Medicus

Gaius Ruso, an army medic has an unidentified woman in his morgue.  He is surprised when his new assistant informs him that the body could have come downstream, yet on the other hand could have come upstream due to the tide.  While walking in town later, he comes across a man with a badly injured slave girl. He purchases her and takes her back to the hospital.

A day later and someone has identified the dead girl.  She had worked at a pub in the town.  However, the injured slave girl still is unnamed.  She takes on the name of Tilla after something Ruso says to her.  Ruso takes her to his home after she has recovered somewhat.  However, she doesn’t seem to be putting on any weight.

Later when Priscus, the hospital administrator, returns he wants to know about the two women that Ruso has entered into the records.  Ruso has his story ready.  To be on the safe side, Ruso moves Tilla into a room at a bar.  The first time he returns to check on her she hits him over the head with a bowl, causing him to drop his medical case on his toe.  She had thought that he was someone else.  Ruso self medicates with poppy juice.

Rumours begin to abound that Ruso is investigating the death of the young woman, despite his denials. So when a body is found in a building under renovation, the man in charge turns to Ruso.  He is surprised to find that the body had been burned in the building fire.  Upon examination he discovers that the body is female.  It doesn’t take long for Ruso to discover the identity of this victim.  She had worked in the same place the first one had, and had been missing for some time.

When Tilla disappears, Ruso is left to wonder if she is the next victim of a killer.  Author Ruth Downie has several answers awaiting Ruso, but it’s going to be rough going to get them.  This first novel in this series was a very good read.