Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #274551 in Books
• Published on: 1997-09-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Synopsis
Gordianus the Finder - the large, eccentric, philosophical investigator whose skills and integrity have made him much sought after in Rome - is hired by the young Cicero to acquit or convict a man accused of murdering his own father in a delicate case that soon produces dangerous fireworks.

Customer Reviews

First Book in the Series
Steven Saylor's fascination with Ancient Rome began in his childhood. A history graduate and former newspaper and magazine editor, he lives in Berkeley, California. His series of books about Ancient Rome and featuring Gordianus the Finder are extremely popular both here in England and also in America. Anyone who is a fan of Lindsey Davis will love these books too.

This is the first book in the series and we are introduced to Gordianus the Finder, the main character in this great series. He is an investigator of crimes at a period in history when the only aid you had to solving a crime or a mystery of any kind for that matter were your powers of deduction. Gordianus is renowned for his integrity and his ability to get to the bottom of a mystery and is much sought after in the city of Rome.

He is hired by the young Cicero to acquit or convict a man accused of murdering his own father in a delicate case that soon begins to produce dangerous problems for our esteemed detective.

Disappointing and no substitute for Falco
Having worked my way through the whole of the excellent Falco series, I was on the look out for another Ancient Roman detective series to fill the gap. Sadly, this is not it.

Although Saylor's work seems historically accurate, he lacks Lindsey Davies' ability to bring the ancient city of Rome to life - which for me is half the joy of reading a historical mystery.

He also lacks her warmth, wisdom, and understanding of human nature. I found his female characters thin and unconvincing. Bethesda seems to be there to fulfil the traditional female roles of being menaced by the villains and providing the hero with (remarkably frequent)sexual services. Gordianus claims to be fond of her, but never goes so far as to hold a conversation with her. The other main female characters were frankly unbelieveable.

The mystery was not particularly enthralling(more a "How long is it going to take him to work out what's going on?" than a "Whodunnit?") and if I want a life of Cicero, I'll read Robert Harris' Imperium.

Not for me, and I won't be bothering with the rest of the series.

First of a Great Series
Steven Saylor's fascination with Ancient Rome began in his childhood. A history graduate and former newspaper and magazine editor, he lives in Berkeley, California. His series of books about Ancient Rome and featuring Gordianus the Finder are extremely popular both here in England and also in America. Anyone who is a fan of Lindsey Davis will love these books too.

Gordianus the Finder, the investigator of crimes, a man whose skill and integrity have made him much sought after by some of the most important men in Rome. Men who may need a secret to be kept, men who need to know that when Gordianus is working for them he will be discreet and not susceptible to bribery.

Such a man is Cicero, who hires Gordianus to look into the affairs of a man who is accused of murdering his own father. He wishes Gordianus to acquire evidence that will either acquit or convict the man. It is a delicate case and one that soon puts Gordianus into more danger than even he is used to.