Caveat Emptor by Ruth Downie Audio Book Read by Simon Vance

Mystery

Caveat Emptor is the fourth and latest book in Ruth Downie’s Roman Empire series.  I just recently discovered this series and it has become one of my favorites.  It was nice that there were already four books out and sad  because Caveat Emptor is a recent release and I will have a long wait for the next book.  Caveat Emptor is the first one I have listened to as an audio book.  Simon Vance is great as the reader.  He knows just when to pause and what tone to use to get the dialog just right. 

In Caveat Empton Tilla and Ruso are newlyweds and are back in Britannia.  Valens has promised Ruso a job but when he arrives he finds that the job is not in medicine.  Instead he has been appointed as the Inspector to find a missing tax collector and more importantly the missing tax money.  From there Ruso and Tilla are off and running on a new adventure.  There are new characters, and some old enemies combined with murder, threats and a lot of action.  As usual Tilla both helps and hurts Ruso’s investigation. 

Ruth Downie has continued to develop her two main characters.  I love both Ruso and Tilla and always get a lot of laughs out of the interaction between the two. Ruso would be a very dull character without Tilla while being with Ruso has allowed Tilla the freedom to explore new avenues.  I was so identified with both Ruso and Tilla that something that came out near the end of the book left me feeling sad for both.  You will have to read the book to find out what.

The setting adds to the story.  The Roman influence in Britannia is often forgotten and yet they were there for 400 years.  I really enjoy learning more about that time while reading a really good mystery.  I am looking forward to the next book.

Tantor released the reading of Caveat Emptor by Ruth Downie in 2011.

I checked out Caveat Emptor from the Rogers Public Library.