The House of the Vestals: The Investigations of Gordianus the Finder (Roma Sub Rosa Series #6) by Steven Saylor

From the Publisher

It is Ancient Rome, and Gordianus the Finder has a knack for finding trouble. Stalking about the city's twisting trails looking for clues and finding bodies, Gordianus has had his share of misadventure with nobles and slaves alike. Known to many as the one man in the ancient world who can both keep a secret and uncover one, Gordianus has stories to tell.

Publishers Weekly

After five novels in the Roma Sub Rosa series (A Murder on the Appian Way, 1996), Saylor fills the time frame between the first two books-80 to 72 B.C.- with this first collection of short stories featuring series sleuth Gordianus the Finder. In the crowded streets of late-Republic Rome, the rich and the poor, the living and the dead occupy close quarters. In "The Lemures," a wealthy couple's home, previously owned by an executed political enemy, is haunted by the dead man's ghost. When the new owner dies unexpectedly, his widow is sure that the ghost will kill her next. Gordianus mines his knowledge of botany, history and human psyches to ferret out the solution. The nobleman Lucius Claudius, summoned into the house of dying young man to witness his signing of his will, days later sees the young man out walking. He asks the Finder to investigate and, as Gordianus follows the trial of deceit in "A Will Is a Way," the two men embark upon a lasting friendship. Gordianus adopts a young mute boy, Eco; and his sultry Egyptian servant, Bethesda, gradually evolves from slave to friend to lover, and finally, wife. Her Egyptian-Jewish origins permit the author to incorporate sections of biblical lore in his stories. Saylor's fluid prose and probing characterization work as effectively in the short story as they have in his admirable Gordianus novels.

Seattle Times

Ingenious...Saylor offers rich history with great imagination.

Washington Post Book World

Entertainment of the first order.

Kirkus Reviews

It's no wonder Gordianus the Finder solves so many of these nine cases in a single flash of insight. Most of the mysteries aren't very mysterious; even Gordianus' slave (and future wife) Bethesda picks out the thief of his friend Lucius Claudius' silver the minute she hears the story. Still, three groups of readers will find these stories irresistible: history buffs who appreciate Saylor's careful research into Roman politics and Roman mores; fans of his five novels (A Murder on the Appian Way, 1996, etc.) who want to find out how he first became Lucius Claudius' friend, or how he acquired his faithful slave Belbo; and anyone who enjoys leisurely, literate storytelling.

Though none of the stories is more than five years old, nearly half ("A Will Is a Way," "The Lemures," "King Bee and Honey," "The Alexandrian Cat") have already been anthologized. All the others could well follow.

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents