Customer Reviews

Old Bones (Marcus Corvinus Mysteries)

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For anyone new to David Wishart's main character Marcus Corvinus and they have read any of the "Falco" novels by Lindsey Davis, the Marcus Corvinus novels are in the same "style:" A Roman sleuth whose manner of speech is out of character with the surroundings he lives in i.e. Ancient Rome. He has a beautiful and intellingent wife called Perilla, and a "butler" who is a total snob and who in the main looks down his nose at Marcus. Another member of the family is the chef who tends to get drunk and sulk in the kitchen. I do not want to give the plot away so why not buy the book, you won't regret it. All David Wishart's books are well written and researched and the sights and sounds of Ancient Rome leap off the page at you.

I'm a huge fan of mysteries set in Rome - but this series falls short of the rest. I liked the first couple I read, but was stunned at how the quality fell off as each book arrived. David Wishart can write, but for some reason he rambles endlessly, puts in unnecessary characters - and this from someone who loves lots of eccentric charactes in her mysteries - and generally over does the slangy casualness. I do get what the writer is after, but I don't think he achieves if except fleetingly. I have found the books frustrating, as they are almost good. Which is worse than just plain bad. Well, with the exception of the last book in the series - which was just plain bad. Anyway, check one or two out of the library first - perhaps you have a different viewpoint than I do.

For reference - I like John Maddox Roberts, Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor mysteries of ancient Rome.