The Triumph of Caesar: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
from St. Martin's Minotaur
The Roman civil war has come to its conclusion – Pompey is dead, Egypt is firmly under the control of Cleopatra (with the help of Rome’s legions), and for the first time in many years Julius Caesar has returned to Rome itself. Appointed by the Senate as Dictator, the city abounds with rumors asserting that Caesar wishes to be made King – the first such that Rome has had in centuries. And that not all of his opposition has been crushed.
Gordianus, recently returned from Egypt with his wife Bethesda, is essentially retired from his previous profession of ‘Finder’ but even he cannot refuse the call of Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife. Troubled by dreams foretelling disaster and fearing a conspiracy against the life of Caesar, she had hired someone to investigate the rumors. But that person, a close friend of Gordianus, has just turned up dead – murdered -- on her doorstep. With four successive Triumphs for Caesar’s military victories scheduled for the coming days, and Caesar more exposed to danger than ever before, Calpurnia wants Gordianus to uncover the truth behind the rumored conspiracies -- to protect Caesar’s life, before it is too late. No fan of Caesar’s, Gordianus agrees to help – but only to find the murderer who killed his friend. But once an investigation is begun, there's no controlling what it will turn up, who it will put in danger, and where it will end.
Roman Blood: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
from St. Martin's Minotaur
Gordianus's investigation takes him through the city's raucous, pungent streets and deep into urban Umbria, unraveling layers of deceit, twisted passions, and murderous desperation. From pompous, rouged nobles to wily slaves to citizens of seemingly simple virtue, the case becomes a political nightmare. As the defense proceeds toward a devastating confrontation in the Forum, one man's fate may be threaten the very leaders of Rome itself.
A Murder on the Appian Way: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
from St. Martin's Paperbacks
This is the fifth in Steven Saylor's "Roma Sub Rosa" series: murder mysteries set in classical Rome just before the fall of the Empire. Once again, Saylor's sleuth is Gordoianus the Finder, a sort of Sam Spade in a toga, who is hired by the rich and infamous of Roman society to solve their personal and political troubles. This time the powerful politician Publius Clodius is murdered on an open road and as riots break out, the fate of the Republic is in doubt. The plotting is deft and the action -- both physical and intellectual -- is nonstop. Most of the characters here are heterosexual but Saylor (who also writes great erotica under the name Aaron Travis) brings a critical gay sensibility to his tales that forms the cultural and emotional crux of his work.
A Gladiator Dies Only Once: The Further Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
from St. Martin's Griffin
Catilina's Riddle: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
from St. Martin's Minotaur
With the consular election drawing near, Rome is fiercely divided between the conservative Cicero and the tempestuous Catilina, whose followers are rumored to be plotting a blood-thirsty siege for power if their leader fails to win office.
Gordianus the Finder, retired to his Etruscan farm, is happy to be free of the intrigue and danger of the capital. But when his old friend Cicero enlists the Finder in an elaborate plot to control Catilina, Gordianus is drawn back into a familiar world. Now caught in a cloak-and-dagger political struggle for the fate of the Republic, Gordianus finds himself strangely drawn to the controversial candidate. Is Catilina really a subversive renegade, or are Cicero suspicions part of an even greater conspiracy? When a headless corpse ominously appears on his farm, Gordianus knows he must unlock the secret of Catilina's Riddle before Rome tears herself apart.
Rubicon: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
from St. Martin's Minotaur
Steven Saylor's seventh installment in his Roma Sub Rosa series begins with a character saying, "Pompey will be mightily pissed." Scholars might argue that there is no evidence of this particular synonym for anger ever being used in 49 B.C., but the author would no doubt respond that poetic license includes doing whatever it takes to bridge the gap for modern audiences. And indeed, the head of the Roman Senate is mightily pissed. Rome is on the verge of another civil war, and the forces of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony have crossed the Rubicon River and are marching toward the capital. To top it all off, one of Pompey's favorite cousins has been garroted to death.
Before Pompey flees the city, he asks Rome's greatest detective, Gordianus the Finder, to solve the murder. But Pompey has reason to distrust Gordianus, who may have an allegiance with Caesar. To force his loyalty, Pompey seizes the detective's son-in-law, and makes him join his household army. By doing so, he ensures that Gordianus's involvement in the coming conflict will be a very personal one. Confused and troubled, Gordianus walks through Rome toward the house of his former friend and mentor, the poet Cicero. "All around me, I felt the uneasiness of the city, like a sleeper in the throes of a nightmare." Awakening from the nightmare, surviving the chaos, and solving this whodunit will be the Finder's toughest battle yet. --Dick Adler
Arms of Nemesis: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
from St. Martin's Minotaur
The House of the Vestals: The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
from St. Martin's Paperbacks
The Venus Throw: A Mystery of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
from St. Martin's Paperbacks
Now Gordianus begins his most dangerous case. Hired to investigate Dio's death by a beautiful woman with a scandalous reputation, he will follow a trail of political intrigue into the highest circles of power and the city's most hidden arenas of debauchery. There Gordianus will learn nothing is as it seems—not the damning evidence he uncovers, not the suspect he sends to trial, not even the real truth behind Dio's death which lies in secrets—not of state, but of the heart.
A Mist of Prophecies: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)
by Steven Saylor
from St. Martin's Paperbacks
A MIST OF PROPHECIES
A beautiful young seeress staggers across the Roman marketplace and dies in the arms of Gordianus the Finder. Possibly mad and claiming no memory of her past, Cassandra--like her Trojan namesake-was reputed to possess the gift of prophecy. For such a gift there are many in Rome who would pay handsomely...or resort to murder.
Obsessed with Cassandra and her mystery, Gordianus begins to investigate her murder. As he gradually peels away the veils of secrecy that surround Cassandra's life and death, he discovers a web of conspiracy linking many of the city's most ruthless and powerful women. Now Gordianus's pursuit of the truth not only endangers his own life, but could change the future of Rome itself. . .
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