Bell, Albert A. The Blood of Caesar. Set in ancient Rome, this mystery has Pliny the Younger and Tacitus investigating the missing memoir of Nero's mother, the death of a Jewish slave, and the possibility of a previously unknown descendant of Nero who might provide a rallying point for those who would challenge Emperor Domitian.An interesting look at Rome and some of its well-known figures and some of its social and political intricacies, but the characters just didn't come off the page for me. Does include a chronological timeline and a list of terms and people at the back.
My favorite Roman mysteries are those of Lindsey Davis and the irrepressible Marcus Didius Falco. Lindsey Davis and Stephen Saylor (Gordianus the Finder) are perhaps the most familiar authors who use ancient Rome, but there are quite a few others as I discovered at The Detctive and the Toga. Here is a list of recently published Ancient Roman Mysteries.
Fiction. Historical mystery. 2008. 252 pages.
I'm going to check that list now. I love novels set in Ancient Rome. Thanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea there were entire series of Roman mysteries. My sis-in-law has a contract on a book set in Rome -- probably Christian, since she used to work for Focus on the Family. I'm hoping she'll let me read it before it's published. Thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteWho knew there was even a list of Roman mysteries? Quite a few titles, too.
ReplyDeleteAnn - I saw several that caught my attention!
ReplyDeleteBookfool - I had no idea there were so many either. Since I love historical mysteries, it was a good find. An author in the family! Surely you will get an ARC at least!
Booklogged - :) The wonders of the internet! I was really surprised at the number of Roman mysteries and that there was a site listing them!