Tabula Rasa
A Crime Novel of the Roman Empire
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-1-4088-6345-9 (ISBN)
Description
The medicus Ruso and his wife Tilla are back in the borderlands of Britannia, this time helping to tend the builders of Hadrian's Great Wall. Having been forced to move off their land, the Britons are distinctly on edge and are still smarting from the failure of a recent rebellion that claimed many lives. Then Ruso's recently arrived clerk, Candidus, goes missing. A native boy thinks he sees a body being hidden inside the wall's half-finished stonework, and a worrying rumor begins to spread. When the soldiers ransack the nearby farms looking for Candidus, Tilla's tentative friendship with a local family turns to anger and disappointment. It's clear that the sacred rites to bless her marriage to Ruso will have to wait. Tensions only increase when Branan, the family's youngest son, also vanishes. He was last seen in the company of a lone and unidentified soldier who claimed he was taking the boy to see Tilla.
As Ruso and Tilla try to solve the mystery of the two disappearances - while at the same time struggling to keep the peace between the Britons and the Romans - an intricate scheme involving slavery, changed identities, and fur trappers emerges, and it becomes imperative that Ruso find Branan before it's too late.
As Ruso and Tilla try to solve the mystery of the two disappearances - while at the same time struggling to keep the peace between the Britons and the Romans - an intricate scheme involving slavery, changed identities, and fur trappers emerges, and it becomes imperative that Ruso find Branan before it's too late.
Reviews / Votes
Attention to day-in-the-life period details, judiciously doled-out twists, and dry British humor ... One hell of a toga party. Entertainment Weekly Wonderfully entertaining. Newsweek Places Downie alongside such established masters of the Roman historical as Steven Saylor and Rosemary Rowe. Publishers Weekly (starred review) Shipwrecks, ex-wives, gruesome gladiatorial games, unruly children, family discord, and, of course, mayhem and murder. Highly recommended. Library Journal (starred review) Ruso rocks. Let's hear it for those Romans. Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A pleasure to read. The Ruso series might not be as well known as, say, Lindsey Davis' longer-running Marcus Didius Falsco series, but it's just as entertaining. Booklist Ruth Downie ranks among the very best of today's generation of Roman writers; by far and away the most obvious inheritor of Rosemary Sutcliff's honoured mantle. Ruso is a complex, engaging, utterly human medic, straddling the line between occupiers and occupied in the divided lands of Britannia with panache and good-humoured compassion. With a finely wrought plot, a densely woven cast of characters and plenty of action, this is a book to savor to the last sentence. M.C. Scott, author of the Rome and Boudica series It makes book reviewing easy when you realize you are reading for pleasure! A superb evocation of the harsh life of Romans and rebels in the bandit-country of England while building Hadrian's Wall. Ruth Downie shows why she's considered the best of the Roman mystery writers. A crime writer to watch with a matchless style. Look out, Lindsey Davis! Michael Jecks, author of the Knights Templar series Excellent-a well-constructed murder mystery that skillfully brings Roman Britain to life. You feel that you are there in the cramped hospitals of the Roman forts or out in the bleak northern countryside watching the flickering flames of the Samain festival. The story is told with Ruth Downie's usual quirky humor and a nod towards the present day health services - the sly references to targets and quotas are very much part of the fun of the book. This is story-telling of a high order-an immensely enjoyable read. L.C. Tyler, author of The Herring-Seller's Apprentice Downie writes with quiet authority and surprising depth, offering an engaging depiction of an obscure slice of history. Kirkus Reviews Immediately transports the reader to another time and place. Publishers Weekly Downie's attention to detail-both historical detail and human detail-makes this series a joy to read for the mystery lover, the classics fan, or anyone seeking more character-driven genre fiction. The Historical Novel SocietyMore details
Person
Ruth Downie is the author of the New York Times bestselling Medicus, as well as Terra Incognita, Persona Non Grata, Caveat Emptor, and Semper Fidelis. She is married with two sons and lives in Devon, England.