Publisher Description

It is the morning after the nocturnal rite of the good Goddess, an all-female ceremony strictly out of bounds to the male of the species, and the body of a young woman has been found, her throat cut. Suicide or murder Hoping to avoid scandal, Senator Lucius Arruntius calls in Marcus Corvinus to do some discreet sleuthing. Marcus is helped in his investigations by a feisty flutegirl and by his clever, loyal wife Perilla (even though her attention is somewhat distracted by the acquisition of a revolutionary new clock). But - inevitably - to solve the mystery, Marcus must look beyond the obvious and first untangle a complex web of treachery and deceit.

Author Biography

David Wishart studied Classics at Edinburgh University. He then taught Latin and Greek in school for four years and after this retrained as a teacher of EFL. He lived and worked abroad for eleven years, working in Kuwait, Greece and Saudi Arabia, and now lives with his wife and family in Scotland.

Review

Praise for OLD BONES:'His learning shines through. He has a feel for ancient times yet uses modern dialogue. This neat trick manages to combine the atmosphere of the ancient world while moving the story quickly and assuredly on. Highly recommended' - Yorkshire Evening ExpressWith the toga-wearing sleuths of Lindsey Davis and Steven Saylor prowling the alleys of Ancient Rome, is there room for Wishart's Marcus Corvinus? On this evidence the answer is resoundingly in the affirmative. - The TimesPraise for THE HORSE COIN:'enjoyable . . . an ingenious solution to this ancient mystery.' - Sunday TelegraphPraise for SEJANUS:'Witty, engrossing and ribald . . . it misses nothing in its evocation of a bygone time and place' - Independent on Sunday

Promotional

The sixth Marcus Corvinus mystery from the leading Roman crime writer in the industry.

Kirkus US Review

Ancient Roman nobleman Marcus Valerius Corvinus is again pressed into unwilling service as a sleuth. This third in a series (Germanicus, p. 116) begins when the body of a Vestal Virgin named Cornelia is found, throat cut, after the nocturnal rite of the Good Goddess. Recently resettled in Rome, Marcus would rather stay home and banter with his tart-tongued bride Ruffia Perilla. But Senator Lucius Arruntius figures that the respectable Marcus will be able to question the "purple-stripers" (Roman officials, including the Vestals) without raising hackles and proceed discreetly enough to avoid public scandal. Suicide looks possible, even likely, until Marcus notices that the knife doesn't match the house's cutlery. And there's more frustration ahead: Among other witnesses/suspects, Cornelia's weepy maid Niobe, who found the body, seems to know more than she's telling. Evidently one of the Vestals, who opted out of the ceremony because of illness, was replaced by the vanished Thalia. With a little help from Perilla, Marcus theorizes that Cornelia may be pregnant, or that a male disguised as Thalia took her place. He finds a likely suspect in lovestruck young Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, son and namesake of the influential senator and brother of an oversexed divorcee named Lepida. But the deaths of Niobe and Lepidus, the latter an apparent suicide, return Marcus to square one. As before, Marcus' droll observations about Roman life and sexually charged repartee with Perilla are more entertaining than the shaggy, lukewarm whodunit. (Kirkus Reviews)

Long Description

It is the morning after the nocturnal rite of the good Goddess, an all-female ceremony strictly out of bounds to the male of the species, and the body of a young woman has been found, her throat cut. Suicide or murder Hoping to avoid scandal, Senator Lucius Arruntius calls in Marcus Corvinus to do some discreet sleuthing. Marcus is helped in his investigations by a feisty flutegirl and by his clever, loyal wife Perilla (even though her attention is somewhat distracted by the acquisition of a revolutionary new clock). But - inevitably - to solve the mystery, Marcus must look beyond the obvious and first untangle a complex web of treachery and deceit.

Review Quote

'Witty, engrossing and ribald ... it misses nothing in its evocation of a bygone time and place'

Promotional "Headline"

The sixth Marcus Corvinus mystery from the leading Roman crime writer in the industry.

Description for Sales People

Meticulous classical research combines with lively and humorous characterisation and intriguing crime plot

Details