The River God's Vengeance

In this eighth installment of Roberts' "SPQR" series, Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger has been elected to the office of Aedile, which is the most thankless job in the Roman government. Not only must Decius fill his days inspecting buildings, sewers, and brothels, but he is expected to pay for the privilege by personally funding the gaudier aspects of the office -- to entertain the people with plays, gladiator bouts, and circuses. A mystery develops around the collapse of an insula--a Roman apartment building, which quickly develops into scandal and corruption. Decius finds his sense of personal integrity challenged by the family loyalty that Roman society expects him to exhibit. This all develops into an engrossing and well-written mystery novel. As always, the author takes the reader into the imperfections of the Roman Republican government. Readers of this series will come to acquire an understanding as to why the Roman Republic failed to endure -- it was simply too corrupt and dysfunctional. Another interesting facet of this novel is its characterization of Marcus Cato. Decius dislikes Cato personally, but is able to collaborate with him in this story and this interaction is very interesting. Highly recommended. RJB.

The SPQR mysteries are not very good value for money. I get one in the afternoon mail and must finish it before bed time. I never seem to get a second day reading experience for my money. I have read all of them now and am impatient for the next one to be finished. Damn things are addictive.

Decius Quintus Caecilius Metellus is back for his eighth installment and JMR doesn't disappoint. It's the interregnum of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica and our erstwhile hero is three months into his first aedileship having returned from Gaul from his previous outing with Julius Caesar. Being responsible for the maintenance of Rome's public buildings and highways he finds himself picking over the rubble of a collapsed insula, while some astute observations from Hermes, his irreverent personal slave, leads him to commence an investigation of a shoddy construction business that has claimed the lives of the slaves Galatea and Antaeus and over two hundred more inhabitants. And all this whilst he is preparing his own costly munera in order to fulfil his political ambition. As ever, the culprits are somewhat higher up the political ladder than he initially thinks and several warnings from people including his own paterfamilias do not deter our sleuth with a reputation for intractable honesty from launching into a full investigation. Both he and Hermes work their way through dishonest construction foremen, previous aediles, censors, brothels, the Cloaca Maxima and the Forum before uncovering a crime of passion that was merely a pointer to a greater corruption. In the end the initial deaths were some what justified and Decius neatly sinks two great men during an eventful four days, during which the Tiber river floods ensuring, as Marcius Porcius Cato so neatly concludes: "the finest manifestation of divine will in my lifetime". As ever there are an assortment of colourful characters including Caninus, Marcus Aemilius Scauras, Justus, Harmodias, Lucilius, Folius and Messala. With him are the Greek physician Asklepiodes and his wife Julia, niece of Caesar. The cast move around Decius with slow inexorability as his Socratic sleuthing takes him into the mire of truth in a manner that is perfect to read. JMR took a long break after the opening novel of the SPQR series but his return in recent novels has proven a major success in the world of the ancient murder mystery. Whilst he showed the likes of Saylor and Davis what to do all those years ago, his newest efforts are right up their with them. Any fan of the genre must read and own JMR's SPQR series and I eagerly look forward to `The Princess and the Pirates'.

I found this to be another enjoyable entry in an entertaining series. The SPQR series is set in the last days of the Roman Republic, as powerful men, including Julius Caesar, Pompey, Crassus, and various lesser figures, including the heads of criminal gangs within the city of Rome, compete against each other to gain power over Rome. Each novel in the series fits a mystery plot into actual historical events of the period. The protagonist, a young nobleman who is an idealistic believer in the Republic, always fights hard not only to solve the mystery confronting him, but also to protect the Republic. An intrepid investigator, he invariably solves the mystery, but sees the Republic nevertheless growing ever more endangered as the series progresses. While the main characters are not as strongly created as those in Lindsey Davis' somewhat similar mystery series, set later during the Roman Empire, the author's wryly humorous reinterpretations of Roman history and the figures who shaped it never fail to entertain.

In the City of Rome, Decius Caecilius Metellus assumed the aedilship. This office has no perks, is very expensive for the incumbent, and is very necessary if a citizen wants to rise high in the political system. The aedile has to make sure the sewers and drains are in working order, make sure the building contractors are kept honest, and inspect the brothels, the one bonus in the job.When a new building suddenly collapses, killing over two hundred and fifty people and slaves, Decius is on the job acting as a modern day arson investigator. He sees that Lucius Folius and his wife, wealthy merchants in the building trade, were killed with their necks snapped. The slaves were cruelly whipped and bore deep scars as tight runaway collars on their necks. Holes were bored into the foundation of the building causing it to collapse. Further detecting shows that Folius was involved in the collapse of other buildings. Decius concludes that a conspiracy of highly placed politicians was involved in the scam with him. Decius is determined to bring all the perpetrators to justice even if it means putting his own life on the line.John Maddox Roberts places his heroic protagonist in the last years of the Roman Republic where crime, corruption and violence are at an all time high level. Decius, politically astute and delightfully devious, uses unique methods to see that justice prevails. The author has meticulously researched Roman history making readers feel like they are actually events that are happening now.Harriet Klausner