Finished Business

September 8, 2014
With the opening sentence, “November in Rome sucks,” Wishart wastes no time in introducing modern colloquialisms into his 16th Marcus Corvinus mystery set in first-century Rome (after 2013’s Solid Citizens). For readers who can look past the jarring contemporary idiom, Wishart presents one of his better plots. When masonry falls on Naevius Surdinus, a former consul, crushing his head, his subsequent death appears to be accidental. But the ghost of Alexander the Great tells Surdinus’s niece, Naevia Postuma, that foul play was involved. Despite the bizarre source of Naevia’s suspicions, Marcus investigates and finds them justified. He must also figure out why the dead man sent his wife a letter, accompanied by a scroll, that contained erroneous information about Surdinus’s relationship with Marcus’s father. Wishart unfortunately doesn’t make the most of setting the action during the reign of the sadistic and capricious Caligula, which has been depicted better elsewhere.

September 9, 2013
From the outset, anachronistic language and Britishisms combine to detract from Wishart’s otherwise solid 15th Marcus Corvinus first-century A.D. Roman historical (after 2012’s No Cause for Concern). The opening—“I like the Winter Festival. Oh yeah, sure, it can be a complete pain in the rectum”—instantly shatters the illusion that the narrator is speaking to the reader from his actual time period. When the bludgeoned corpse of censor-elect Quintus Caesius (“a pretty big cheese,” as Corvinus puts it) is found outside a brothel in the Alban Hills, where Corvinus is on vacation visiting his adopted daughter and her family, the area’s senate turns to Corvinus, whose reputation as a renowned detective has proceeded him, to solve the crime. The investigation is interesting enough, if not exactly original, but dialogue reminiscent of a 1950s PI film (“Not you, sunshine”) is a fatal flaw.

October 1, 2014

Nobleman by birth and loutish party boy by temperament, Marcus Corvinus is a citizen of Rome, AD 40. A wealthy consul's wife requests that he investigate the death of her uncle, killed during renovations to his villa in the Vatican Hills. Corvinus's initial skepticism gives way when he finds evidence of foul play and plenty of suspects: the ambitious mistress; the vengeful ex-wife; an estranged younger son; the disillusioned older son. When Emperor Caligula gets involved, Corvinus might have trouble surviving to solve the case. VERDICT The 16th entry in Wishart's long-running historical series (after Solid Citizens) features an intricate plot, lively dialog, humor, and plenty of colorful historical details that brings ancient Rome vividly to life. This thoroughly enjoyable mystery is bound to keep Lindsey Davis fans entertained.

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