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Summary
Summary
The third novel in the acclaimed Gaius Petreius Ruso series by the New York Times bestselling Ruth Downie--this time set in ancient Gaul.
Ruth Downie is published as R.S. Downie in the UK, and this book is available there under the title Ruso and the Root of All Evils .
At long last, Gaius Petreius Ruso and his companion, Tilla, are headed home--to Gaul. Having received a note consisting only of the words "COME HO ME!" Ruso has (reluctantly, of course) pulled up stakes and brought T illa to meet his family.
But the reception there is not what Ruso has hoped for: no one will admit to sending for him, and his brother Lucius is hoping he'll leave. With Tilla getting icy greetings from his relatives, Lucius's brother-inlaw mysteriously drowned at sea, and the whole Ruso family teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, it's hard to imagine an unhappier reunion. That is, until Severus, the family's chief creditor, winds up dead, and the real trouble begins...
Engrossing, intricate, and--as always--wonderfully comic, Ruth Downie's latest is a brilliant new installment in this irresistible series. This is everything we've come to expect from our charming, luckless hero.
Author Notes
Ruth Downie is the author of the New York Times bestseller Medicus and Terra Incognita . She is married with two sons and lives in Milton Keynes, England.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The third installment to Downie's Roman Empire series-the second-century saga of a witty and courageous army surgeon, Gaius Ruso, and his smart and loyal lover, Tilla, a barbarian woman from Britannia-continues in gripping fashion. Ruso returns to his family home in southern Gaul, summoned by a forged letter pleading for his immediate return. Once Ruso and Tilla return, Ruso is thrust into a dangerous quagmire involving a missing ship, huge family debts and, before long, the murder of the family's principal creditor-a crafty phony named Severus-who is poisoned in Ruso's home. While Ruso and his family are quickly suspected of the murder, Ruso and Tilla's attempts to solve the crime are hampered by interfering family members, a lying politician, a greedy banker and a pair of too-eager investigators sent from Rome. Ruso and Tilla must also deal with prejudice, envy and a new religion, Christianity. The plotting is clever and suspenseful, with subtle clues and lots of action, while the setting and supporting cast are vividly drawn. This is solid entertainment, nicely done. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A third deftly plotted puzzler starring Roman battlefield physician Gaius Petreius Ruso and his former house servantand present loverTilla (Terra Incognita, 2008, etc.). The body count is small, but the intrigue is thick and suitably baffling as the action moves from Roman-occupied Britain to the home front in Gaul, to which Ruso is unexpectedly summoned by his endlessly demanding family. A letter supposedly sent by his curmudgeonly brother Lucius informs the medicus, who's recuperating from an accidental injury, that his relatives are suspects in the presumed murder of Severus, the greedy creditor who was threatening to bust their assets. Astutely misdirecting us, Downie opens with a scene set aboard a burning merchant ship, on which Ruso's brother-in-law Justinus is held captive. Then the scene shifts to Ruso's homecoming, accompanied by Tilla, and the resumption of frayed relations with his snotty stepmother Arria, various half-sisters and other family and their ubiquitous naked toddlers, a wily senator (Fuscus) intent on turning the Rusos' new ill-fame to his advantage, a lovesick gladiator (Tertius) and Gaius' combative ex Claudia, more recently Severus' spouse and possibly "the bitch" identified as his poisoner by the deceased's final words. Nobody seems upset that Severus has been iced, but crisscrossing investigations produce ever more embarrassing disclosures as the mayhem evolves into something very like an extended episode of Everybody Loves Raymond with togas and guest appearances by the Marx brothers. Ruso's sullen wit is dependably delightful ("the beheading of unruly relatives seemed a little harsh, but obviously one would exercise discretion"). And when the unquenchably curious Tilla encounters acolytes of the odd new faith called Christianity, we know Downie is sharpening her knives for Ruso's next surgically precise adventure. Enormous fun: another lively winner from a newly established mistress of the genre. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Roman-occupied Britain serves as backdrop for Downie's clever series featuring wry army doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso. In this third installment (after Terra Incognita, 2008), Ruso receives an urgent letter from his brother, summoning him home to Gaul (modern-day Nimes, France). Bad news awaits there; his family is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Strangely, no family member will claim to have called for Ruso's help. To make matters worse, he has brought his girlfriend, Tilla, who hails from Brittania (making her a barbarian in the eyes of Ruso's kin). Life on the domestic front proves as forbidding as the battlefield when the family's chief creditor, Severus, is poisoned, and fingers point at Ruso, the last to see him alive. As he seeks out the real culprit, Ruso also becomes entangled in an investigation involving his brother-in-law, Justinus, who's disappeared on the high seas. Though the ending falls a bit flat, Persona Non Grata brims with the complex characters and rich detail that have made this series a must for period mystery buffs.--Block, Allison Copyright 2009 Booklist
Library Journal Review
For years, Ruso has served as a medical officer in the army of the Roman Empire, but a broken foot and a cryptic message, "Come home," have sent him hobbling back to Gaul on extended medical leave. Accompanying him is Tilla, his Briton-born, barbarian companion. Even though he knew that his family was in dire straits financially, Ruso hadn't anticipated the absolute chaos awaiting him-the vineyards are falling into ruin and facing foreclosure, his sisters are dowerless, the family gives Tilla a chilly reception while plotting to marry Ruso off to the wealthy widow living next door, and his first wife's new husband is fatally poisoned. Unfortunately, Ruso is the only witness to the poisoning, and the victim is the family's chief creditor, which puts Ruso in the awkward position of being both criminal investigator and primary suspect. This lively sequel to Medicus and Terra Incognita continues Downie's delightful historical series. Her characters are wonderfully memorable, particularly the dry and acerbic Ruso, whose internal dialog provides some genuinely funny laugh-out-loud moments despite shipwrecks, ex-wives, gruesome gladiatorial games, unruly children, family discord, and, of course, mayhem and murder. Highly recommended.-Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage P.L., AK (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.