Despite the opulence of the evening's banquet, Libertus is keen to return to his wife and a warm bed. But this feast has a finale to put any diner off his dessert—the guest of honor is found dead in the vomitorium. To Libertus's horror, his patron Marcus Septimus is arrested on suspicion of murder. Then when Libertus is accused of being Marcus's accomplice, he is forced to go on the run. Hiding in a dark corner of the city, he quickly realizes he's an unwelcome visitor to those who haunt the shadows. Soon Libertus is in danger, and this time there's no one to help.
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Book Description
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About the Author
Rosemary Rowe is the pseudonym of an author who has successfully published novels in another genre. Born in Cornwall, she lived for twenty years in New Zealand. A highly qualified academic, she has written more than a dozen best-selling text-books as Rosemary Aitken.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Better than the last, but not the best,
By ilmk "ilmk" (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ghosts of Glevum (Hardcover)
The sixth Libertus mystery from Rosemary Rowe plunges us immediately into a difficult situation as Marcus Aurelius Septimus, Libertus? patron, ends up accused of the murder of one corpulent Gaius Praxus, military commander at his own banquet, found dead in the vomitorium. AfterGovernor Pertinax?s departure from Britain, Septimus, Mellitus and Praxus were power sharing until a successor was sent by Commodus. Now Praxus is dead and Mellitus accuses Marcus of his murder. As Libertus? patron is hauled off to jail, Marcus? wife, Julia Delicta, asks him to help his patron and our sleuth disappears home before the avenging Praxus guard, headed by the bullish Bullface, can grab him.For considerable time, Libertus finds himself on the run as he tries to understand what has happened and get some details from Golbo, the slave boy attending the vomitorium that Marcus inexplicably dismissed just before the murder, before he himself is falsely accused of complicity. This leads to a nightmarish journey into the more unsavoury areas of Glevum as he is kidnapped by a group of beggars and thieves (The Ghosts of Glevum) who sit in mock council to decide his fate. Forced into ?hiring? them to save his own skin, Libertus makes use of Sosso, the leader of the ragtail band, Parva a young prostitute, Cornovacus, a thief, Lercius, an insane thug, Tullio, the riverman, Molendinarius, the firewood-seller and his wife all of whom are under the ?patronage? of Grossus. His own house burned down, Gwellia and Junio safely in Corfinium and finding Golbo dead enables Libertus, by using these ?Ghosts? who hear everything and can get into anywhere in Glevum, to figure out who the murderer was and deduce the motive behind the apparent treasonous scroll of Marcus that has come to light. Eventually, the facts are teased out and the traitorous ?ghost? comes to light before being killed by his own people. There is no denouement with the culprits as we skip to Marcus? freedom at the end, but are advised the conspirators and murderer have been apprehended. The previous Libertus offering was weaker than the rest because it cast our sleuthing hero in a light that didn?t match his previous characterisation. This effort returns us to the old Libertus we know though I get the impression that Rowe has unfortunately restricted herself her with this forcing of Libertus into the Glevum underworld. It ensures an intellectual puzzling of the truth using informants rather than any free sleuthing himself and no empathy with the supporting cast is delivered. So, whilst better than the Legatus Affair, not as good as the first four.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good; but could be better,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Ghosts of Glevum (Hardcover)
I'd like to see the author, for once, give poor Libertus a break. I've read half way through her whole series and I've yet to see the poor guy come out close to even. So far, in each novel: he almost dies, gets beaten,and is constantly in danger of losing all. When he does finally bring things to a sucessful conclusion. He is never fully rewarded for his efforts; his patron usually takes the credit or the patron chalks it up to dumb luck on Libertus' part. Fat cats get away with murder or high theft and poor old Libertus is lucky to hang onto the few things he has going for him. To be fair to the author; Libertus does come out with a little something each time, but it is not in proportion to the sacrifice he has to make.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Libertus mystery,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Ghosts of Glevum (Libertus Mystery Series) (Paperback)
My first reading of this author, a bit slow in starting. I have ordered others in the series.
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