DEATH STALKS GLEVUM

A city in the far-flung reaches of the Roman Empire is stalked by plague and murder.

In 200 C.E., Britannia is barely recovering from a brutal civil war, and in Glevum, today’s Gloucester, people who hold power must take special care not to disturb the status quo. Junio is a well-known mosaic maker whose patron, Marcus, is a powerful man who still must be careful in the new regime. When a gossipy woman tells Junio of the plague killing people, he makes some purchases in town and returns to his family home, where he settles in for a difficult period. Food and other necessities are in short supply, and people are starving. While he’s foraging, Junio meets Marcus, who’s returned to his villa with news that the plague has died down. Marcus wants Junio to take on two very different tasks: Do mosaic work on a small public shrine for a man named Appius Limpnus Corvinus and also spy on the man, since he himself is rumored to be a spy for Emperor Severus, who’s distrustful of Britannia. On his way into town, Junio comes upon the bodies of what at first appear to be two peasants. He recognizes one of them as Craithaw, a miller, and the other as Appius Limpnus, most likely murdered. Junio’s solved many murders in his time, but looking into these deaths will be a dangerous undertaking for both himself and Marcus. Finding a link between Craithaw and Appius Limpnus is only the beginning of his problems.

A complex mystery greatly enhanced by historical detail and portraits of everyday life in Britannia.