Synopses & Reviews
The spring of 98 AD is a time of optimism in the turbulent frontier province of Britannia. The season looks set fair for peace and prosperity and business is brisk at Aurelia Marcella's inn on the road to York. Then a wagon arrives bearing a local farmer seeking treatment for a grievous sword wound. Before the farmer dies, he tells Aurelia his family is in grave danger and hints that her sister's family, living near him, is threatened too. Aurelia sends for her twin brother Lucius, who is a government investigator. Together they head for the eastern coast to find out more, and to check out a shipwreck bearing valuable official cargo. A band of piratical Gauls is working the area-are they cover for something worse? The aura of peace cracks further as friction between native farmers and Roman settlers over ownership of the best farmland turns to open violence. Both sides resort to terrorist tactics: stealing, kidnapping, and murder, all building to a terrible climax at the annual festival for the sea god. Underneath flows a current of subtle, personal agendas.... Jane Finnis grew up in Yorkshire, northern England and has been fascinated by the past since she first saw the Roman remains at York. She lives near the East Yorkshire coast, where she writes and does occasional radio broadcasts. Buried Too Deep is third in her Aurelia Marcella mystery series. www.janefinnis.com
Review
""Finnis's well-crafted prose subtly weaves authoritative detail into a believable portrait."" —Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
The spring of 98 AD is a time of optimism in the turbulent frontier province of Britannia. Business is brisk at the mansio (inn) on the road to York that Aurelia Marcella runs with her twin brother Lucius. Then a wagon arrives bearing a local farmer with a grievous sword wound who is seeking treatment with the local Greek doctor. And Lucius appears at the mansio on a mission. When the farmer dies, the twins head for the coast to return the man to his family and to check out a shipwreck bearing valuable official cargo. A band of outlawed sea-raiders led by a Gaul are suspected of stealing it along with killing the farmer. It all adds up to the feuding that has erupted between the colonists and the natives. The natives claim the newcomers are stealing the best farmland, while the settlers accuse the locals of plotting rebellion against Rome. Both sides are using terrorist tactics: burning, kidnapping, and even murder. The trouble escalates and long-buried grudges are revived as counsellors, citizens, chiefs, and slaves mix in. But a subtle, personal agenda is at work as well--one or more of the combatants may have hired the Gauls to orchestrate the violence. This is the third novel in the Aurelia Marcella series.
About the Author
Jane Finnis grew up in Yorkshire, northern England, and has been fascinated by the past since she first saw the Roman remains at York. For twenty years she lived and worked in London, as a radio producer and reporter, and also as a computer programmer, but then she moved back to Yorkshire and, with her husband Richard, ran a flourishing craft shop. Now they live near the East Yorkshire coast, where Jane writes, and does occasional radio broadcasts. In her spare time she likes travelling, spending time in her garden and in the company of her two spaniels, and playing the guitar.