A scandal is threatening to engulf the popular spa town of Aquae Sulis (modern-day Bath). The wife of Ruso's best friend, Valens, has been found dead in the sacred hot spring, stabbed through the heart. Fearing the wrath of the goddess and the ruin of the tourist trade, the temple officials are keen to cover up what's happened. But the dead woman's father is demanding justice, and he's accusing Valens of murder.
If Valens turns up to face trial, he will risk execution. If he doesn't, he'll lose his children.
Ruso and Tilla do their best to help, but it's difficult to get anyone—even Valens himself—to reveal what really happened. Could Ruso's friend really be guilty as charged?
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“If you feel like getting away for awhile, I suggest the ancient British-Roman spa town of Aquae Sulis, circa AD 125. While people are being murdered there, your outstanding guide, Simon Vance, will keep you safe and entertained…in this eighth novel about Roman Medicus Ruso and his feisty British wife, Tilla…Vance performs with the confidence of being the longtime narrator for the well-written, deeply researched series. His pacing is vigorous without being too fast, his narrative voice endlessly listenable, and his interpretations of major and minor characters imaginative and revealing. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
Vance performs with the confidence of being the longtime narrator for the well-written, deeply researched series.
— AudioFile“Wonderful…It has all the twists and turns we would expect from a top-notch murder mystery, all while nestled deep into the world at the fringes of Imperial Rome. Though not needed to enjoy this novel, I’d recommend reading the first books—they’re worth it.”
— Historical Novels Review“Wonderfully done…full of charming and delightful characters…and of incident leavened with the right amount of humor…Historical fiction enlivened by a well-crafted puzzle.”
— Washington Independent Review of Books"Downie is masterful at depicting life in ancient Rome, and the setting of Aquae Sulis (still open to tourists) is a crime-scene coup.”
— Booklist“Characters are charming even when they are disagreeable and entertaining as they charge into dangerous situations. As a Roman citizen married to a Briton ex-slave, Ruso navigates the political and cultural waters in a way that adds an intriguing dimension to the plot.”
— Library JournalBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Ruth Downie is the author of the New York Times bestseller Medicus, as well as Terra Incognita, Persona Non Grata, Caveat Emptor, Semper Fidelis, and Tabula Rasa. She is married with two sons and lives in Devon, England.
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.