Synopses & Reviews
The medicus Ruso and his wife Tilla are back in the borderlands of Britannia, this time helping to tend the builders of Hadrians Great Wall. Having been forced to move off their land, the Britons are distinctly on edge and are still smarting from the failure of a recent rebellion that claimed many lives.
Then Rusos recently arrived clerk, Candidus, goes missing. A native boy thinks he sees a body being hidden inside the walls half-finished stonework, and a worrying rumor begins to spread. When the soldiers ransack the nearby farms looking for Candidus, Tillas tentative friendship with a local family turns to anger and disappointment. Its clear that the sacred rites to bless her marriage to Ruso will have to wait. Tensions only increase when Branan, the familys youngest son, also vanishes. He was last seen in the company of a lone and unidentified soldier who claimed he was taking the boy to see Tilla.
As Ruso and Tilla try to solve the mystery of the two disappearances—while at the same time struggling to keep the peace between the Britons and the Romans—an intricate scheme involving slavery, changed identities, and fur trappers emerges, and it becomes imperative that Ruso find Branan before its too late.
Review
“Attention to day-in-the-life period details, judiciously doled-out twists, and dry British humor . . . One hell of a toga party.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Wonderfully entertaining.” —Newsweek
“Places Downie alongside such established masters of the Roman historical as Steven Saylor and Rosemary Rowe.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Shipwrecks, ex-wives, gruesome gladiatorial games, unruly children, family discord, and, of course, mayhem and murder. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“Ruso rocks. Lets hear it for those Romans.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Synopsis
In the newest novel featuring medicus Gaius Petreius Ruso, the Romans are building Hadrians Great Wall amid strife with the Britons, when first Rusos clerk and then a native boy disappear.
Synopsis
The newest novel in the bestselling Medicus series, featuring death, taxes, and angry barbarians.
About the Author
Ruth Downie is the author of the New York Times bestselling Medicus, as well as Terra Incognita, Persona Non Grata, Caveat Emptor, and Semper Fidelis. She is married with two sons and lives in Devon, England.