study of the history.

Several Roman emperors rule during the course of the story. Constantine is probably the one that most readers will recognize, since he is closely associated with the Christian faith. He was the first Roman emperor to be of the Christian faith, the cult of Christos as it was called. Under Constantine, the cult was allowed to freely co-exist with the faiths that worshiped pagan gods and the emperors as gods.

I found it refreshing that the author alluded to many of the ancient faith myths that were incorporated over time into the fledgling religion. As historians have explained for centuries, certain iconic elements from the beliefs that were present and studied in the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria, Egypt, were adopted by followers of emerging faiths, including the cult of Christos. Even the early leaders of the newer faiths encouraged the adoption of those iconic elements. I won't go into them here, but there are many books on the subject for those interested.

After retiring from soldiering, John and Paul turn away from the Ancient Persian cult of Mithras, that was favored by the military, to the cult of Christos, to find “a more joyful way of living”. The feeling of belonging, and the classless, egalitarian organization of the Christos followers appeal to the men. They then experience a growth in compassion for their fellow man, followed by altruistic efforts to relieve the suffering of others.

The steps depicted in their conversion are convincing, and give an idea of how the cult of Christos spread, and of how it forced the brutal Roman society with its institutionalized sadism, to face up to its lack of humanity. Some elements of the early cult and of Roman society may surprise readers, but they are based on fact, such as the easily recognizable Eucharist service by the cult followers, and the societal acceptance of same-sex relationships.

The cult and John and Paul are threatened when Justinian becomes emperor, later called Julian the Apostate for his attacks on Christianity. It is Emperor Julian who brings about the end of John and Paul's life story, when the emperor unleashes a backlash against the new faith that he blames for Rome's misfortunes.

Julian was on the wrong side of history, as we now know, but there were many in Ancient Rome who agreed with his belief that the lack of sacrifices to the ancient gods had brought down a retaliation by the neglected gods. The story is a gentle reminder that there will always be a faction of society that depict change and minority beliefs as destructive forces.

The faction resists advancements in thought and human understanding, and blame those advancements for any and every thing they dislike, or makes them feel uncomfortable. The book is a reminder that our progress from primitive, violent society to enlightened, peace-loving society was one of starts and stops because of those foot-dragging elements.

Sadly, that struggle is played out today in our globe of dispirit societies forced to co-exist, and dispirit elements within societies that struggle to co-exist. The message of the book is really the old one, that a house divided cannot stand, so consensus and tolerance must be achieved to survive and move forward.

The last chapter of the story is from the perspective of John's sister, Fulvia. In it she recounts things that she can't possibly know, but I overlooked that anomaly because I enjoyed the rest of the book so much, and it was done to provide the reader with closure.

Readers may be interested in researching the Basilica of Saints John and Paul on Rome's Caelian Hill, since it was the inspiration for this author's book. If you follow the links out from the article, you'll read about the inspirations for many of the sights and characters in this novel.

Here is a virtual tour of the Case Romane del Celio, the Roman houses excavated under the Basilica of Saints John and Paul, said to be their home that was also their burial place, and then converted into a place of worship (the images on this page are from there).

Here is the book's description:

"Adventure, intrigue, faith, commitment, love and hate and everything between! Mark Tedesco has done it again, fashioning what is arguably his best work yet! He entices you on a phenomenal journey into the fascinating lives of two 4th century Roman soldiers, John and Paul, in a tale of loyalty and love that grabs you by the throat from the very first sentence and holds you spellbound, gasping for air as you're swept from chapter to chapter with barely a moment to breathe. An unbelievable marriage of fact and fiction that will leave you applauding or appalled but never bored or indifferent. A must read!"
-Tony McEwing, KTTV News

And here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Vita Brevis (Ruso Medicus Roman Crime Series) by Ruth Downie

Ruso, a doctor, and Tilla, a midwife, are the protagonists of this crime series set in Ancient Rome. They are at first glance a mismatched couple, he being a Roman from Gaul (France), she being a Celt from northern Britain, a relatively recent addition to the Roman Empire at the time of the stories. But in this couple's case, appearances are very deceiving. They are perfect together.

Rough-edged military doctor Ruso barely manages to hide his weakness: a deep sense of humanity and justice. In the sadistic world of the Ancient Roman Empire, those are not considered assets. His “foreign” wife values his character and shares his burdens in a way a traditional Roman wife would not. In fact, Ruso once had a very traditional Roman wife but she, fed up with his good nature, sought a divorce. To date, this very entertaining series follows the couple's meeting through to their start of their own family. 

I enjoy the books very much for their quality writing, deep humanity, realistic portrayal of couple and family life, complex protagonists, and the camaraderie of military life portrayed around Ruso. The accurate historical background to the stories is a bonus, since I enjoy historical novels. Being a fan of mystery and crime novels, the central crime plot is entertaining as well. If you have similar interests, you should enjoy the series too. Another aspect I appreciate is that the slavery of Ancient Rome is shown for what it was (and still is): evil.

Vita Brevis, book 7 in the series, begins in the empire's capital city, Rome, in our year counting 123 a.d. under the Emperor Hadrian. Ruso and Tilla are out of their native Gaul and Britain, and out of their depths much of the time when the provincials attempt to set up life in the big city. That adds some fun to this book, seeing the two trying to cope with new challenges. They are not city people, especially not in such a harsh city as Rome at that time, which was probably in many ways comparable to India's Mumbai today.

Crime and Ruso always find each other, and his well-developed conscience makes him feel compelled to get involved. He fights that feeling because the city of Rome is so full of vice that if he tried to fix it all, he would never have a life! But he is ordered by his patron, the man who vouched for him to come to Rome, to investigate more than one death. Doctoring in that era is always part of the story, since Ruso and Tilla are both medical practitioners, and there is plenty of that in Vita Brevis (Brief Life), too, but it never overshadows the story.

Ruso is a fascinating character. He is cursed to be a deeply human and moral man living in a deeply sadistic and amoral society. Tilla's love and presence gives him a reason to carry on. With a child now, the need to make a decent living is a feeling other parents will recognize.

The joy of parenthood pared with the enormous weight of responsibility for another human life, besides the lives of their patients, weighs on both Ruso and Tilla. When they make the decision to purchase slaves to help them cope with their hectic life, it is fascinating to see how they quickly understand that in exchange for the labor, they have taken on responsibility for even more lives, the lives of people who have nothing to live for.

Reading Vita Brevis felt like catching up with old friends. I got to see how they got on in the Empire's capital. I got to see how they dealt with the stresses of new parenthood and trying to set up life in a new place. I got to see if their humanity and decency remained intact in the face of Rome's great evils. I got to step back in time to see the new, despised Christians living side by side with the Empire's respected pagans. I spent several hours being entertained by a quality novel.

The books in the Ruso Medicus Roman Crime Series:

1. Medicus (reviewed on this site)
2. Terra Incognita
3. Persona Non Grata
4. Caveat Emptor
5. Semper Fidelis
6. Tabula Rasa (reviewed on this site)
7. Vita Brevis (reviewed on this site)
8. Memento Mori (reviewed on this site) 

From the book's description:

Ruso and Tilla's excitement at arriving in Rome with their new baby daughter is soon dulled by their discovery that the grand facades of polished marble mask an underworld of corrupt landlords and vermin-infested tenements. There are also far too many doctors--some skilled--but others positively dangerous.

Ruso thinks he has been offered a reputable medical practice only to find that his predecessor Doctor Kleitos has fled, leaving a dead man in a barrel on the doorstep and the warning, “Be careful who you trust.” Distracted by the body and his efforts to help a friend win the hand of a rich young heiress, Ruso makes a grave mistake, causing him to question both his competence and his integrity.

With Ruso's reputation under threat, he and Tilla must protect their small family from Doctor Kleitos's debt collectors and find allies in their new home while they track down the vanished doctor and find out the truth about the heiress's dead father--Ruso's patient--and the unfortunate man in the barrel.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.

The Graveyard of the Hesperides (Flavia Albia Series) by Lindsey Davis

The author of this relatively new series took a chance when she departed from her long-running Falco series in style, target audience and even sub-genre. I was a so-so fan of Falco, and I suppose you could call me a so-so fan of Flavia Albia, too, after reading this entry in the series, but I suspect I'm not the target audience for Flavia's adventures. I'm the right sex but I'm much too old.

The book's alternate and U.K. cover

The Falco series, for those who don't know, is an Ancient Rome Private Investigator series narrated in classic P.I. hard-boiled first-person by butch Falco. It holds great appeal for male and female readers alike. It is fast-paced and sticks to the case like an arrow, with only some humorous and romantic side steps involving Falco's family and love life. 

There is plenty of information provided about life in the Roman Empire, not all of it well-integrated into the stories. Falco writes from his perspective of old age, looking back on his cases and his life.

The Flavia Albia series, of which Graveyard of the Hesperides is book number 4, is written in first-person narrative style from the young woman Flavia's point of view, but it is anything but hard-boiled. It reads as if it were a combination of Flavia's case notes and personal diary written with very little of Falco's hindsight. 

In classic British detective fiction style there is much musing about the case, much theorizing, and lots of side story concerning the main character's inner thoughts and fears. It holds most appeal for female readers, especially those near the same age as Flavia. In fact, all the U.S. versions of the books have a young woman, presumably Flavia, on the cover. 

The historical information is better integrated into the story than in the Falco books, but it might be more than some readers wanted to know.

While the U.K. books with their more adult covers have the subtitle “Falco: The New Generation”, since Falvia Albia is Falco's daughter, I suspect that only a fraction of the loyal readers of the Falco series will find the Flavia Albia series to their liking. It is presumably intended for a new reading public for the author, which as I wrote above is a risky thing for an established author to do. On her website she says the series allowed her to present a:

...caustic Albia giving us her refreshing new perspective on the traditional Roman world from the viewpoint of a woman and an outsider.

What should you know about this book and this series besides the above? Well...

• There is the roman society's greatest evil, slavery.
• The actual crime plot in this book was not new to me. I recognized it the moment the crime unfolded, probably from classic mystery fiction, but that is quite common these days of public domain data dump on the Internet.
• Flavia Albia is a bit of a drag for older readers since she is a perfectly drawn young woman much concerned with her love life, and not really that experienced with life in general despite her rough background.
• Much of the dialog is related to us via Flavia rather than writing it out as dialog.
• There is a clash between the British-isms and the U.S. Spelling and punctuation (in the U.S. Edition only presumably).
• It takes place in the reign of Roman Emperor Domitian, with the inclusion of some other historical figures.
• The Falco clan appear but are not allowed to speak directly, only through Flavia's accounts of events.
• There are animal sacrifices, prostitutes, abortionists and some vulgarities, besides dead bodies of course.
• Flavia is provided with New-Adult-appropriate hunky love interests.

The books in the Flavia Albia Series:

1. The Ides of April
2. Enemies at Home
3. Deadly Election
4. The Grave of the Hesperides
5. The Spook Who Spoke Again (Yes, I agree, that is a very offensive title for the U.S. market, but it is a title the author used in a Falco book for a play Falco wrote that is very similar in plot to Shakespeare's Hamlet. It is staged in this book, written from the perspective of Falco's youngest child.)

From the book's description:

In first century Rome, Flavia Albia, the daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, has taken up her father's former profession as an informer. On a typical day, it's small cases---cheating spouses, employees dipping into the till---but this isn't a typical day. Her beloved, the plebeian Manlius Faustus, has recently moved in and decided that they should get married in a big, showy ceremony as part of beginning a proper domestic life together.

Also, his contracting firm has been renovating a rundown dive bar called The Garden of the Hesperides, only to uncover human remains buried in the backyard. There have been rumors for years that the previous owner of the bar, now deceased, killed a bar maid and these are presumably her remains. In the choice between planning a wedding and looking into a crime from long ago, Albia would much rather investigate a possible murder. Or murders, as more and more remains are uncovered, revealing that something truly horrible has been going on at the Hesperides.

As she gets closer to the truth behind the bodies in the backyard, Albia's investigation has put her in the cross-hairs---which might be the only way she'll get out of the wedding and away from all her relatives who are desperate to 'help.'

Here is a direct link to the book's page at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.

I have a page on this site about the author's Falco series.

Foreign Bodies (Marcus Corvinus Series) by David Wishart

Murder mysteries set in Ancient Rome are a popular sub-genre of historical mysteries. The Marcus Corvinus mystery Foreign Bodies, book 18 in the series, begins right away in classic P.I. style with sometime private detective Corvinus getting a case.

Also in keeping with the P.I. style is the first person narration by Corvinus himself, a hard drinking, often vulgar-tongued layabout who is redeemed mainly by his respectable wife and family name, and his ability to sort out a case by the end of each book.

Corvinus's case comes from none other than the Roman Emperor Claudius, a personal family friend, and it gets the native Roman out of the Empire's capital city. In the province of Gaul's largest city Lugdunum (Lyon, France today), Marcus Carvinus investigates a murder, and learns a lot about life on the edges of the Empire.

I enjoy this series despite the vulgarities, and at times even because of the vulgarities, which can add humor and verisimilitude since the Ancient Romans did speak in rather vulgar terms, as the surviving creative writing shows.

Business, trade at the heart of an empire, life on the fringes, daily life, travel, minorities and new citizens, and the great evil that fueled the empire, slavery, are all in the book to differing degrees. As is Corvinus's wife to a much greater degree than in the previous book, which helps soften the detective's rougher edges.

My favorite part of the book is when the couple board the royal yacht and sail to Marseilles. Accompanying them is a doctor, a perfect specimen of manhood, who attempts to council the shambolic, alcoholic detective to drink less if not at all. Corvinus's reaction is wonderfully entertaining, and understandable in a time when wine was drunk starting at breakfast and then throughout the day.

For newbies to this genre the Roman names may pose a problem but for fans of the series this is a solid entry with much history and Roman culture to entertain, lightened by some humor.

The Marcus Corvinus mysteries set in Ancient Rome:

1. Ovid (reviewed on this site)
2. Germanicus
3. Sejanus
4. The Lydian Baker
5. Old Bones
6. Last Rites
7. White Murder
8. A Vote for Murder
9. Parthian Shot
10. Food for the Fishes
11. In at the Death
12. Illegally Dead
13. Bodies Politic
14. No Cause For Concern
15. Solid Citizens
16. Finished Business (reviewed on this site)
17. Trade Secrets (reviewed on this site)
18. Foreign Bodies (reviewed on this site)

From the book's description:

Ancient Roman sleuth Marcus Corvinus is despatched to Gaul on a personal mission for the emperor.

June, AD 42. The emperor Claudius himself has requested Corvinus’s help in investigating the murder of a Gallic wine merchant, stabbed to death as he was taking an afternoon nap in his summer-house at Lugdunum.

Not especially happy at being despatched to Gaul, and even less enamoured of his enforced travelling companion, the insufferable Domitius Crinas, Corvinus is increasingly frustrated as it becomes clear that the dead man’s extended family and friends are hiding something from him. Unused to strange Gallic customs and facing an uphill struggle getting anyone to talk freely to a Roman, Corvinus is convinced that there’s more to this murder than meets the eye – but, a stranger in a strange land, how is he going to prove it . . .?

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.

The Ides of June (Libertus Mystery) by Rosemary Rowe

This is the latest book in the long-running Libertus Mystery Series set in ancient Roman Britain (the year 193), featuring freedman mosaicist Libertus, who solves mysteries for his patron Marcus.  The book is rich with Celtic and Roman customs and facts about the times, which makes the story slow-moving but perfect for readers who love to learn along with their reading.

Libertus is called upon to help keep his patron's family safe while on the road, so we get a first-hand, close-up look at what it was like to travel within Roman Britain.  The author is honest, too, in showing how women and slaves did not fare well in the paternalistic, violent and slave-owning society.  We also see how life in Roman Britain varied for the natives from the life of the Roman imports.

The books in the Libertus Series to date:

1. The Germanicus Mosaic
2. A Pattern of Blood
3. Murder in the Forum
4. The Chariots of Calyx
5. The Legatus Mystery 
6. The Ghosts of Glevum 
7. Enemies of the Empire
8. A Roman Ransom
9. A Coin for the Ferryman
10. Death at Pompeia's Wedding
11. Requiem for a Slave
12. The Vestal Vanishes
13. A Whispering of Spies
14. Dark Omens
15. The Fateful Day (reviewed on this site)
16. The Ides of June
17. The Price of Freedom (reviewed on this site)

Libertus is sixty years old in this book, and the story picks up one month from the end of the previous book, The Fateful Day.  Because some of the previous events from the series are mentioned in the subsequent books, I would suggest reading them in order to avoid spoilers.

The dialog can seem stilted, even Shakespearean, at times, but that is because the author writes a first-person narrative from Libertus's point of view, and tries to convey the era and the character of the man through the language.

There are even Latin words in the story to remind the reader that Libertus is "writing" his account in that language.  All the Latin is explained for the reader.  The events surrounding the story at the Empire level are explained, too, within the story and in a Foreward.  Know that Libertus is a slave-owner, Celtic, married, with a growing family, and he manages, as always, to better his position in life by the end of the story.

From the book's description:

A compelling new mystery for Libertus, set against the backdrop of the Roman Empire in turmoil . . .

An astonishing new order has usurped power in Rome and the reverberations are reaching even to Glevum, where the legion is preparing to depart.  Libertus’s wealthy patron, until recently one of the most influential men in the Empire, finds himself not only deprived of the privilege and protection he had previously enjoyed, but under actual threat both from the political establishment in Rome and from an anonymous and vindictive enemy much closer to home.

The murder of another councillor, similarly placed, makes the matter urgent.  Libertus, whose humbler status affords obscurity, is charged with spiriting Marcus’s young family away to a place of safety.  But his task will bring problems of its own, as Libertus uncovers a grisly secret and an ancient crime – with ramifications stretching to the present day.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.

Trade Secrets (Marcus Corvinus Mystery) by David Wishart

The Marcus Corvinus Mystery Series is one a handful of detective mysteries set in Ancient Rome that are currently running.  Trade Secrets is the latest book in that series.  It is as entertaining as the predecessors but doesn't have a link to the Emperor, who during the course of this story is Claudius, having just taken over the throne after the murder of Caligula.

The author sets his detective apart by having his upper-class detective narrate his own mysteries in a journal or memoirs fashion in a snarky, colloquial-British tone, showing up the man's lazy, slightly obnoxious character, and his underlying better attributes.  The narrator's comments suggest it is a diary of sorts, written just when the case has been resolved.

Some of those better attributes of Marcus Corvinus are his desire for truth and his dedication to protecting his family from harm.  Marcus Corvinus enjoys a good puzzle and frequent tipples at wine bars.  His wife, Perilla, is his sounding board.  The continuing story of his family and life in general comes between the investigative work, which begins right away with someone bringing him a case to investigate.

The author writes with the assumption that his readers know their history basics and many specifics too, like the traditional Roman clothing and the caste system, as can be seen in this quote:

...most of the punters are plain mantles at best, with a fair sprinkling of freedmen... The purple-striper brigade wouldn't be seen dead doing their drinking and social networking there.

We are dropped down into busy, cosmopolitan Rome, and treated to much local color, including addresses and neighborhood reputations.  A map of Ancient Rome with the locations for the book marked would have been a nice accompaniment to the story, actually.

While some of the language and situations may feel out of time and place, they are actually quite in line with what we know about Ancient Roman society, albeit translated to a British vernacular.

The author emulates the popular Roman novel style from the Roman era, even down to his narrator's vulgar tongue and earthy sense of humor.  If you are sensitive to vulgarities, this isn't the book or series for you.  The story of this solid entry in the series is tied up nicely in the end.

The author skillfully fills the reader in on what he needs to know about the relationships between the regular characters, and about the narrator's past.  The book uses the British single-quote in place of the double-quote, which may annoy or slow down some readers.

In the end, this is a private investigator story, with our investigator chasing down clues and suspects, having to face some danger from heavies, and to deal with men and women from all levels of society who are invariably hiding things.

This is a long and well-established series.  If you wish to read the books in order, here is the series list:

1. Ovid (reviewed on this site)
2. Germanicus
3. Sejanus
4. The Lydian Baker
5. Old Bones
6. Last Rites
7. White Murder
8. A Vote for Murder
9. Parthian Shot
10. Food for the Fishes
11. In at the Death
12. Illegally Dead
13. Bodies Politic
14. No Cause For Concern
15. Solid Citizens
16. Finished Business (reviewed on this site)
17. Trade Secrets (reviewed on this site)
18. Foreign Bodies (reviewed on this site)

From the book's description:

The intriguing, witty and irreverent new mystery featuring Ancient Roman sleuth Marcus Corvinus

May, AD 41. The emperor Claudius has acceded to the throne, and the citizens of Rome look forward to an era of peace and stability. Not so Marcus Corvinus however, who finds himself embroiled in not one but two investigations. A friend of his wife has asked him to look into the murder of her brother, found stabbed to death at the Shrine of Melobosis. A wily businessman and notorious womaniser, no one seems to have a good word to say about Gaius Tullius, not even his less-than-grieving widow. But who would have a good enough reason to want him dead?

At the same time, Corvinus’s daughter comes across a dead body in the Pollio Gardens, and urges her father to investigate. At first Marcus refuses to get involved – but when his enquiries lead him to Ostia, Rome’s busy trading port, he uncovers a disturbing connection between the two deaths.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.

Shroud for the Archbishop (Sister Fidelma Series) by Peter Tremayne

Shroud for the Archbishop is book two in the Sister Fidelma historical traditional-mystery series set in Europe's Middle Ages (circa 660-670).  Most of the stories take place in Ireland and England, but this second book in the series brings Sister Fidelma, an Irish investigating-judge and religious woman, to Rome. 

Fidelma comes to medieval Rome not as a pilgrim, which was the main source of Rome's wealth at the time and for many centuries to come, but to receive a papal blessing for her Irish religious order of St. Bridgid.  Also in Rome is her friend and fellow mystery solver Brother Eadulf, a Saxon religious man, and secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury-elect.

I review on this site a book called Pagan and Christian Rome.  Much of what is described in that book as life in Medieval Rome, is shown in Shroud for the Archbishop.  So if you are a Roman history buff, and you like traditional mysteries (Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh...), then this book will fascinate you.  The author is knowledgeable and likes to share that knowledge. 

The mystery aspect is methodically developed, with all the usual steps:  introduction to scene, introduction to characters and possible suspects, a crime occurs, our protagonist is drafted in to investigate, the body is viewed, suspects are questioned, theories are formed and reformed, events progress often involving more murders and crimes, and finally our detective rounds up everyone and explains everything and exposes the murderer and the convoluted plot. 

That the two main characters are members of religious orders should ring true to those who know their history.  For intelligent, ambitious people in the Middle Ages, the church was the only real avenue for advancement and education.  Religious institutions did not require their members to be celibate, only to be believers and to pray and to contribute to the community, or more accurately, to the commune.  That is how Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf can marry in the course of the series and have a child together.

What sort of woman is Fidelma?  Well, let me start by saying she is difficult to like.  She is a 30-something intellectual who is out of touch with her own emotions.  She is prickly, proud, blunt to the point of rudeness, impatient, and vain about her own cleverness.

Her sidekick for most of her investigations is Eadulf, a 30-something, widely educated man whose greatest quality is his ability to put up with Fidelma.  He protects her from harm and acts as her sounding board.  He provides medical knowledge from time to time. 

If this description of Eadulf brings to mind Sherlock Holmes's Dr. Watson, then you get the point.  Except in this incarnation of Holmes and Watson, the two eventually get married and have a family! 

The author is not the smoothest at conveying romantic attraction, and often his two characters seem like sexually and emotionally stunted adults.  They are overly rational, so perhaps that is part of the problem.  Here is Fidelma rationalizing her attraction to Eadulf:

In spite of their differences in attitudes, Fidelma had to admit that she felt some comfort in being with Eadulf.  She could tease him on their contrasting opinions and he would always rise good-naturedly to the bait but there was no enmity between them.

Celtic history comes to the fore in all the books, since Fidelma is an Irish Celt.  Catholic religious debates are shared with the reader too, debates that often tread the same ground as today's religious debates, such as the celibacy of members of religious orders, acceptable sexual mores, and the role of women within the Church.

Shroud for the Archbishop allows the reader to tour Medieval Rome with Fidelma, Eadulf and the others.  See the Lateran Palace, a Christian cemetery and catacomb, the Basilica of St. John of Lateran, the streets, alleys and avenues of Rome, the Tiber.  Meet the pope, bishops, monks, nuns, papal guards, innkeepers, beggars and more of Rome's residents.

The writing style is workable, if stilted and at times repetitive, but that does not detract from what this is, a historical traditional mystery, full of history for buffs, and a twisted plot for mystery fans.  The author uses third-person limited narration letting us into Fidelma's mind, and at times other characters' minds. 

Do not confuse the Sister Fidelma books (25 to date, see list below) with the cute-cozies that are popular today.  Fidelma's story is for mystery traditionalists who know more than a bit about Europe's Middle Ages, and are looking for a work of fiction to bring that time to life.

 

Books in the Sister Fidelma Celtic Mystery Series:

1. Absolution By Murder
2. Shroud for the Archbishop
3. Suffer Little Children
4. The Subtle Serpent
5. The Spider's Web
6. Valley of the Shadow
7. The Monk Who Vanished
8. Act of Mercy
9. Our Lady of Darkness
10. Hemlock At Vespers (short stories)
11. Smoke in the Wind
12. The Haunted Abbot
13. Badger's Moon
14. Whispers of the Dead (short stories)
15. The Leper's Bell
16. Master of Souls
17. A Prayer for the Damned
18. Dancing with Demons
19. Council of the Cursed
20. The Dove of Death
21. The Chalice of Blood
22. Behold A Pale Horse
23. The Seventh Trumpet
24. Atonement Of Blood
25. The Devil's Seal

From the description of Shroud for an Archbishop:

Wighard, archbishop designate of Canterbury, has been discovered garrotted in his chambers in the Lateran Palace in Rome in the autumn of AD 664.  The solution to this terrible crime appears simple as the palace guards have arrested Brother Ronan Ragallach, as he fled from Wighard's chamber.  Although the Irish monk denies responsibility, Bishop Gelasius is convinced the crime is political and that Wighard was slain in pique at the triumph of the pro-Roman Anglo-Saxon clergy in their debate with the pro-Columba Irish clergy at Whitby. 

There is also a matter of missing treasure:  the goodwill gifts Wighad had brought with him to Rome and the priceless chalices sent for the Holy Father Vitalian's blessings have all been stolen.  Bishop Gelasius realises that Wighard's murder could lead to war between the Saxon and Irish kingdoms if Ronan is accused without independent evidence.  So he invites Sister Fidelma of Kildare and Brother Eadulf to investigate.  But more deaths must follow before Fidelma is finally able to put together the strange jigsaw in this tale of evil and vengeance.

The first book in the series is Absolution by Murder:

In A.D. 664, King Oswy of Northumbria has convened a synod at Whitby to hear debate between the Roman and Celtic Christian churches and decide which shall be granted primacy in his kingdom.  At stake is much more than a few disputed points of ritual; Oswy's decision could affect the survival of either church in the Saxon kingdoms.  When the Abbess Etain, a leading speaker for the Celtic church, is found murdered, suspicion falls upon the Roman faction. 

In order to diffuse the tensions that threaten to erupt into civil war, Oswy turns to Sister Fidelma of the Celtic Church (Irish and an advocate for the Brehon Court) and Brother Eadulf of the Roman church (from east Anglia and of a family of hereditary magistrates) to find the killer.  But as further murders occur and a treasonous plot against Oswy matures, Fidelma and Eadulf soon find themselves running out of time.

Here are direct links to the first two book in the Sister Fidelma series at Amazon.com, where many of the books in the series are available for 1-cent (plus shipping) as second-hand mass-market paperbacks:

Please visit the International Sister Fidelma Website for everything you could possible wish to know about the series, author, era and Fidelma herself.

This review is by Candida Martinelli, of Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site, and the author of the cozy-murder-mystery novel AN EXTRA VIRGIN PRESSING MURDER, and the young-adult/adult mystery novel series THE VIOLET STRANGE MYSTERIES the first book of which is VIOLET'S PROBLEM.