From Publishers Weekly
Continuing his series of mysteries set in ancient Rome and featuring Gordianus the Finder, Saylor's latest concerns the murder of an Egyptian ambassador. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
The author of Catalina's Riddle (LJ 9/15/93) re-creates the corrupt Rome of 56 B.C., when Egypt still remains free. Because several Egyptian envoys have been murdered, the Egyptian ambassador asks series "sleuth" Gordianus the Finder for assistance.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
"Imaginative . . . Saylor's style is smooth . . . A absorbing look at a time when men tried to rule themselves wisely and failed."—San Francisco Chronicle

"Saylor writes with vision and clarity, balancing sound historical scholarship with a gift for storytelling."—Anniston Star

"Engrossing . . . Intensely dramatic . . . Erotic, funny, compelling . . . A bona fide page-turner."—Detroit Free Press

"Steven Saylor transports you to Ancient Rome with spellbinding effectiveness."—Austin Chronicle

"Engrossing . . . Simmering with eroticism . . . An absorbing brew of Rome's decay."—Publishers Weekly

"Finely etched historical background . . . The finest flower yet of Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa Series."—Kirkus Reviews



Review
"Imaginative . . . Saylor's style is smooth . . . A absorbing look at a time when men tried to rule themselves wisely and failed."—San Francisco Chronicle

"Saylor writes with vision and clarity, balancing sound historical scholarship with a gift for storytelling."—Anniston Star

"Engrossing . . . Intensely dramatic . . . Erotic, funny, compelling . . . A bona fide page-turner."—Detroit Free Press

"Steven Saylor transports you to Ancient Rome with spellbinding effectiveness."—Austin Chronicle

"Engrossing . . . Simmering with eroticism . . . An absorbing brew of Rome's decay."—Publishers Weekly

"Finely etched historical background . . . The finest flower yet of Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa Series."—Kirkus Reviews



Book Description
On a chill January evening in 56 B.C. , two strange visitors to Rome—an Egyptian ambassador and a eunuch priest—seek out Gordianus the Finder whose specialty is solving murders. But the ambassador, a philosopher named Dio, has come to ask for something Gordianus cannot give—help in staying alive. Before the night is out, he will be murdered.

Now Gordianus begins his most dangerous case. Hired to investigate Dio's death by a beautiful woman with a scandalous reputation, he will follow a trail of political intrigue into the highest circles of power and the city's most hidden arenas of debauchery. There Gordianus will learn nothing is as it seems—not the damning evidence he uncovers, not the suspect he sends to trial, not even the real truth behind Dio's death which lies in secrets—not of state, but of the heart.



About the Author
Steven Saylor is the author of eight volumes in the Roma Sub Rosa series featuring Gordianus the Finder. He splits his time between homes in Austin, Texas, and Berkeley, California.

FROM OUR EDITORS

History, passion, and intrigue mix in this tale of the Republic's last desperate--and decadent--days of political backstabbing, endless lawsuits, scandalous love affairs, and murder.

ANNOTATION

On a chill January evening in 56 B.C., two strange visitors to Rome--an Egyptian ambassador and a eunuch priest--seek out Gordianus the Finder whose specialty is solving murders. But the ambassador, a philosopher named Dio, has come to ask for something Gordianus cannot give--help in staying alive. Before the night is out, he is murdered. Martin's Press.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Rome, 56 B.C.: The great general Pompey has conquered the East. Julius Caesar is defeating the Gauls. Only Egypt, with its strategic granaries and vast treasuries of gold, still eludes the grasp of Rome. In recent days several Egyptian envoys have been viciously assassinated. Fearing that he will be next, the Egyptian ambassador Dio calls on his old friend Gordianus the Finder and all of his special skills for help. Thinking that he is investigating a straightforward political crime, Gordianus is instead plunged into the decadent milieu of Rome, where nothing is quite what it seems. The notorious beauty Clodia, the arrogant advocate Marcus Caelius, the lovesick poet Catullus, the eunuch priest Trygonian, the master politician Cicero - all are players in a deadly, seductive game of lust and murder. Poison, betrayals, and long-buried secrets confront Gordianus as events rush to their resolution in one of history's most famous trials. But even after the verdict is delivered, there are still secrets to be uncovered....

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly - Cahners\\Publishers_Weekly

Saylor (Catilina's Riddle) has established a fine reputation with his mystery novels set in ancient Rome and starring Gordianus the Finder, an early PI. In his fourth adventure, in 56 B.C., Gordianus is visited by Dio, his teacher of Greek philosophy 30 years earlier in Alexandria, who is now on an Egyptian delegation to Rome. Dio, whose fellow delegates are being killed, fears being poisoned; so Gordianus offers him an untainted dinner. Poor Dio dies that night anyway, stabbed and poisoned. Gordianus looks into the doings of his late teacher's companion, the eunuch priest Trygonion, who had accompanied Dio that evening. A beautiful, sex-hungry widow accuses Gordianus's neighbor, a young, loudmouthed lawyer, of murdering Dio, and she hires Gordianus to prove her charges. Saylor gives the widow a gloriously handsome, incest-inclined brother and sets his tale simmering with eroticism, adding engrossing historical filler about Roman law, politics and goddess cults. The result is a talky, absorbing brew of Rome's decay. The title refers to luck at dice.

Publishers Weekly