Steven Saylor's seventh installment in his Roma Sub Rosa series begins with a character saying, "Pompey will be mightily pissed." Scholars might argue that there is no evidence of this particular synonym for anger ever being used in 49 B.C., but the author would no doubt respond that poetic license includes doing whatever it takes to bridge the gap for modern audiences. And indeed, the head of the Roman Senate is mightily pissed. Rome is on the verge of another civil war, and the forces of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony have crossed the Rubicon River and are marching toward the capital. To top it all off, one of Pompey's favorite cousins has been garroted to death.

Before Pompey flees the city, he asks Rome's greatest detective, Gordianus the Finder, to solve the murder. But Pompey has reason to distrust Gordianus, who may have an allegiance with Caesar. To force his loyalty, Pompey seizes the detective's son-in-law, and makes him join his household army. By doing so, he ensures that Gordianus's involvement in the coming conflict will be a very personal one. Confused and troubled, Gordianus walks through Rome toward the house of his former friend and mentor, the poet Cicero. "All around me, I felt the uneasiness of the city, like a sleeper in the throes of a nightmare." Awakening from the nightmare, surviving the chaos, and solving this whodunit will be the Finder's toughest battle yet. --Dick Adler


From Publishers Weekly
Even readers not drawn to historical settings should explore Saylor's impressive series (Murder on the Appian Way, etc.) set in ancient Rome. Saylor's protagonist, Gordianus the Finder, whom Cicero characterizes as "the most honest man in Rome," is an astute citizen and a detective for the Senate. An independent thinker, Gordianus has freed his slaves, marrying one, and adopted several orphans whom he has raised as his own sons. But at 61, the wily Gordianus finds his survival instincts pushed to the utmost, for Rome is on the verge of civil war and all must be careful with their alliances. Caesar has crossed the Rubicon with his army, and his rival, Pompey, the head of the Roman Senate, is about to abandon the city, leaving its citizens without laws and protection. In the midst of this turmoil, Pompey's favorite cousin and trusted courier is murdered in Gordianus's garden. Infuriated, Pompey orders the sleuth to find the killer, insuring his loyalty by impressing one of Gordianus's relatives into his own army. While Gordianus copes with this treacherous mix of family and politics, a heightened frenzy overtakes Rome as it awaits Caesar's possible invasion. Saylor writes about ancient Rome as naturally and comfortably as if he had lived there, capturing both its glory and brutality. Finely shadowed characters and an action-packed finale make this a praiseworthy addition to a series that deserves wide attention. Agent, Alan Nevins; author tour. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In Saylors seventh novel set in ancient Rome (e.g., The House of the Vestals, St. Martins, 1997), the reader is once again caught up in a world of murder, intrigue, and history as Gordianus the Finder attempts to solve the murder of Pompeys cousin Numerius. The civilized world of 49 B.C.E. is in turmoil at the onset of the Roman Civil War. Julius Caesar has crossed the Rubicon River into Italy with his hand-picked troops. Pompey, his chief rival for control of Rome, has fled Rome with his followers from the Senate, and all is chaos as the people leave the city. Gordianuss task is made all the more difficult by his discovery that his son may be involved in a plot against Caesars life. This novel is an excellent blending of mystery and history. Although Rubicon will stand alone, be prepared for demand for Saylors other titles.Jane Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AKCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Saylor's seventh book in his ambitious Roma Sub Rosa series takes place in 49 B.C. at the start of the Roman civil war. Surrounded by such august personages as the dashing Marc Antony and the brilliant poet-philosopher Cicero, Caesar is engaged in a battle to oust Pompey and proclaim himself king of the Roman state. The story begins as Pompey's cousin Numerius is found murdered in the courtyard of Gordianus, a sometime investigator. Gordianus' investigation ultimately leads him on a dangerous journey across Italy to Brundisium, where Pompey has taken a last, desperate stand. In a conclusion as shocking as it is unexpected, Gordianus exposes the killer, but only at great personal sacrifice. The depth and realism of detail and ambiance, the superbly crafted plot, the sense of excitement and adventure, and the way Saylor makes ancient Rome--its people, politics, customs, sights, and sounds--come alive add up to a gripping read that's as intense as it is satisfying. Emily Melton


From Kirkus Reviews
The seventh in Saylor's Roma sub Rosa series veers again, like Catilina's Riddle (1993), from straight detection to a wider examination of Rome in the grip of civil war. The story starts off, though, like a classic whodunit. Just as news arrives that Julius Caesar, having conquered Gaul, has crossed the Rubicon in daring violation of his charter and has taken the city of Corfinium, Saylor's hero Gordianus the Finder encounters a corpse in his own home. The strangled victim is Numerius Pompeius, a cousin of the proconsul Pompey the Great, whooutraged that his relation has been murdered under the roof of a man not noted for his loyalty to Pompey, and suspicious that Gordianus' son Meto, Caesar's literary adjutant, may represent Gordianus' own allegiance to Caesardemands that Gordianus discover the killer, and takes along Gordianus' son-in-law Davus with him to Brundisium, apparently Caesar's next target, to insure that Gordianus will stay on the job. Gordianus has no trouble establishing that Numerius was a blackmailing double-dealer, but his inquiries are stymied by the hysterical factionalism around him as all Rome waits breathlessly to see whether Pompey will succeed in holding off Caesar at Brundisium or drawing him into a trap, or whether Caesar will sweep over Pompey as easily as over Domitius Ahenobarbus, the pusillanimous defender of Corfinium. Saylor meticulously re-creates a chaotic world in which Romans endlessly calculate how much loyalty they can invest in a leader who may lose a crucial battle, branding his followers traitors overnight. And Gordianus' journey to Brundisium, together with the secretary of his wily former employer and adversary Cicero, bristles with menace. Whats most memorable, though, is the brilliantly simple solution to the question of who killed Numerius. Once again, Saylor (The House of the Vestals, 1997, etc.) resourcefully uses a single crime to focus the story of a civilization gone mad. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
"Saylor puts such great detail and tumultuous life into his scenes that the sensation of rubbing elbows with the ancients is quite uncanny."—The New York Times Book Review

"Saylor's scholarship is breathtaking and his writing entralls."—Ruth Rendell, London Sunday Times

"An excellent blending of mystery and history."—Library Journal

"Saylor writes about ancient Rome as naturally and comfortably as if he had lived there, capturing both its glory and brutality. Finely shadowed characters and an action-packed finale make this a praiseworthy addition to a series that deserves wide attention."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)



Review
"Saylor puts such great detail and tumultuous life into his scenes that the sensation of rubbing elbows with the ancients is quite uncanny."—The New York Times Book Review

"Saylor's scholarship is breathtaking and his writing entralls."—Ruth Rendell, London Sunday Times

"An excellent blending of mystery and history."—Library Journal

"Saylor writes about ancient Rome as naturally and comfortably as if he had lived there, capturing both its glory and brutality. Finely shadowed characters and an action-packed finale make this a praiseworthy addition to a series that deserves wide attention."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)



Book Description
As Caesar marches on Rome and panic erupts in the city, Gordianus the Finder discovers, in his own home, the body of Pompey's favorite cousin. Before fleeing the city, Pompey exacts a terrible bargain from the finder of secrets-to unearth the killer, or sacrifice his own son-in-law to service in Pompey's legions, and certain death. Amid the city's sordid underbelly, Gordianus learns that the murdered man was a dangerous spy. Now, as he follows a trail of intrigue, betrayal, and ferocious battles on land and sea, the Finder is caught between the chaos of war and the terrible truth he must finally reveal.



About the Author
Steven Saylor is the author of eight books in the Roma Sub Rosa series featuring Gordianus the Finder. He divides his time between homes in Austin, Texas, and Berkeley, California.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Bookseller Reviews

When Gordianus the Finder discovers the corpse of Pompey's favorite cousin in his own house, he is not pleased. Nor, to put it mildly, is Pompey. Steven Saylor, the master of classical whodunits, once again creeps through the back alleys of the Eternal City. (A new Saylor mystery, Last See in Massilia, is due next month in hardcover.) Apparently, the Romans have done more for us than just aqueducts.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Caesar and his troops have crossed the Rubicon and are marching on Rome. Pompey, his rival, is preparing to flee south with the Senate and his loyal troops, leaving the city unguarded, ungoverned, and on the verge of chaos. In the midst of the mounting panic, Pompey's cousin and protege, Numerius, is found murdered, garroted in the garden of Gordianus the Finder. Enraged, Pompey demands that Gordianus investigate the murder and uncover the killer, taking his son-in-law hostage to force the reluctant Gordianus to comply. With one son a trusted aide of Caesar and his son-in-law held by Pompey, Gordianus must learn the secrets of a dead man and reveal his killer to protect his own family from being crushed by the opposing forces that will forever change the Roman world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

In Saylors seventh novel set in ancient Rome (e.g., The House of the Vestals, St. Martins, 1997), the reader is once again caught up in a world of murder, intrigue, and history as Gordianus the Finder attempts to solve the murder of Pompeys cousin Numerius. The civilized world of 49 B.C.E. is in turmoil at the onset of the Roman Civil War. Julius Caesar has crossed the Rubicon River into Italy with his hand-picked troops. Pompey, his chief rival for control of Rome, has fled Rome with his followers from the Senate, and all is chaos as the people leave the city. Gordianuss task is made all the more difficult by his discovery that his son may be involved in a plot against Caesars life. This novel is an excellent blending of mystery and history. Although Rubicon will stand alone, be prepared for demand for Saylors other titles.Jane Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK

Kirkus Reviews

The seventh in Saylor's Roma sub Rosa series veers again, like Catilina's Riddle (1993), from straight detection to a wider examination of Rome in the grip of civil war. The story starts off, though, like a classic whodunit. Just as news arrives that Julius Caesar, having conquered Gaul, has crossed the Rubicon in daring violation of his charter and has taken the city of Corfinium, Saylor's hero Gordianus the Finder encounters a corpse in his own home. The strangled victim is Numerius Pompeius, a cousin of the proconsul Pompey the Great, who—outraged that his relation has been murdered under the roof of a man not noted for his loyalty to Pompey, and suspicious that Gordianus' son Meto, Caesar's literary adjutant, may represent Gordianus' own allegiance to Caesar—demands that Gordianus discover the killer, and takes along Gordianus' son-in-law Davus with him to Brundisium, apparently Caesar's next target, to insure that Gordianus will stay on the job. Gordianus has no trouble establishing that Numerius was a blackmailing double-dealer, but his inquiries are stymied by the hysterical factionalism around him as all Rome waits breathlessly to see whether Pompey will succeed in holding off Caesar at Brundisium or drawing him into a trap, or whether Caesar will sweep over Pompey as easily as over Domitius Ahenobarbus, the pusillanimous defender of Corfinium. Saylor meticulously re-creates a chaotic world in which Romans endlessly calculate how much loyalty they can invest in a leader who may lose a crucial battle, branding his followers traitors overnight. And Gordianus' journey to Brundisium, together with the secretary of his wily former employer and adversary Cicero, bristleswith menace. What's most memorable, though, is the brilliantly simple solution to the question of who killed Numerius. Once again, Saylor (The House of the Vestals, 1997, etc.) resourcefully uses a single crime to focus the story of a civilization gone mad. (Author tour)