In the Roman calendar, the ides were the middle days of any
month. Libertus, a reasonably well off citizen with a
family, lives in Roman ruled Britannia, and even on this
cold foggy island bad news travels fast. THE IDES OF JUNE
bring word of political upheavals, deaths and failed
bribes. What will this mean for our hero, besides the
inevitability of another mysterious death for him to
resolve?
Libertus, a mosaic pavement maker by trade, has a wealthy
patron called Marcus Aurelius, and all may be set to
change. Marcus was a friend of the previous emperor and
with that man's death the political grounds are shifting.
Some of the emperor's cohort are being arrested, taxed,
fined, removed from office. The contest for the position is
heating up and the powerful men are heading for Rome. Or
better yet, away from it. Marcus asks Libertus to
care for his wife and children if any harm should befall
him. With protection faltering, old scores are coming to
light and an unknown ill-wisher is added to Marcus's
troubles.
Whether riding a mule along the lawless road or reporting
to the garrison at Glevum, Libertus brings us thoroughly
into the life and times of Ancient Romans. Some pompous men
tell him to say
nothing to anyone - apparently thinking that their slaves
are furniture and cannot hear. Women queue with water jugs
at the public fountain. An older matron, Elena Tertia,
spots Libertus and not surprisingly she has an assignment
for him. Everyone knows his skill at rooting out evil-
doers, and she believes her wealthy great-nephew has been
poisoned along with several of his household who are
seriously ill.
The lovely attention to detail, from fabrics and foods to
ox-carts, bark-paper and water-carters, makes this a
fitting addition to the Libertus Mysteries of Roman
Britain series by Rosemary Rowe. While THE IDES OF JUNE is
sixteenth in the series, and it would help to have read
about the time period, a historical mystery fan will
swiftly feel at home among these very normal, recognizable
characters. Unlike certain crime stories there are plenty of
children and animal characters, and the background politics
of the Empire just frame the action, not obscure it.
Mystery fans will have a good time puzzling out the motives
and perpetrators whether it is their first visit to Roman
Britain or a return trip.
A compelling new mystery for Libertus, set against the
backdrop of the Roman Empire in turmoil . .
.
An astonishing new order has usurped power
in Rome and the reverberations are reaching even to Glevum,
where the legion is preparing to depart. Libertus’s wealthy
patron, until recently one of the most influential men in
the Empire, finds himself not only deprived of the privilege
and protection he had previously enjoyed, but under actual
threat both from the political establishment in Rome and
from an anonymous and vindictive enemy much closer to
home.
The murder of another councillor, similarly
placed, makes the matter urgent. Libertus, whose humbler
status affords obscurity, is charged with spiriting Marcus’s
young family away to a place of safety. But his task will
bring problems of its own, as Libertus uncovers a grisly
secret and an ancient crime – with ramifications stretching
to the present day.
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