8.05.2005
SPQR V: Saturnalia
by John Maddox Roberts, 275 pgs, hardcover
Amazon site
Overall Grade: A-
Series: SPQR
This was one of those stories that just clipped along and I was done with the book before I knew it. After discovering this author, this is the first in his SPQR series that I got a hold of to read. Now I definitely need to read the rest of them. The only reason this one didn't make it a perfect A is that the political structure of Rome is just thrown at the reader and not explained too well. Very confusing. But somehow I don't think the rest of the series is this bad. Anyway, this is a murder mystery set in old-school Rome, during the time of Julius Caesar. Decius Metellus the Younger as a sort of reputation as a detective and snooper, and while this is usually exasperating to his family, this time it is put to their use in figuring out who poisoned one of their relatives. You learn an awful lot about how everyday life in Rome worked. Terrific, I'm addicted to the series now.
Labels: genre: fiction, genre: historical, genre: mystery, media: book, series: SPQR