Britannia

Prefect Cato and Centurion Macro have discovered what appear to be the Druids preparing to cause the Roman army problems during the upcoming winter season.  Unfortunately, while returning to their Fort, Macro is shot in the thigh with a hunting arrow.  It requires major surgery.  While he survive it?

Acting governor Quintatus has decided to drive the Druids to their sacred island of Mona and destroy them there.  He has sent naval ships to the island in advance of the attack.  He orders Cato to have his men prepare for battle.  Quintatus also subtly suggests to Cato that Nero is on the rise in Rome, and to protect himself and his family, he should become Quintatus' man.

When Cato and his men march out of the fort, he leaves Macro in charge of the auxiliaries who have just arrived.  They are not up to military standards and Macro has plans to change that.  Once Cato joins Quintatus, his men are tasked with leading the army towards Mona, and setting a bloody tone.

The advance towards Mona is slow due to rain and mud and of course the enemy.  Back near Macro's fort, one of his scouts discovers an enemy column.  The scout brings back an enemy who, after an interrogation, informs Macro that there is an enemy column advancing behind Quintatus' column.  They are marching into a trap.  Macro needs to warn them.

Having reached the coast, the Roman army needs to get through the enemy coastal defence before crossing the channel.  Neither will be easy as winter begins to settle in.   On top of that, Quintatus refuses to accept Macro's logic about the enemy army behind him.  He is also upset by the fact that Macro has also brought a man to liaise with the newly appointed governor of Britannia.  Macro has also brought bad news for Cato.

Macro's information proves true.  Quintatus is forced to abandon his attack on Mona and retreat.  Will the Britons destroy the Romans during their retreat having already cut off their supplies?

Author Simon Scarrow's latest novel about Cato and Macro is full of battles, death and sacrifice.  We are left wondering if the might of the Roman Empire is enough to ever defeat and subdue the Druids and their followers.  A very good read.

Cold Earth

Jimmy Perez is at a funeral when the side of the hill the mourners were standing on slid away.  They were fortunate to get away, but a woman in a croft down below wasn't so lucky.  Who was she?  There doesn't seem to be anything to identify her in the croft.

Later James Grieves, the pathologist calls to tell him that the woman hadn't been killed by the slide.  She had been strangulated.  Perez then calls the mainland to ask DCI Willow Reeves to come help with the investigation.  Willow is able to come up with a possible identification and it seems to be confirmed by a man who rented the croft sometime earlier.

However, when they contact the place the victim worked, it turns out that she is alive and well.  So, who is the imposter?  Her identity is discovered when Jimmy finds an old photo of her.  His sergeant, Sandy Wilson recognises her as a star in a TV series.  Now to determine what her connection to the island is.

The body of a local lawyer is then discovered on the shore of the island.  He had a legal connection to the house where the body of the woman was found.  Why would he have been killed?  As Sandy checks the accounts of the dead man, he finds something both surprising and suspicious.

Author Anne Cleeves requires the detectives to do further investigation before they find the killer.  The ending has quite a twist to it that the reader doesn't see coming.  A very good read.

The Cater Street Hangman

The Ellison household is shocked when one of their maids is garrotted, just like two other young women in the area have been.  They also feel that Inspector Pitt is quite impertinent to think that he can question the women of the house.  It just won't do.

Why has the inspector taken an interest in continually questioning Charlotte Ellison?  Is it as her sister, Emily suggests that he is interested in her romantically?  Or for other reasons?

When the daughter of the local sexton is killed in the same manner, it sends shockwaves through the Ellison household.  The death causes further turmoil in the house when Charlotte shares her suspicions of Emily's boyfriend with Inspector Pitt.

Tensions mount as the family turns on itself in the terror it is experiencing.  Will they destroy themselves before the inspector discovers the killer?

Author Anne Perry's murder mystery presents no suspects until the last pages of the story.  Well written and and well worth the read.

Signal for Vengeance

It is 1860 and in Dorset a woman stumbles on the body of her lover on the railway tracks.  Inspector Robert Colbeck has been requested, however Superintendent Tallis proposes to send an untried detective in his place because Colbeck's wife is due with their first baby.  Colbeck is annoyed that Tallis would take this job from him.  He convinces Tallis that he and Sergeant Leeming can do the job as it isn't that far away.  The victim was a railway policeman and that is why Colbeck was asked for.

It appears that the victim was left lying across the railway tracks, so that the next train along would slice him into three parts.  Colbeck and Leeming are able to get help from the local doctor, however the man who sent for them is more of a nuisance than a help.  It isn't long before the pair have a number of suspects in mind.  But how do you eliminate half a dozen suspects and come up with the right one?

Author Edward Marston's murder tale sets the two sleuths on several trails of which none seem to offer any hope of success.  It isn't until virtually the final pages that the reader finds out the true killer.  A good, quick read.

Sleep Like the Dead

DCI William Lorimer has been called to a murder scene by DS Ramsay.  Pathologist Rosie Ferguson tells him that the victim died in the wee hours of the night.   Why had an apparent upstanding citizen been killed in what appears to have been a professional hit?

A few days later two more victims appear.  Both shot in what appears to be a professional manner, in the home of a known drug dealer.  Did he kill them, and where is he?  Evidence shows that the dealer's sister was the ex-wife of the first victim.  What's the connection and how can they find her?  As time goes by, Lorimer is convinced that she has been killed, too.

However, when Dr. Solomon Brightman informs the police that he had seen her just the day before her ex was killed, a new light is thrown on the case.  Could she and her brother have been involved in the killing together?  The death of a police informer creates new connections, which in turn give another perspective to the case.

But, how will they draw the case to a conclusion?  Author Alex Gray's novel is tense with brutal killings and psychological intent.  A very good read.

The Rhetoric of Death

Master Charles du Luc, a Jesuit priest in training is on his way to Paris to teach rhetoric, Latin and French at the Jesuit school there.  The king had recently revoked the Edict of Nantes, and Charles had helped his second cousin Pernelle, a Huguenot, escape to Geneva.  As a result another cousin, the Bishop of Marseille has now sent him into exile.  Charles will be working with Father Jouvancy, who is also in charge of dancing instruction at the school.

The day after his arrival, a young student of the school is run down by a man on a horse. The lad's godfather, is Father Guise, librarian of the school, and he states that it was an accident.  However, another witness tells Charles that the rider deliberately targeted the boy.  Charles tries to reconcile the reports of the different witnesses.  Had the lad been out looking for his older brother who had gone missing a day earlier?

Charles is ordered by the rector to halt his investigation.  However, the next day, he discovers the body of the older brother in the latrine.  This time he is asked to determine how the boy was killed.  Later, Antoine, the victim's younger brother tells Charles that his brother had sent him a note, which a friend saw his godfather take from him while he was unconscious.

Later, Charles is informed of a secret set of stairs that lead into the school from a bakery.  Could this be the way the killer moved about?  A day after this, Charles is found with the body of a witness by the head of the police.  He threatens Charles and demands that he become a police spy within the school.  What choice does Charles have?  That same day, the rector assigns Charles the task of finding out who the killer is.

Charles then learns that the death of the student might be connected to a possible French interference in the government of England.

Author Judith Rock has more death awaiting plus plenty of treachery.  Can Charles save those that mean so much to him and stay within his vows as a Jesuit?  Well written and based on historical fact.  A good read.

Hunting the Eagles

It is A. D. 14, and Centurion Tullus and his optio Fenestela are in Rome, where, if they are found could mean their execution, to watch the triumph of Tiberius. Unfortunately Tullus is recognised by Germanicus, who surprisingly offers him a position when he goes to Germania as governor and to exact revenge for the destruction of the three legions by the Germans.

Back with his century, Tullus finds it hard to keep his temper against those who demean those who made it back from the massacre done by the Germans.  In their arrogance, they claim that it would never have happened to them.  Rumours of mutiny are starting to float amongst the legions, too.

Across the Rhine, Arminius, Tullus' foe and leader of the Germans is preparing for the expected attack.  It will be a tougher enemy this time because Augustus has died and the new emperor will want to make his mark.

When Tullus hears of a potential mutiny, he takes it to his superior, who doesn't seem overly concerned.  When a full blown mutiny breaks out, Tullus' century stays true.  However, the mutineers do damage to many officers and kill some.  Will Governor Germanicus' arrival quell the rebellion?

Germanicus capitulates, and further trouble is averted; for a time.  However, trouble continues to fester so Germanicus orders that the ringleaders be executed.  He then plans a punitive attack across the Rhine before the winter season closes in.

The following spring, Germanicus attacks across the Rhine in force.  A daring raid results in the capture of Thusnelda, pregnant wife of Arminius.  Germanicus then hits the Germans with a three pronged attack, on coming from the North Sea.  How will Arminius and his allies respond?

Tullus takes Germanicus to the site of the ambush.  It is an emotional time for him and those who survived with him.  It is a month into the invasion before Arminius' soldiers begin to harass the Romans.  It is unnerving. Having struck deep into Arminius' heartland, will the Romans be able to safely retreat before winter sets in?

Tullus and his men are with Caecina on the retreat.  Unfortunately they end up trapped between a forest and a bog with Arminius and his army in the forest.  What are their options?  Will it end in another slaughter of the Roman army?

Author Ben Kane gives the author a real sense of life, death and battles at this time. Life was not easy, and at times death could be hard; not just on those who died, but those left behind.  A thoroughly enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading the concluding book in this trilogy.