Roman Blood is a historical mystery set during the time of Sulla. It was an enjoyable read for me because of the emphasis placed on peppering the novel with actual historical figures --both great and small. The tale is built around the fictional protagonist, Gordianus the Finder, who is hired by Cicero for a murder investigation. Cicero is defending Sextus Roscius, who's up on charges of parricide; an actual case from 80 B.C.
From the dictator Sulla, to servants and actors, the characters in the book can easily be found with a quick Wikipedia search. This is a page turner that is imbued with all things ancient Roman. If you're like me, and like your history with some mystery¹ --this book's for you.
1. The "history and mystery" alliteration has been paraphrased from a review in the Austin Chronicle that appears on the back of the paperback edition.
No comments:
Post a Comment