Reasonably well written for a "fun read" mystery, but the historical aspect was totally disappointing. It reads like a contemporary mystery in which a few of the nouns are replaced with their ancient Roman counterparts. Absolutely zero sense of immersion in an ancient culture. (Compare to Name of the Rose, which is also an easy fun read, but does give a strong sense of actually taking place in the historical period.) Bailed out after about 75 pages.