186 AD, Corinium – that’s Cirencester to us modern folks – and pavement-maker Libertus is witness the wealthy decurion Quintus Ulpius being stabbed. Luckily, given Quintus’ personal physician being on hand, the attack is not fatal. Thinking no more of it, Libertus returns home to Glevum – Gloucester – only to find himself heading to Quintus’ estate, on the command of his patron, to find the truth behind the attack.

Libertus has barely arrived before the decurion is stabbed once again – and this time, no doctor would have been able to save him. Plenty of people have a motive, but once one of them is found with blood on his toga, everyone is certain they have the murderer. Everyone apart from Libertus – whose fears are soon realised when a second body is discovered…

Right, after a unexpected re-re-read (it was a deliberate re-read, just not for a re-re-read) the first new author for History Month – can’t think of a better name for it.

Browsing round the Astley Book Barn, I came across this book – the second book featuring Libertus. Rosemary Rowe – actually Rosemary Aitken, an historian who has written many textbooks and other novels – is the author of twenty-one of these mysteries, starting with The Germanicus Mosaic and most recently in 2021, A Dreadful Destiny. It looked interesting, a long series that I’d not encountered before – so let’s go.

Libertus is a mosaic maker – there’s a parallel with this and his ability to put the pieces together to solve a mystery. Not the most subtle idea, but it’s only mentioned the once. He’s also searching for his wife, a former slave who may or may not still be alive. But that’s really only to give him a reason to be in Corinium.

As a mystery, it’s got everything it should have. Rowe is clearly a student of the genre, with distinct suspects, clues, etc. What it is lacking is that something special in the set-up of the crime – man gets stabbed basically – that the great mysteries have, but it chugs along nicely. There is a good idea in the solution, hampered a tad by the killer, for me at least, sticking out like a sore thumb from very early in the narrative. It’s not a case of Captain Obvious showing up again, but not far off.

As for the historical setting… well, it didn’t exactly resonate throughout the story. There’s some plot ideas that are time specific, but I didn’t quite get the same sense of the age that I get when I read my favourites. I wonder what the rest of the series is like? I wonder if someone else has reviewed one of these?

Can you guess where I’m going with this? Yup!

True to form, my memory is completely playing up… and Rosemary Rowe’s not new to the blog, I’ve reviewed A Coin For The Ferryman, the ninth book in the series. Hey, it was ten years ago! And the same pros and cons seem to be in place for that one. There is a lot to like here – it just needed a little something more to send me scurrying back to the Book Barn to grab the rest that they had. Still, there’s a lot of potential here, so I will give the series another go at some point.

Right, off to actually check my blog this time before I pick my next “new” historical mystery author…