Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 234 - Vita Brevis by Ruth Downie, Memento Mori by Ruth Downie

Vita Brevis by Ruth Downie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ruso and Tilla are in Rome and it is a hot crowded city where they are having trouble fitting in. Of course there is a mystery for the two to solve. Turns out that Rome just is not for them. I enjoyed seeing Ruse and Tilla again. It has been several years since I finished the rest of the series. One of my favorite parts of the series is the interaction between the two. There was less of that this time but they still have that push/pull relationship. There was a note from Downie at the end explaining that she was bound by facts about ancient Rome when writing the book making it harder as a author to fit the story with the recorded history. Roman Britannia has left little history and in previous books she could fill in the blanks as she wished.


Memento Mori by Ruth Downie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After a trip to Rome Tilla and Ruso are back in Britannia living with Tilla's family when a call comes for help. Valens' wife Serina has been murdered and Valens is the prime suspect. I loved the setting. After the call for help Tilla, Ruso, the baby Mara and the slaves set out for Aquae Sulis (modern-day Bath). The plot is very complicated and I really had no idea who did what until the very end. It was fun watching Tilla do the exact opposite of what Ruso asks. There is that familiar push/pull between the two. Ruso continues to realize what a gem he has in Tilla but that does not stop the tension between the two when Tilla goes off on her own. At the same time Tilla values being the wife of Ruso. The setting was interesting as some of the Roman building can still be seen at Bath and they play a big part in the story. The reader did a good job of bringing the story to life adding to how much I enjoyed the book. More Till and Ruso please.

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Tabula Rasa (Gaius Petreius Ruso #6) by Ruth Downie

Historical Mystery

What Goodreads says:

The medicus Ruso and his wife Tilla are back in the borderlands of Britannia, this time helping to tend the builders of Hadrian's Great Wall. Having been forced to move off their land, the Britons are distinctly on edge and are still smarting from the failure of a recent rebellion that claimed many lives.

Then Ruso's recently arrived clerk, Candidus, goes missing. A native boy thinks he sees a body being hidden inside the wall's half-finished stonework, and a worrying rumor begins to spread. When the soldiers ransack the nearby farms looking for Candidus, Tilla's tentative friendship with a local family turns to anger and disappointment. It's clear that the sacred rites to bless her marriage to Ruso will have to wait. Tensions only increase when Branan, the family's youngest son, also vanishes. He was last seen in the company of a lone and unidentified soldier who claimed he was taking the boy to see Tilla.

As Ruso and Tilla try to solve the mystery of the two disappearances - while at the same time struggling to keep the peace between the Britons and the Romans - an intricate scheme involving slavery, changed identities, and fur trappers emerges, and it becomes imperative that Ruso find Branan before it's too late.

I always love visiting Britannia and seeing Ruso and Tilla again.  From the first they have seemed an usual couple.  When we first met Ruso he was a young curmudgeon, always unhappy.  Tilla on the other hand tried to make the best of everything.  Now six books later they are still settling into their marriage and still are a great couple to follow.  Ruso is happy to be away from his family and Tilla is still looking for some connection to hers. 

You can see from the blurb that there is a lot going on in Tabula Rasa.  The plot brings in some new characters as well as visiting with some old favorites.  Look for new possibilities and maybe a new setting for the next book and an important new character who only makes an appearance at the end of this book.

Once again Ruth Downie has mixed the Roman history in Britain with that of the native’s of Britannia and come up with a great story filled with information about a little known period of history.  Mixed in with that are two mysteries for Tilla and Ruso to solve.  I loved hearing what has happened to Ruso and Tilla but now I will have a long wait until the next book comes out.

While Tabula Rasa is book 6 in the series it can work as a stand-along.  However it is much better if you have read the first books in the series.

Bloombury published Tabula Rasa by Ruth Downie in 2014.

I received a ARC of Tabula Rasa from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Waiting on Wednesday - April 30, 2014

 

 Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature sponsored by Breaking the Spine.  It is a great way to share upcoming releases.

I am waiting on Tabula Rasa: A Crime Novel of the Roman Empire (Gaius Petreius Ruso #6) by Ruth Downie.  I love both Ruso and Tilla and have been waiting for the next book for over a year.  I still have to wait a little longer as the book will not be released until August.

From Goodreads:

"The medicus Ruso and his wife Tilla are back in the borderlands of Britannia, this time helping to tend the builders of Hadrian's Great Wall. Having been forced to move off their land, the Britons are distinctly on edge and are still smarting from the failure of a recent rebellion that claimed many lives.

Then Ruso's recently arrived clerk, Candidus, goes missing. A native boy thinks he sees a body being hidden inside the wall's half-finished stonework, and a worrying rumor begins to spread. When the soldiers ransack the nearby farms looking for Candidus, Tilla's tentative friendship with a local family turns to anger and disappointment. It's clear that the sacred rites to bless her marriage to Ruso will have to wait. Tensions only increase when Branan, the family's youngest son, also vanishes. He was last seen in the company of a lone and unidentified soldier who claimed he was taking the boy to see Tilla.

As Ruso and Tilla try to solve the mystery of the two disappearances - while at the same time struggling to keep the peace between the Britons and the Romans - an intricate scheme involving slavery, changed identities, and fur trappers emerges, and it becomes imperative that Ruso find Branan before it's too late.(less)"

Semper Fidelis by Ruth Downie

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Historical Mystery

Goodreads Summary: 

Back at his post as a doctor in the Twentieth legion in Roman-occupied Britain, Ruso uncovers a new danger even closer to home than the neighboring barbarians. As mysterious injuries, and even deaths, begin to appear in the medical ledgers, it's clear that all is not well amongst the native recruits to Britannia's imperial army. Is the much- decorated Centurion Geminus preying on his weaker soldiers? And could this be related to the appearance of Emperor Hadrian? Bound by his sense of duty and ill-advised curiosity, Ruso begins to ask questions nobody wants to hear. Meanwhile his barbarian wife, Tilla, is finding out some of the answers-and marked as a security risk by the very officers Ruso is interrogating. With Hadrian's visit looming large, the fates of the legion, Tilla, and Ruso himself hang in the balance.

Ruth Downie has done it again.  Semper Fidelis is another great story in this mystery series. Just a quick warning, there are a few spoilers in my post.

If you have not read any of this series don’t start here.  Go back to book one where you first met the two main characters, Ruso and Tilla.  Russo is a depressed, unhappy person.  His father squandered all of the family money before he died and Ruso as the oldest son is the one who has to keep the family afloat.  He is doing this by serving as a doctor in the Roman Army in Britain.  Most of his pay goes to his family in Gaul.  Tilla is a native of Britain and life has not been kind to her.  In spite of everything that has happened to her she remains upbeat.  The two seem to be a real mismatch.

There is a big change in the two characters when you get to Semper Fidelis. Even though Russo and Tilla start out in a good place that changes for the worse.  They arrive at a unit where all is not as it seems.  Bad things happen to both but like previous books they work together to find the truth. Even though Russo just wants to be a doctor he is forced into investigation again.

One of the great things about this series is how Ruth Downie works the history of the Romans in Britain into the story.  I think it helps that she lives where much of the story is set and can visit the sites she writes about.  I get a real picture of life in Britain under the Romans. 

I did think I saw a foreshadowing of an event that will bring further change to the lives of Russo and Tilla.  I will just have to wait and see.

I received a ARC of Semper Fidelis from Netgalley.

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Bloomberg will release Semper Fidelis by Ruth Downie in January of 2013.

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.

Medicus, A Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth Downie

Mystery

Ruth Downie has set Medicus in England during the time of the Roman’s.  As she says in the Author’s Note, “accounts of Roman Britain are tantalizingly patchy”.  Much that is written was not recorded until long after the Roman’s had left but “many of the gaps are still being filled by archaeology”.   Deva, the setting for Medicus is where modern Chester is today and there are remains from Roman times that can be seen today.  That being said she had to invent much of the daily life but not the medical treatments used in Medicus.

I loved how Medicus starts.  Before you read the first chapter you see a list that starts:

“Medicus, 

A Novel In Which our hero will be…

Baffled by

            Tilla, a slave

            Merula, a bar owner

            Quinus Antonious Vindex, a recruit

            A family of native Britons”

The list goes on to include alarmed by, assaulted by, amused by, followed by, surrounded by, tempted by, sworn at, avoided by, harangued by, annoyed by, ignored by, informed by, mothered by, moved to sympathy by, and ruled by.

Our hero is Gaius Petreius Ruso, a Roman physician who has just arrived in Deva.  As the story develops we find out money is a big issue with Ruso.  His Father died leaving no money and many debts.  Ruso and his brother are trying to save the family farm; Ruso by working in England and sending the money home and his bother by living on the farm and keeping everything going.   Ruso is also newly divorced and soured on marriage.  Ruso just wants to do his job and be left alone.  That does not happen.  He purchases a slave girl that he cannot afford to rescue her from further harm.  Then he is in danger when he finds himself involved in solving the murders of prostitutes who worked at a local tavern.  While all of this is going on he must also try to outwit the hospital administer who tries to keep costs to a minimum impacting the medical treating at the hospital.

Ruth Downie has put together a great setting for the first book in this mystery series.  Ruso and Tilla are wonderful main characters.  The secondary characters are well developed and add depth to the story. The pacing of the story moved in a way that kept me reading.    Other books in the series are already available and I am looking forward to continuing my reading about Ruso and Tilla.

Ruth Downie lives in England where the book was first published.  Every book in the series has one title here in the US and another title in England.  To make it even more confusing Medicus was not the original title here in the US.

Bloomsburg published Medicus, A Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth Downie in 2006.

I checked Medicus out from the Rogers, AR Public Library.