A number of secondary characters, from soldiers to medics and even an emperor, add to the drama, many of them appearing in multiple books. He feels hard done by, with responsibilities for his large and feckless family at home in Gaul, left in debt following his father’s death. There’s a lot of humour in the books, much of it character driven. Together, these build up a picture of the diversity and complexity of the Roman world, and in particular its occupation of Britannia. These are mostly in Britannia but in Persona Non Grata they visit Ruso’s family in Gaul, and in Vita Brevis they go to Rome. Despite the risks to Ruso’s career, their precarious financial situation, and even their lives, they are unable to back down, driven by principle, personal ties or just plain cussedness.Įach book takes place in a different location. The plots are deliciously twisty and invariably involve Ruso and Tilla taking on people who are dangerous, or politically connected, or both. Together, they find themselves stumbling across crimes, which they investigate and solve. He takes her in as a servant but over time their relationship deepens. Tilla is a Briton who he rescues from slavery in the first novel, Medicus. Gaius Petreius Ruso is a Roman army doctor, initially stationed in Deva (modern-day Chester). Ruth Downie’s crime series set in Roman Britain is my current favourite comfort read.
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