The Rewards of Treachery
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- 15,99 €
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- 15,99 €
Descrizione dell’editore
A stolen valuable is just the beginning of a trail of strange events Junio has to uncover in this skilfully plotted historical mystery set in 2nd century Britain.
"A mastery of period detail matches the engrossing plot . . . Brilliant " Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Late summer, CE 198. With Glevum an uneasy place since the current Emperor seized power, and with rebel Celts still actively opposing Roman rule, tension remains as Caesar turns his attention to stamping out all remaining threats to his authority.
Junio, Libertus's adopted son, tries to be inconspicuous and focus on his workshop and growing family. This becomes difficult when Libertus's patron, Marcus Septimus, seeks Junio's advice about a valuable cloak-clasp which has disappeared - together with the jeweller who was repairing it.
Unwillingly dragged into investigating this, Junio finds himself faced with a string of murders, betrayal and revenge, and his own small son in dreadful jeopardy! What secret was the missing jeweller hiding? What danger lurks in the ill-omened cave? And what part does the mysterious Celtic visitor who suddenly appears play in this tale of treachery?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rowe's brilliant 20th mystery set in second-century Britain (after 2021's A Dreadful Destiny) stars Junio, the adopted son of previous series lead Libertus, a Celtic nobleman turned Roman citizen who's been exiled from Glevum (modern-day Gloucester). In Glevum, Junio has succeeded Libertus as an in-demand pavement maker and problem-solver for members of the upper class. Libertus's former patron, Marcus Septimus Aurelius, once consulted Libertus on the disappearance of minor items from his household. Those thefts now assume greater significance when one of Marcus's slaves, Letigines, is accused of stealing a valuable brooch pin belonging to Marcus's wife. Letigines claims he took the jewelry for repair, and he believed that the skilled artisan who worked on it had returned it. Because what the slave handed back to his mistress was a cheap copy, his life is in jeopardy. Junio agrees to look into the matter, only to find it complicated by a grisly murder that bears the hallmarks of Celtic rebels. A mastery of period detail matches the engrossing plot. Rowe doesn't miss a beat with this transition to a new lead, and it's also an accessible entry point for newcomers.
