My first book review.
Last night I finished reading a mystery book I pre-ordered on Amazon last month, A Coin for the Ferryman by Rosemary Rowe and the ninth book in the Libertus series. The series is set in Roman Britain around 180 AD and stars Libertus, a mosaic artist who moonlights as a dectective for his patron. I say detective lightly since this is a modern term and the Roman world did not have dectectives as we understand it today. The closest thing is what a Roman would call an "informer". Most Roman whodunit series that I've read have lead characters who are informers by trade, however, Libertus is the first one I've seen who is not. His day job so to speak is as I mentioned earlier, a mosaic artist. His profession though gives him a pattern-finding ability that he likewise uses to solve murder mysteries.
The book and series plot are both fairly good. The books usually begin with Libertus' life being interrupted by a death somehow and being asked by his patron to solve it. Often times there are other deaths which are seemly unconnected until Libertus puts the pieces of the puzzle together. The series distinguishes itself from others in two main ways: Libertus' position in a patron-client relationship and of course his method of solving the mysteries.
The patron-client relationship in ancient Roman society was an important and a complex one. It was a relationship between a wealthy, powerful Roman (the patron) and a lower class citizen (the client). The relationship would be beneficial to both: the client gets his name associated with that of a wealthy and powerful figure (who often was involved in public service to the state) and the patron gets the support of the client in his business and political ventures. In the series, Libertus is the client of one of the highest ranking magistrates in Britain. Thus, we often get to see Roman society from both sides of the power structure.
Libertus' method of solving murders is puzzle through the event, actions, and people as he understands them at the time. This can be a bit confusing as new or previously discarded possibilities pop up as new information is revealed. However, it is not terribly difficult to follow as he explains how the new information is absorbed. Like any detective, Libertus discovers information by questioning people. However, Libertus is an old man (near mid-50's) and must often deal with characters who often lie or fudge the truth for their own ends (much like people today!). His must rely on his wit, cajoling, empathy, and sometimes outright bribery to get the information he needs. It also helps that his patron is a very powerful man in the province. Power always loosens tongues.
Anyhow, this book was similar in quality to the other books in the series. Libertus' apprentice and slave is to be freed and adopted as his legal son when a body is discovered on the patron's property. Libertus must solve the mystery before his new son's nuptials and before the Roman festival of the dead. The book was not quite as good as previous books, but still worth reading. I hope those who read this made sense of my review.
The book and series plot are both fairly good. The books usually begin with Libertus' life being interrupted by a death somehow and being asked by his patron to solve it. Often times there are other deaths which are seemly unconnected until Libertus puts the pieces of the puzzle together. The series distinguishes itself from others in two main ways: Libertus' position in a patron-client relationship and of course his method of solving the mysteries.
The patron-client relationship in ancient Roman society was an important and a complex one. It was a relationship between a wealthy, powerful Roman (the patron) and a lower class citizen (the client). The relationship would be beneficial to both: the client gets his name associated with that of a wealthy and powerful figure (who often was involved in public service to the state) and the patron gets the support of the client in his business and political ventures. In the series, Libertus is the client of one of the highest ranking magistrates in Britain. Thus, we often get to see Roman society from both sides of the power structure.
Libertus' method of solving murders is puzzle through the event, actions, and people as he understands them at the time. This can be a bit confusing as new or previously discarded possibilities pop up as new information is revealed. However, it is not terribly difficult to follow as he explains how the new information is absorbed. Like any detective, Libertus discovers information by questioning people. However, Libertus is an old man (near mid-50's) and must often deal with characters who often lie or fudge the truth for their own ends (much like people today!). His must rely on his wit, cajoling, empathy, and sometimes outright bribery to get the information he needs. It also helps that his patron is a very powerful man in the province. Power always loosens tongues.
Anyhow, this book was similar in quality to the other books in the series. Libertus' apprentice and slave is to be freed and adopted as his legal son when a body is discovered on the patron's property. Libertus must solve the mystery before his new son's nuptials and before the Roman festival of the dead. The book was not quite as good as previous books, but still worth reading. I hope those who read this made sense of my review.