Customer Reviews

Virgin Territory.

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Virgin Territory" succeeds on several levels - the heroine Claudia (first met in "I, Claudia") is a realistic, feisty and nicely rounded (in more ways than one!) character with the foibles and attitudes typical of her time. Marilyn Todd manages to make her other characters stand out as individuals also, even the walk-on parts. The murder mystery is both intrigueing but not too obscure (something which always irritates me). The research into the period is obviously intense but used to create atmosphere and a solid backdrop, and isn't allowed to overwhelm the story. A welcome addition to Lindsey Davis and Janet Evanovich for amusing, clever crime fiction on my bookcase.

All of Todd's Claudia Seferius Roman series veritably glow with life. She comes across as the party girl's Agatha Christie with flair; stumbling from incident to incident with naught but luck and startling good looks and ready tongue to negotiate both her's and Drusilla's way out of danger. An imperfect heroine with an undeniable infatuation of the noble Orbilio (disingenously desribed as a 'policeman') Todd manages to set her murder mysteries in Rome with minimal care for historical accuracy. Gone is the Roman mater, in is the twenty-first century party girl.
To be fair you can see the development in Todd's writing through the series and her latest (Black Salamander) finds Claudia moving out of Rome, but, unlike another great author, Lindsey Davies, her mysteries depend on the character rather than the setting so Claudia travels rather better than Falco.
Any mystery afficionado should have these on the shelves. They are delightful.

Set in the heyday of the Roman Empire, "Virgin Territory" is Marilyn Todd's second foray into the historical thriller genre. Continuing the series begun in "I, Claudia", this novel finds heroine Claudia Seferius once again embroiled in a web of suspense, as she is caught up in another mystery that she must solve at all costs. The reappearance of fellow investigator (and erstwhile suitor) Marcus Cornelius Orbilio does nothing to simplify the situation. It is up to Claudia to use her brains -as well as beauty where necessary!- to find her way to the bottom of the puzzle.

On first reading Todd's work I was strongly reminded of Lindsey Davies, another writer of historical crime fiction whose work predates this by several years. Certainly there are parallels between the series. However, Todd's characters are sufficiently individual to banish any lingering suspicions of copycat writing. In particular, female protagonist Claudia is an intensely likeable character who fairly sparkles with intelligence, charm and feminine guile. Orbilio, the tall, dark and of course handsome patrician, provides a worthy foil for her wit and the occasional moment of sexual tension (although somewhat obviously engineered) provides a frisson of added interest.

The major flaw of Todd's work is a certain awkwardness of style. Dangling participles and incongruous metaphors are scattered throughout, while her habit of concluding almost every chapter with a grammatically incomplete sentence (presumably for added emphasis) quickly becomes annoying. However, if you can silence your inner editor for long enough to get past this, you will be rewarded with an enjoyable and amusing sleuth story with a satisfying but not excessive amount of historical detail.

Hero and heroine make this series a fast-paced treat! Ancient Rome seems very familiar; a lot like London, in fact. This is a fun mystery and a great read.

This is the second of a five-book series; all are available from Amazon.uk (first four in paperback, fifth in hardcover). They all ought to be available from Amazon.com, too. They are great!