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:

Appointment with ISIL (Anthony Provati Thriller) by Joe Giordano

This Ludlum-esque international thriller stars an Italian-American man, east-coast Anthony Provati. His parts of the fast-paced story are told in first-person narrative, as Anthony manages to get himself into a bad situation that quickly escalates into a horrible situation. Third-person limited narration is used for the scenes without Anthony.

Lots of tough guy stuff here, with punchy dialogue, violence, threats of violence, off-scene sex, mobsters, dirty cops, hot chicks, a psychopath, and some truly evil human beings. International terrorism becomes the focus of the book as it progresses. The most interesting part of that, for me, was the discussion of social media's use for recruitment and propaganda.

Napoli, Italia

Just a warning, since the events in this book are very topical: For those touched directly by the evil of terror groups, those who feel raw from all the death and horror, this work of fiction may be something to skip. And the harrowing first chapter, which is chronologically out of sequence in the story, may be too disturbing for some readers. Those are things each reader must determine alone.

The Italian-American protagonist's backstory is told convincingly. The settings of the book range from east-coast USA to the Mediterranean, specifically Italy, Greece and North Africa. Readers familiar with tough-guy novels will recognize the cinematic action-and-dialogue-heavy writing, which is rendered expertly, and edited professionally. This is the first book in a planned series of thrillers featuring Anthony Provati.

Napoli, Italia

From the book's description:

This time, Anthony’s libido threatens his life. Anthony Provati flirts with Russian mob boss, Gorgon Malakhov’s mistress. The Russian deals in death. ISIL, the Islamic State in the Levant, wants the product. Russian Intelligence supplies the means, and an art theft funds the scheme. ISIL’s targets are chilling. The chase across the Mediterranean is on. Can Anthony thwart ISIL? Will he survive?

“The threats feel very real. The plotting and writing throughout are taut and the stakes are very high. Not only are individual lives in peril, but plans are laid for massive attacks and enormous security breaches. Sales of submarines, Strontium-90 (a component of diabolical “dirty bombs”), and shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles are all part of the high-level negotiations. Also mixed into the nefarious loot are massive amounts of heroin and three small, but priceless, Vermeer paintings…. A roller-coaster ride to the finish, this book confirms Giordano as a writer to eagerly watch.” –Kirkus featured review

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

Please visit the author's blog site, where he has a special section about Italian-Americans.

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:

Shepherd Avenue by Charlie Carillo

Shepherd Avenue is billed as a coming-of-age novel about a young boy who has to deal with a heck of a lot of loss of loved ones in a very short space of time. Coming-of-age novels tend to have an episodic structure, and this book is not different. Instead of having the support of his father during this time, he has been dumped at his grandparents' place, a place as foreign to him as another country.

The loss of his wayward father hits the child as hard as the losses due to death. Much of the story is about the boy's dealing with his feelings of abandonment. The rest of the story is about the boy dealing with his exuberant relations and their in-your-face neighbors. Young love gets in the mix too at a certain point. All the characters come alive with realistic dialog and actions, along with quick descriptions that paint clear pictures.

There is some foul language, racial slurs, deaths, children playing doctor, and animals being slaughtered. To be honest, I could have done without every scene that involved life of creatures other than human. If the story were true, I would have said “so be it”, but since the story is fiction, I wondered “why was that included?”. But the accounts of animals being slaughtered are accurate and true to life.

Set in 1961, there is a big helping of segregation, bigotry and sexism. The culture clash between the boy and his very Italian-American, Brooklyn-living family is strong, but just as strong is the clash between the family and the society at large. 1961 was a time of birth-control, women's liberation movements, black power movements, changing music and clothes and a whole universe of social norms. Rich details from that era set the reader front and center as a spectator to the clashes. I enjoyed the writing style, first-person with hindsight, and being transported to another place and time.

From the book's description:

An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year

From acclaimed author Charlie Carillo comes a poignant, darkly funny, coming-of-age story set in the heart of Italian-American Brooklyn, New York, and the heat of one eventful 1960s summer . . .

Ten-year-old Joey Ambrosio has barely begun to grieve his mother’s death when his father abruptly uproots him from his sedate suburban Long Island home, and deposits him at his estranged grandparents’ house in boisterous East New York. While his dad takes off on an indefinite road trip, Joey is left to navigate unfamiliar terrain. Besides his gruff Italian grandparents, there's his teenage Uncle Vic, a baseball star obsessed with the music of Frank Sinatra; a steady diet of soulful, hearty foods he’s never tasted, and a community teeming with life, from endless gossip and arguments to curse-laden stickball games under the elevated train. It’s a world where privacy doesn’t exist and there’s no time to feel sorry for yourself. Most of all, it’s where Joey learns not only how to fight, and how to heal, but how to love—and ultimately, how to forgive.

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

Please visit the author's website. And The East New York Project has some images of Shepherd Avenue from around the time of the book.

Accused by Mark Toscano

In Accused, the reader meets the Corsaro brothers, Fabrizio and Roberto. The brothers alternate the telling of the crime story in a first person narration. Fabrizio, a self-indulgent, superficial, sadistic man is one character I did not enjoy reading from the first-person, but his family-man, mature, loving brother helped keep me reading the tale.

The novel is divided into three acts entitled Crime, Punishment, Truth. A short Epilog wraps up the end. We get to see how a crime comes to light, how punishment is applied, and how the truth becomes known.

Fabrizio is accused of the crime and his punishment begins even without a conviction. Lawyer Roberto works to clear his brother by investigating and unveiling the truth. As is often the case in real life, no one really comes out a winner at the end, and all are transformed to some extent by their experiences.

The strong character depictions and the realistic portrayal of how prison changes people were the parts that I enjoyed the most in the book.

The time I had to spend inside Fabrizio's head was the part of the novel that I enjoyed the least.

The story takes place in modern-day Sicily and is rich with popular culture references, just as our daily lives are rich with them. The author has created a story that might remind readers of Martin Cruz Smith's novels. FYI there are some vulgarities.

From the book's description:

Onofrio Palillo receives compensation many years after the fact for wrongful imprisonment on a charge of murder.

After a series of unfortunate coincidences, journalist Fabrizio Corsaro turns up to find Palillo dead at his home. Police investigations, however, reveal incriminating evidence which leads detectives to suspect Fabrizio himself of the murder. He is arrested, and his brother Roberto, a criminal lawyer, is faced with the task of saving him from this nightmare into which his life has suddenly been plunged. With the help of deputy police prefect Domenico Fisichella, Roberto delves into Palillo's mysterious past.

They discover an old secret which puts them on the trail of the most powerful man in Sicily, Giorgio Moncada.

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

Return to Umbria (Rick Montoya Italian Mystery) by David P. Wagner

Rick Montoya is back in his fourth Italian Mystery. Half Italian and half pure New Mexican (his American wild west idea of justice at the end of the book could be considered proof of that), Rick makes a living as an interpreter and translator in Italy (if only!), when he's not helping out his friends and relatives who work in law enforcement. His cowboy boots mark him as American even if he speaks Italian like a native.

The series is clearly aimed at armchair travelers, and I enjoyed the virtual visit to beautiful Italy in Return to Umbria. The author includes lots of cultural information and many delicious Italian meals while the protagonist works to solve a mystery or two.

Orvieto and her gorgeous cathedral

I like Rick more in this book than in the previous one I read, mainly because he is less a superman or action hero in this book. He's fallible and not quite the ladies man he appeared to be in the other book. Perhaps as a female reader that is more appealing? I'll leave that up to the men to decide.

There was one part of the book that had me shaking my head: the main premise. The reason Rick is in Orvieto in Umbria seems very implausible to me. His family wants him to convince a male cousin to stop having an affair with a mature married woman.

Really? In Italy?

From my experience in Italy, the male cousin would more likely have been congratulated on his luck at capturing a lucrative bit of tussle between the sheets. It seemed very Breakfast at Tiffany, to be honest, and none of Rick's business. But I suppose for the story's sake there had to be a reason for his leaving Rome and going to beautiful Orvieto.

Book One in the Series

The writing is smooth, generally, but the dialogue feels a bit stilted mainly because the author shows a reluctance to use contractions. Rick's entry into the police case feels natural, however, since he has worked with the policeman in this book in an earlier story, and he works regularly with the police as an interpreter.

There is no explicit sex and no swearing in the book, but there is some violence. Fans of the series should enjoy this one. New readers might want to start with the series at the beginning, but it's not really necessary.

The books in the Rick Montoya Italian Mystery Series:

1. Cold Tuscan Stone
2. Death in the Dolomites
3. Murder Most Unfortunate (reviewed on this site)
4. Return to Umbria

Book Two in the Series

From the book's description (spoilers!):

Orvieto—its very name brings to mind priceless art, colorful ceramics, and straw-colored wine. And the most famous cathedral façade in Italy, a structure of gothic spires, arches, statues, and mosaics. But as Rick Montoya discovers, this jewel of Umbria can have an ugly side as well.

When Rick Montoya moved to his mother’s Italy from his father’s Santa Fe, New Mexico, to work as a freelance translator using his dual heritage, he didn’t expect to be helping the Italian police. His maternal uncle, a high-level commissioner in Rome, however, sees no reason not to use the resources at hand.

Rick’s fourth investigation should not have involved crime. It begins when Rick is asked by his uncle to go to Orvieto to talk some sense into his cousin Fabrizio, whose fling with an older married woman is embarrassing the family. Rick agrees to give it a try, and plans a short but romantic weekend in Orvieto with Betta Innocenti, the woman he met in Bassano. What could go wrong?

Less than a day after their arrival, his language skills draw him into the brutal murder of an American visitor. He finds that he knows the policeman in charge, but Inspector LoGuercio has changed since the time they met in Volterra. The murdered woman had studied art in Italy decades earlier—why has she returned now? And why was she dumped at night on a dusty road?

Through her traveling companions, her devastated daughter and best friend, as well as a growing list of those who knew her from her student days, they realize she had come to Orvieto to face the past. And then a second murder occurs in a public park, with Montoya so close that he wonders if he could have been the intended target. Is all this connected to Fabrizio and his affair, or to the American’s death?

More violence erupts, some of it definitely directed at Rick himself. Strong suspects, tantalizing secrets, concealed motives, and risky behaviors tie to a fascinating landscape and layers of Orvieto’s past.

Book Three in the Series

(reviewed on this site)

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

Please visit the author's website where he blogs and provides information on the locations in the books and their regional dishes.  Visit the Poison Pen Press page for the Rick Montoya series.

The Girl From Venice by Martin Cruz Smith

This is probably one for readers who enjoy Raymond Chandler books and the film Casablanca. The author uses the hard-boiled style to present a tough-guy love story set in the era when Italy went truly, totally bonkers: the end of WWII. The spare style is best appreciated if you picture the text as a film playing in your mind.

Family, rivalry, friendship, loyalties, prejudice, politics, pop culture and military culture all mix together in this well-researched book. Through it all we are shown how the exhausted Italians just tried to keep their heads down and emotions doused so they could make it through to the end of the horrible nightmare. Clinging to daily rituals and pretending that the outside world was more fiction than reality, the inhabitants of Venice feel very real in this story.

Readers will get the most out of the story if they have a basic understanding of the history of the era. Briefly, after insanely embracing Mussolini, a megalomaniacal bully, criminal, misogynistic, pathological liar who promised the world and more to the poor country, Italy then came to its senses and switched sides in the war Mussolini signed them up to. Then they had to fight a war against Nazis while at the same time fighting a civil war between opposing Italian political sides.

To top up the insanity, an embattled and increasingly bonkers Mussolini established a fantasy Republic of Salo in northern Italy where he deluded himself into believing he could hang on to power. The author takes the reader into that crazy place at a certain point in the novel, and portrays the crackpot enablers of the dictator very ably, bringing to mind the evil, manipulative minions in the classic 1945 Rossellini film Roma, Citta Aperta.

The tough-guy with a broken heart protagonist of the book, the Venetian fisherman Cenzo, has shut himself down to make it through the war. He fishes, sleeps, eats and broods until he fishes up a young Venetian woman, Giulia, who escaped a purge of Jewish prisoners. She brings him back to life, and through the course of the book, she becomes the reason he reengages with the insanity around him, putting him in contact with the Republic of Salo and the forces fighting in Italy on all sides.

At first, refined Giulia is seen thus by jaded, coarse Cenzo:

The girl was a brief interruption in his life and the less he knew about her, the better.

Occasionally we see the story from Giulia's perspective, but mainly the narration is from Cenzo's perspective, which reflects the Italian perspective at that time.

Then you switch sides in the middle of a war, it gets very confusing.

The first part of the book is the reawakening of Cenzo that comes through his discussions with Giulia as he teaches her his fisherman's craft. Like therapy, describing what he loves most in life, what keeps him sane when the world around his is off its rocker, helps Cenzo open up to Giulia. He even comes to care about her troubles.

...he found his own miseries reduced in size when he focused on hers.

Acts Two and Three of the novel then move the reawakened Cenzo into the world of spying, the retreating German Nazis, the rival partisan factions, and the wacko Republic of Salo. There is some violence but this is not a gory book. There is some sex, but suggested only, not in scene. There are family rivalries that become explained as the story progresses, explaining some of Cenzo's resentments and his heartbreak. Cenzo is a tough-guy who falls for a waif and tries to protect her in the middle of a world gone crazy.

The author is a wonderful writer with a distinctive style that will appeal to his loyal fans. Some readers may find the spare, butch, hard-boiled style not to their liking. I suggest sticking with it, and being an active reader, visualizing the story as it is told, and empathizing with the characters to understand their feelings. The style is for perceptive, informed readers who don't need, or want, everything spelled out. The plot is unraveled at the end with a clear explanation for the reader.

For Italophiles, the book offers a look at an odd moment in Italy's history, but from a different, more personal angle than found in history books. Brush up on the history beforehand, then enjoy the details that come out from the author's in depth research, along with the tender tough-guy love story.

From the book's description:

The highly anticipated new standalone novel from Martin Cruz Smith, whom The Washington Post has declared “that uncommon phenomenon: a popular and well-regarded crime novelist who is also a writer of real distinction,” The Girl from Venice is a suspenseful World War II love story set against the beauty, mystery, and danger of occupied Venice.

Venice, 1945. The war may be waning, but the city known as La Serenissima is still occupied and the people of Italy fear the power of the Third Reich. One night, under a canopy of stars, a fisherman named Cenzo comes across a young woman’s body floating in the lagoon and soon discovers that she is still alive and in trouble.

Born to a wealthy Jewish family, Giulia is on the run from the SS. Cenzo chooses to protect Giulia rather than hand her over to the Nazis. This act of kindness leads them into the world of Partisans, random executions, the arts of forgery and high explosives, Mussolini’s broken promises, the black market and gold, and, everywhere, the enigmatic maze of the Venice Lagoon.

The Girl from Venice is a thriller, a mystery, and a retelling of Italian history that will take your breath away. Most of all it is a love story.

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

Not My Mother's Kitchen by Rob Chirico

This is a combination memoirs and cookbook by a self-taught Italian-American chef who was inspired by a trip to Italy to create meals that combine the fresh taste of Italian cooking with some classic tastes of American cooking. The references for on-line sources for ingredients are for American readers.

He writes and cooks with the at times irritating conviction of a convert, so casual cooks might find some of his recipes a bit too fussy, and normal people will find some of his opinions rather too opinionated (like his views on the table salt shaker!). But the author includes some basic recipes too, and some classic Italian recipes, all accompanied by detailed instructions.

The memoirs part of the book, in my opinion, picks much too much on his mother's cooking, which was the cooking of millions of Americans in the sixties and seventies: frozen foods, processed foods, and convenience products. He could just as easily have written about those millions than picked on his mother by name.

I prayed that the woman had passed on, so she wouldn't have to see this book and read her son's rants about her and her cooking. However I was horrified to learn at the end of the book that his mother is still with us! Shame on you Rob Chirico for humiliating your mother in this way!

From the book's description:

Serving up a tale that is part memoir and part cookbook, acclaimed foodie Rob Chirico shares his culinary journey after growing up with an Italian-American mother who was hopeless in the kitchen.

Rob Chirico learned to cook as a defense against his mother's awful meals. After discover-ing that there was more to real food than canned ravioli and frozen vegetables, he decided to try his hand in the kitchen. His memoir offers recipes, cooking techniques, and tips he has cultivated over decades. He blends his expert experience with an engaging and humorous narrative on growing up with suspect meals.

Death of the Duchess by Elizabeth Eyre

This book, the first in a series of six books, is for Italophile fans of historical mysteries, in this case set during the Italian Renaissance in north-central Italy. I loved the intelligent writing that did not talk down to the reader. I found it highly entertaining!

The enigmatic detective at the center of these stories, Sigismondo, is a former soldier-for-hire who now hires himself out to the rich, in the case of this book to the Duke of a Duchy. The authors (two who use the pseudonym of Elizabeth Eyre) have made him as clever as Sherlock, as close to the chest with his deductions as Maigret, as humorous as The Name of the Rose's monk, and as sexy and hunky as a Marvel superhero.

With a wonderful use of varied narrative voice, the reader follows the story while getting a full view of events and people, especially of Sigismondo. There are also treats for the historians among the readers, with descriptions of the Duke's castle, the food of the era, a Renaissance wedding feast, and the varied clothing of era.

The authors do not shy away from the nasty bits either, with the extreme poverty shown too, right next to the over-the-top extreme wealth. Other truths about the era that we get to observe are the lowly status of women and servants with both suffering abuse, family businesses run ruthlessly, and the military dictatorships of Princes or Dukes. The Prince or Duke is the law and order in his territory. Forget democracy and republican values, this is the era of Machiavelli's princes, hopefully benevolent dictators, but usually just dictators.

Sigismondo has his “Watson” in the form of Benno, a deceptively clever servant, a lover of animals more than of people, who can blend into the walls to overhear all sorts of useful gossip that he reports back to Sigismondo. They meet in this first novel of the series, and pick up a mascot in the form of Biondello, a stray dog. Together they tackle the several mysteries that make up this intricately plotted, Machiavellian story.

There are some Britishisms in the text, and lots of dry British humor. Middle-English words are there in abundance to name the articles of daily life of that era, and they may confuse some readers, but they will charm other readers like myself who rejoice in the wide variety of words in English. For example, did you know that the little window or peep-hole set into a door via which you spy on people and things is called a “judas”? Presumably so you can spot the traitor without having to open the whole door and put yourself in danger.

The writing varies from 3rd person objective to limited to omniscient, varying the point-of-view throughout, even to tell us parts of the story from Biondello the dog's perspective! This keeps readers on their toes, and adds much humor and many clues to the subtle storytelling, all there for the perceptive reader to catch. If you need everything spelled out in minute detail, this is not the book for you.

If you are familiar with F. Francis Crawford's historical adventure-romances, especially those set in his adopted Italy, you'll be reminded of them when reading Death of a Duchess. There is the same swashbuckling adventure alongside romance, with political intrigue galore. Unlike Crawford's work, there are sexual references in Death of the Duchess. This is a book for adult readers, and for fans of sophisticated writing.

I found it all very entertaining, and I will be trying to get my hands on the other books in the series. They are all out of print at the moment, so you have to look in libraries or second-hand bookstores, or to on-line dealers who are offering hardback copies for as little as 1 cent + shipping. Hopefully the series will be re-released as e-books soon, as pretty much everything else has been in the past year or so.

The books in the complete series are:

1. Death of the Duchess
2. Curtains for the Cardinal
3. Poison for the Prince
4. Bravo for the Bride
5. Axe for an Abbot
6. Dirge for a Doge

From the book's description:

The first of a new series set in Renaissance Italy features detective Sigismondo who, with the help of the supposed village idiot, must uncover the framing of an innocent man caught in the middle of a family feud.

When a bride disappears and her handmaid is murdered hours before a marriage ceremony that is to heal the rift between the noble houses of de Torre and Bandini, Sigismondo and his sidekick, Benno, spring into action. 

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.