Dark Omens

October 14, 2013
Rowe’s 14th whodunit set in second-century Britain (after 2012’s A Whispering of Spies) offers a surprisingly undramatic story line, given the events roiling the Roman Empire at the time. News of the death of the capricious and tyrannical emperor Commodus alarms the citizens of Glevum (the modern-day Gloucester). Given the inconsistencies in reports of the cause of death, some fear that the emperor has spread the rumor of his death as a ruse to identify those opposed to his regime who might now express their political views. Against this backdrop, magistrate Gaius Mommius Genialis, who’s about to marry a widow whose first husband perished at sea, hires pavement maker Longinus Flavius Libertus to replace a mosaic in the widow’s home that the artisan once made depicting a boat. Genialis promises Libertus a large bonus if he completes the work quickly. When Genialis vanishes, ascertaining his fate becomes the book’s main puzzle. Rowe has done a better job in previous entries of mixing mystery with history.

December 1, 2013

News of the emperor's death complicates Libertus's ongoing investigations in Roman Britain. But his 14th outing (after A Whispering of Spies) finds him solving problems wisely.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013
Roman citizen, pavement maker, and sometime sleuth Libertus is commissioned by prominent citizen Genialis to lay a mosaic floor in the home of his intended bride. Libertus finishes the floor, but Genialis, who was to pay him handsomely, has gone missing. Not only that, but it's the coldest winter in years, the dreaded Emperor Commodus has just died, and there's unrest among the citizens. Meanwhile, a sacrifice made at the festival of Agonalis goes awry, and dark omens begin appearing, first in the form of the grisly appearance of a headless, torsoless body, then with the discovery of a head and torso half buried in the snow. Even Libertus' cunning skill at solving difficult mysteries is tested to the utmost as he tries to understand what has happened. Is there a mad murderer on the loose? Is there a sinister connection between the two dismembered bodies? Splendid period detail, a clever hero, a cracking good mystery, and a bit of wry humor add up to yet another winner in Rowe's excellent series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)