Food for the Fishes (Marcus Corvinus Mysteries) [Paperback]

David Wishart (Author)

Book Description

Series: Marcus Corvinus Mysteries | Publication Date: September 1, 2005

When Licinius Murena, wealthy fish-farm owner, is found dead, not many tears are shed. Certainly not by Trebbio, who had just been booted out of his cottage by the landowner, nor by his widow, daugher, or farm manager. With friends like these, who needs enemies? Marcus Corvinus is the man to find out, with the help, of course, of his clever wife, Perilla.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Taut thrillers in which Ancient Rome springs to life. -- The Times

Wishart continues to entertain with a droll first-person narrative and a solid puzzle. -- Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 295 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton; New edition edition (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340827394
• ISBN-13: 978-0340827390
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #730,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Enjoyed it Immensely, July 22, 2006

By 

J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Food for the Fishes (Marcus Corvinus Mysteries) (Paperback)

When it comes to writing detective novels taking place in Ancient Rome, David Wishart is right up there with the best of them, Lindsey Davis and Steven Saylor to name but two.

The lead character Marcus Corvinus makes an amusing and likeable sleuth and with the help of his very able wife Perilla, not much gets past the pair of them when it comes to solving crimes in the ancient city.

When Licinius Murena the owner of a fish farm is found dead in one of his own eel tanks there are not many tears shed. Certainly not by Trebbio who has recently been booted out of his house by the landowner. Nor by the stunning young widow, half Murena's age. His daughter is not losing any sleep over the loss of her daddy either. The man's farm manager does not seem too distressed either. Does anyone like the murder victim.

It would seem that Corvinus has a list of suspects as long as his arm. Could this be one that even Marcus cannot solve . . .

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I can't get past the anachronisms, September 4, 2007

By 

PangaeaReads "pangaea" (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Food for the Fishes (Marcus Corvinus Mysteries) (Paperback)

Okay, I get it. Marcus Corvinus is a wise-cracking detective in ancient Rome. I could get past that. But I would appreciate the author being a bit more clever in his language by using wisecracks that might actually be relevant to the time period. Perhaps we're supposed to accept phrases like "...but all the same for Priscus to come home drunk was about as likely as a crayfish tap-dancing the length of the Baian seafront" and use our imagination as to what an equivalent remark would be for the time. The book is filled these types of anachronisms and I think it's just lame. The story is an amusing mystery, but not to my taste. I prefer Gordianus the Finder over the equivalent of Guy Noir dropped into ancient Rome.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Snappy, Witty and Just Plain Fun, February 15, 2007

By 

Robert Andrews (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Food for the Fishes (Marcus Corvinus Mysteries) (Hardcover)

David Wishart produces great Roman mysteries from a part of Europe Rome never reached - just north of Hadrian's Wall. Food for the Fishes is one of the most enjoyable of Wishart's series about Marcus Corvinus, a young patrician, set during the reign of Tiberius.

The interplay among Corvinus and the recurring supporting cast is one of the strengths of Wishart's series. Perilla (his wife), Vispania (his mother) and Priscus (his step-father) are all well developed characters and each contributes to this book, which is set in Vispania's seaside villa in Baiae, a favorite Roman resort for the wealthy.

The mystery itself is delightfully plotted and the book is well written. I look forward to each installment in the series, as I do to those of Steven Saylor, Lindsey Davis and Rosemary Rowe.