Book Review: A Roman Ransom by Rosemary Rowe

By Angela Youngman Apr 6, 2006, 8:53 GMT

Libertus wakes in his home in Glevum weak, disoriented, and in the throes of a serious illness. By his bedside is his patron, Marcus Septimus. Despite warnings from the medicus that Libertus is too ill to speak to anyone, Marcus has come to beg Libertus for his help with a very serious matter: Marcus\' wife Julia, and their son, Marcellinus, have gone missing. Everyone has been questioned, yet no one ...more

A traditional country house style mystery set in Roman Britain. A noble lady, Julia and her baby son Marcellenius have gone missing in full view of her servants and from a fortifed house owned by her husband. When a ransom note appears, Tribune Marcus immediately calls on pavement maker Libertus who has some skill in solving mysteries to deal with this one. Unfortunately, Libertus is a bit handicapped by being ill with a fever and has to do much of the work from his sick bed.

His only help comes from slaves and members of his family. The task is made harder by an officious doctor who appears intent on breaking the link between Libertus and his patron; suggesting that Libertus is in league with the kidnappers!

Matters go from bad to worse as the kidnapper's demands escalate. Finding the answers becomes imperative if Libertus is to retain his own position in life. It soon becomes clear that appearances are deceptive and nothing is as it seems.

A good read, with plenty of twists and turns along the route. Rosemary Rowe has written better stories in the Libertus series. In this one, she seems to get a little off track focusing on personalities rather than the story line in the first part of the novel. Once back on track, the story becomes much better, tauter and more convincing.