The death of a local tax-collector spells trouble for Libertus in this compelling historical mystery.Having been inveigled into standing for the local curia, responsible for the submission of all local tax, Libertus discovers that any shortfall must be made good by the councillors themselves. So when news arrives that a tax-collector from a nearby outpost has committed suicide, having gambled … suicide, having gambled everything away, Libertus is despatched to make enquiries, in the hope of recovering at least some of the missing revenue. He has also been asked to attend a wedding, in place of his patron, who is expecting a visit from an Imperial Legate.
But the assignment which should have seen Libertus for once treated as an honoured guest begins to take grisly and unexpected turns. As he pieces together the unlikely truth, Libertus finds himself in mortal danger. Freedom, in all forms, is only relative ? but there is a high price for it, sometimes paid in blood ?
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Libertus Travels Under His Patron’s Warrant and Receives Some Royal and Not So Royal Treatment
This 17th Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain opens with Libertus preparing for a private feast at his Patron’s, Marcus Aurelius Septimus, villa. His patron is nominating Libertus to be a Glevum Councilor. During the feast, Marcus receives word that the local tax collector was found dead from hanging in his villa. There was a suicide note stating that he had lost all of the tax collection funds gambling and couldn’t face the shame. Unfortunately, if the tax money is lost, the Glevum Councilors will be legally required to make up any deficit themselves. Marcus tasks Libertus to investigate. Marcus gives Libertus a warrant to allow him to use the military inns and even the use of Marcus’s personal gig for part of the trip. At the last minute, Marcus asks Libertus to attend a wedding as his personal representative as Marcus cannot personally attend. The storyline takes off from here and becomes more complex. My attention was captured quickly and sent many hours after midnight reading this novel only to wake up in the morning and continue reading.
What I like about this series has continued in this novel. That is the B-storyline. The relationship between Marcus, the patron, and Libertus, a client, is most accurately portrayed than in other ancient Roman gumshoe series and novels I have read. Also, the life of domestic slaves, to me, was very realistic. Since most of the action of this story, Libertus spends time away from the normal cast of characters from previous novels, Libertus’ interactions with them is limited, and furtherance of the B-storylines over the series does not occur much in this novel. While this is one of the significant reasons why I like this series, missing this aspect did not affect my enjoyment in reading this novel. This also means that if this novel is the first of the series that you are considering reading, it is a good novel with which to start. Hopefully this will result in you binge reading the other novels in this series.
Many aspects of Roman law come into play in this novel, as well the series. While some statements are made during the novel, the author weaves the explanation of the implications to the storyline by using Libertus’ thoughts or discussions with others. This is achieved seamlessly and helps the reader’s understanding what is happening while keeping the ancient Roman feel to the storyline.
Readers do not have to worry about the use of questionable language or sex in this novel. There is none. As for violence, well, there are murders and physical abuse, but most of it is described after the fact, which for me is not as disturbing and describing violence as it occurs. No reader should worry about being offended in these aspects. Now, one technique used by the author is to use of the Latin word for many objects, concepts, or actions. Many of these words are in the accompanying Kindle dictionary, but I frequently had use the Kindle browser to find the meaning on the internet. For me, the authenticity brought by the use of these words more than outweighs the inconvenience.
Overall, The Price of Freedom was a quick and enjoyable read for me. It kept my interest throughout the entire novel. I did not encounter any negatives while reading it. Based upon these reasons supported by my above comment, I give this a five star rating. I believe it will be an enjoyable read for the series veteran or the novice to this series.
I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from Severn House Publishers with a request for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Severn House Publishers for the opportunity to read this novel early.