Customer Reviews

The Ghosts of Glevum (Libertus Mystery Series)

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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.

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.

My first reading of this author, a bit slow in starting. I have ordered others in the series.

Rosemary Rowe is the pseudonym of Rosemary Aitken, a highly qualified academic, who has written more than half a dozen best selling textbooks on English Language and communication. She has written fiction for many years under her married name.

It is always nice for the host when a guest visit's the vomitorium, it is a sign that the host has performed his or her duties to perfection and the guest has `pigged out' on the fine fare put before him. But when an honoured guest is found dead in there it is not a good recommendation for the food that has been put before him.

Libertus' patron Marcus Septimus is arrested on suspicion of causing the death. But when Libertus himself is also accused he is forced to go on the run. Hiding out in a not too salubrious part of the city Libertus soon finds himself in danger and this time there is no one to come to his aid . . .