A Pattern of Blood - Hardcover

Críticas

Rowe does a terrific job of reviving the time and place... Entertaining it most certainly is! (West Lancashire Evening Gazette)

'Demonstrates Rowe's pithy command of the Roman sleuth genre... A considerable achievement' The Times

'Solving puzzles and murder mysteries in the second century AD is something the freedman and mosaicist Libertus does well. And this engaging and sympathetic character once again has a date with danger and double dealing... Her gentle yet pacy writing style ensures that the action never flags as Libertus is drawn into a deadly web of intrigue... Her keen eye for detail ensures that the interesting array of characters who populate her novel are totally credible as are the surroundings in which they find themselves' Western Morning News

THE GERMANICUS MOSAIC:
'Lots of local and historical colour... The story is agreeably written, gets on briskly with its plot, and ends with a highly satisfactory double-take solution'
Gerald Kaufman, Scotsman

'A traditional country-house mystery translated to the Roman world - even featuring the mandatory body in the bibliotheca... Rowe has had the clever idea of making her detective-figure a mosaicist, and, therefore, an expert in puzzles and patterns. Into the bargain, he is a freed Celtic slave, and thus an outsider to the brutalities of the conquerors, and a character with whom the reader can sympathise... There are charming details about innocent life on the fringes of empire' Independent

Reseña del editor

Freedman and pavement-maker Libertus feels nothing but dismay when he is asked by his patron, Marcus Septimus, to accompany him to Corinium (modern Cirencester) to investigate a threat against a decurion, Quintus Ulpius. Meddling in murky political intrigue is a certain short-cut to an early grave, but Libertus cannot refuse his master, and he soon finds himself en route to Corinium as a personal guest of the decurion.

Libertus's feeling of unease turns to horror when he and Marcus arrive. They've only been at the villa for a matter of minutes when Quintus is found dead, stabbed in the back. Then one of his enemies is found with bloodstains on his toga, and for Marcus at least, the case is closed. But Libertus isn't as confident as his patron that the killer has been apprehended, and when a second body is found, he knows he must act fast before other lives, including his own, are threatened...