At long last, Gaius Petreius Ruso and his companion, Tilla, are headed home-to Gaul. Having received a note consisting only of the words “COME HOME!” Ruso has (reluctantly, of course) pulled up stakes and brought Tilla to meet his family. But the reception there is not what Ruso has hoped for: no one will admit to sending for him, and his brother Lucius is hoping he’ll leave. With Tilla getting … getting icy greetings from his relatives, Lucius’ brother-in-law mysteriously drowned at sea, and the whole Ruso family being sued for bankruptcy, it’s hard to imagine an unhappier reunion. That is, until Severus, the plaintiff in the bankruptcy suit, winds up dead, and the real trouble begins…
Engrossing, intricate, and-as always-wonderfully comic, Ruth Downie’s latest is a brilliant new installment in this irresistible series. This is everything we’ve come to expect from our charming, luckless hero.
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I think this is my favorite in Ruth Downie’s historical mystery series so far. It takes Ruso back home and into the clutches of his family. Funny and fast-paced, I couldn’t put this down.
An interesting look at what may have happened during the Roman years and what might have happened to the slaves and criminals in the arenas.
Enjoy the genre–will read others in the series-love historical writings…
Ms. Downie’s Medicus series has been pleasing both for its attention to history and insight into ancient medicine, although I think she gives Ruso the benefit of some of her future knowledge. The plots are generally well-constructed, and stand alone without obvious cliff-hangers, although I would recommend that the novels be read in order of publication, since some relationships are more easily understood.
lots of fun to read.
Details of an agricultural middle-class Roman family add authenticity to this second-century historical mystery. Gaius/Ruso is the Medicus returned from war in Britain with his barbarian lover Tilla. They complement each other beautifully and provide moments of laugh-out-loud humor as they try to solve two intertwined mysteries. One of them, the murder of the new husband of Ruso’s wife, threatens the big, complex family Ruso cannot control. Warning: details for a gladiator game are gory but never for shock value alone.
I love this series, and this is one of the best, with our hero, the Medicus, returning to his family’s vineyard in Gaul, where he becomes embroiled in a murder a nd all kinds of family shenanigans.
This is a rare look at one rarely explored part of the Roman Empire.
I love the sly, dark humor.
This series just gets better and better!
I have to admit that when I started this book, it felt a little clunky and I was worried the series was taking a downhill detour. But by the second or third chapter I was right back in the world of Ruso and on a terrific ride with him and Tilla.
Besides the intriguing subplots of a dysfunctional family and the wonderfully wry humor of the Ruso series, the mystery in this installment felt like the most tightly woven so far.
I can’t wait to get my hands on Book 4!!
Fast-paced with multiple mysteries for Ruso and Tilla to solve, and working together much more effectively than in the previous books. Ruso is called home to Gaul, and Tilla gets an outsider’s view of Romans when they’re at home with family and not invading her country in a military presence. It’s an eye-opener, and her observations are unique and humorous. They help make Ruso see some things he’d rather not see and realize that his service in the army far from home has shaped him in important ways. Thank goodness for Ruso Tilla is not at all like the women in his family.
The Ruso books are a great read… Funny, engaging, well plotted, interesting characters, as well as solidly based in research, so as to convey something of life in the late 1st century Roman empire.
This third installment of the MEDICAS historical whodunit series doesn’t disappoint. Roman army doctor Gaius Ruso must untangle family and bureaucratic intrigue, elements neither his medical nor Roman army background has prepared him for. With former slave and now wife Tila at his side, he unravels this newest mystery with his trademark humor and ingenuity. Is there any wonder this is one of my all-time favorite series?