It was a fine historical mystery but I had hoped to like it more. Wasn't over exciting or entertaining.

3.5 stars

A good first installment. Ruso was amusing in his long-suffering-ness and I liked Tilla. My suspicions were pinned on the wrong character, as per usual. Simon Vance reads wonderfully, as always.

Decent premise, but the characters could do with some fleshing out. I didn’t feel much connected to any of them, and it dragged a little longer than probably needed. I do like having another Rome series to supplement my Falco readings.

I liked this one and I'm happy to see it is the first book in a series. I probably won't be jumping in to the next one right away, but I will definitely add it to the queue! The setting of Roman occupied Britain is interesting and the life of a doctor during this time is intriguing (and a little unsettling) but what I liked the best is that the author manages to make a book about pretty heavy stuff entertaining and a little bit funny, too. Love the main characters and look forward to reading more about them.

Despite an overly long development of the characters which made the beginning of the book almost snooze worthy, I found this mystery story quite good.

I love the setting in the Roman occupied Britain of the 2nd century. The character of the doctor lends itself to great descriptions of the medical beliefs and practices of the time, some of them surprisingly sophisticated.
The very saucy slave might be a bit of a stretch but not completely unfeasible considering the character traits of the doctor and the conquered population.

An enjoyable, fun book and I expect the rest of the series will get better.

The first couple of chapters of this book were a bit rocky. I initially felt as though I was reading someone's creative writing project. The dialogue was clunky and if I hadn't read the synopsis of the book, I would have had no idea that the story took place in Roman Britain.

But then, all of a sudden, it became really good. I'm glad that I didn't put it down as I was tempted to do.

The author is really good at communicating personality and I soon became very involved with the characters. I really liked Ruso who is just a regular doctor trying to pay his bills.

The place where this book falls down is that it didn't really feel the way I would imagine Roman occupied Britain would feel. For example, there were a lot of anachronistic terms used, such as 'turf war'. I'm not sure if that's something that the Romans would have said back then, but it sounds like modern business jargon to me and it was a bit jarring. Also, sometimes the characters sounded like they were straight out of South London.

I know that these are small things, but I like details. I don't like things that bring me out of my immersion.

Those niggling things aside, this was a really fun story with engaging characters.

Medicus
3.5 Stars

Gaius Petrius Ruso, a medicus (doctor) with the 20th Roman Legion stationed in Britannia, finds himself investigating the deaths of two prostitutes working out of a local bar. 

While the book is heavy on establishing the setting and developing the characters, it is light on the plot and investigation of the crimes.

Much of the story involves the day to day activities of the main character as he treats patients at the legion hospital, and becomes involved in the lives of the people of Deva (modern day Chester) due to his inadvertent rescue of a slave girl, Tilla.

Although the information on the Roman occupation of Britain is well-researched and interesting, and the characters are fully fleshed out and appealing, it is exactly this development and attention to detail that slows the pacing of the mystery.

Ruso's reluctant involvement in the murder is merely a secondary consequence of his relationship with Tilla, and he more or less stumbles across the culprit without any real investigation. Nevertheless, the resolution is satisfying as everyone gets their just desserts.

All in all, a good premise, solid writing and a likable protagonist make this a decent read. I will probably continue with the series if and when I need a book set in the Roman Empire for a challenge.