Published Roman novels: 8
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1. Medicus (Gaius Petreius Ruso series: book 1 of 8)
Welcome to the most remote part of the Roman Empire. Britannia, AD117 – primitive, cold, damp and very muddy.
The Gods are not smiling on army doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso in his new posting in Britannia. He has vast debts, a slave girl who is much more trouble than she is worth and an overbearing hospital administrator to deal with . . . not to mention a serial killer stalking the local streets.
Barmaids’ bodies are being washed up with the tide and no one else seems to care. It’s up to Ruso to summon all his skills to investigate, even though the breakthroughs in forensic science lie centuries in the future, and the murderer may be hunting him down too.
If only the locals would just stop killing each other and If only it were possible to find a decent glass of wine, and a slave who can cook, Ruso’s prospects would be a whole lot sunnier . . .
Paperback:
Latest edition: 2018
Publisher: Grampus Press
ISBN: 978-1984117618
Pages: 416
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Hardcover:
Latest edition: 2007
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 9781596912311
Pages: 386
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Kindle:
File size: 623kb
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Audiobook:
Listening time: 11h 50m
Narrator: Simon Vance
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2. Terra Incognita (Gaius Petreius Ruso series: book 2 of 8)
Gaius Petreius Ruso, medicus to the Twentieth Legion, has been posted to the hostile north – and thrown into a no-win situation. Thessalus, the current doctor at the Fort of Coria, has confessed to a grisly murder and his Prefect demands that Ruso take charge of the patients and convince Thessalus to retract his confession. But, it seems a reputation for solving tricky murders down south isn’t always helpful.
Unfortunately, the corpse is offering up few answers other than to suggest that the natives might be more murderous than restless. If Ruso is to identify the killer, he’ll need all his wits about him to keep Romans, natives and slave girls from each other’s throats.
Paperback:
Latest edition: 2008
Publisher: Grampus Press
ISBN: 978-1916469419
Pages: 580
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Hardcover:
Latest edition: 2008
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-1596912328
Pages: 384
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Kindle:
File size: 707kb
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Audiobook:
Listening time: 11h 33m
Narrator: Simon Vance
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3. Persona Non Grata (Gaius Petreius Ruso series: book 3 of 8)
Finally Gaius Petreius Ruso, doctor to the Legions, is to return home to Gaul. Little does he realize the letter summoning him back has been forged, and that the sunny Mediterranean lifestyle conceals dark threats. His family are in terrible debt to dangerous men and when the principal creditor, Severus, is poisoned in the Ruso home, they become the primary suspects in his murder.
But the crimes go far deeper. What role did Severus play in the deliberate sinking of a cargo ship? Who are the brutal investigators sent by Rome? And how worrying is the outbreak of the new religion, Christianity, in the neighbourhood?
When Ruso takes a job stitching up gladiators in the local amphitheatre, matters come to a head. Even Tilla, his loyal companion, may not be able to save him from the clutches of a most devious killer…
4. Caveat Emptor (Gaius Petreius Ruso series: book 4 of 8)
Doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso has arrived back in Britannia with his new wife Tilla and a trunk full of wedding crockery. His friend and colleague Valens has promised to help him find work, so while Tilla yearns for somewhere to make a home, Ruso is tasked with hunting down missing tax man Julius Asper.
Of course there’s something else missing: money. And the Council of the town of Verulamium is bickering over what’s become of it. Compelled to delve deeper when Asper is found murdered, Ruso discovers that the good townsfolk may not be as loyal to Rome as they claim.
Despite Ruso’s best efforts to get fired from the job of investigator, he and Tilla find themselves trapped at the heart of a treacherous conspiracy involving theft, forgery, buried treasure, and the legacy of Boudica, the rebel queen.
Paperback:
Latest edition: 2010
Publisher: Grampus Press
ISBN: 978-1916469433
Pages: 538
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Hardcover:
Latest edition: 2010
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-1596916081
Pages: 338
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Kindle:
File size: 853kb
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Audiobook:
Listening time: 10h 33m
Narrator: Simon Vance
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5. Semper Fidelis (Gaius Petreius Ruso series: book 5 of 8)
Ruso rejoins his unit in the remote outpost of the Roman Empire known as Britannia, but all is not well with the Twentieth Legion. As the soldiers keep a suspicious eye on the barbarians to the north, they seem to have found trouble even closer to home—among the native recruits in Britannia's imperial army.
Why did a young legionary jump to his death from the roof of the headquarters building? When more mysterious injuries and deaths begin to pile up in Ruso's medical ledgers, it becomes clear that this suicide is not an isolated incident. Can the men really be under a murderous curse? And what has all of this to do with the much-decorated Centurion Geminus?
Paperback:
Latest edition: 2021
Publisher: Grampus Press
ISBN: 978-1916469440
Pages: 512
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Hardcover:
Latest edition: 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-1608197095
Pages: 352
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Kindle:
File size: 674kb
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Audiobook:
Listening time: 9h 42m
Narrator: Simon Vance
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6. Tabula Rasa (Gaius Petreius Ruso series: book 6 of 8)
Roman army doctor Ruso is in the borderlands to tend the builders of Hadrian's Great Wall, but it’s not long since the failure of a blood-soaked native rebellion, and it’s clear to his wife Tilla that the locals are still bitterly resentful.
When Ruso's new clerk goes missing, tensions mount and rumours begin to spread. Is there really a dead body hidden in the Emperor’s Great Wall? Or is it all a cunning plot by the natives? Things go from bad to worse when the young son of a local family also vanishes.
As Ruso and Tilla struggle to keep the peace between desperate Britons and frustrated Romans, will they unravel the mystery of the two disappearances before it's too late?
Paperback:
Latest edition: 2021
Publisher: Grampus Press
ISBN: 978-1916469457
Pages: 528
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Hardcover:
Latest edition: 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-1608197088
Pages: 352
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Kindle:
File size: 643kb
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Audiobook:
Listening time: 10h 19m
Narrator: Simon Vance
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7. Vita Brevis (Gaius Petreius Ruso series: book 7 of 8)
Ruso and Tilla and their new baby daughter have left Roman-occupied Britain for Rome, but their excitement at arriving in the city is soon dulled when they find that the grand facades of polished marble mask an underworld of corrupt landlords and vermin-infested tenements. There are also far too many doctors – some skilled, but others positively dangerous. Ruso takes on a reputable medical practice only to find that his predecessor, Doctor Kleitos, has fled, leaving a dead man in a barrel on the doorstep and the warning, "Be careful who you trust."
Distracted by the body and his efforts to help a friend win the hand of a rich young heiress, Ruso makes a grave mistake, causing him to question both his competence and his integrity. With Ruso's reputation under threat, he and Tilla must protect their small family from Doctor Kleitos's debt collectors and find allies in their new home while they track down the vanished doctor and find out the truth about the unfortunate man in the barrel.
Paperback:
Latest edition: 2021
Publisher: Grampus Press
ISBN: 978-1916469464
Pages: 486
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Hardcover:
Latest edition: 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-1620409589
Pages: 384
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Kindle:
File size: 898kb
Publisher:
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Audiobook:
Listening time: 9h 20m
Narrator: Simon Vance
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8. Memento Mori (Gaius Petreius Ruso series: book 8 of 8)
A scandal is threatening to engulf the popular spa town of Aquae Sulis (modern-day Bath). The wife of Ruso's best friend, Valens, has been found dead in the sacred hot spring, stabbed through the heart. Fearing the wrath of the goddess and the ruin of the tourist trade, the temple officials are keen to cover up what's happened. But the dead woman's father is demanding justice, and he's accusing Valens of murder.
If Valens turns up to face trial, he will risk execution. If he doesn't, he'll lose his children. Ruso and Tilla do their best to help but it's difficult to get anyone – even Valens himself – to reveal what really happened. Could Ruso's friend really be guilty as charged?
Paperback:
Latest edition: 2018
Publisher: Grampus Press
ISBN: 9781985711877
Pages: 431
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Hardcover:
Latest edition: 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 978-1620409619
Pages: 438
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Kindle:
File size: 2647kb
Publisher:
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Audiobook:
Listening time: 10h 40m
Narrator: Simon Vance
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Latest edition: 2009
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