What do you think?
Rate this book
Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain #12
The Vestal Vanishes
A Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain - The marriage of a former vestal virgin is always an important event, so the anticipated arrival of such a bride in Glevum is the excuse for an even more lavish banquet than usual on the Emperor’s birthday feast. However, when Audelia’s covered carriage finally arrives, the lady in question is nowhere to be found. Libertus investigates and makes a gruesome discovery, suggesting that Druid rebels may have been involved. But when another lady disappears, Libertus finds himself in a race against time to ensure the safety of the ‘vanishing vestals’.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2011
14 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Rowe
23 books45 followersA pseudonym used by Rosemary Aitken
Series:
* Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain
Series:
* Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 29, 2018
This wonderful tale is the 12th part of the exciting Libertus mysteries which are set in Ancient Britain.
As usual the author's historical foreword is very well researched and explained, and in such a clear way that it makes the story a real treat to read.
Storytelling as always is of a most superb quality, because the author has the ability and drive to keep you entertained with her books from start to finish.
Time has moved on a bit, for this book is set in late August in the year AD 191, and it is staged mainly in and around Glevum (Roman Gloucester).
The subject and basis of the book, as it suggests, is about Vestal Virgins and their way of life, from a very young age (from six to ten years old) till the end of their 30 years of service.
The story itself is about the ex-Vestal Virgin Audelia, and this same Audelia is to be married in Glevum, but when the bridegroom is waiting there for her arrival she's nowhere to be found.
What will follow is an investigation led by Libertus, that will lead him to Druid rebels as well as to the disappearance of a young girl destined for the Vestal ranks, and so in the end and in a race against time Libertus has to find and identify the guilty persons of these shrewd deeds.
Really recommended, because a bit cheekily I would like to call this book, "As Pure and Thrilling as a Virgin"!
As usual the author's historical foreword is very well researched and explained, and in such a clear way that it makes the story a real treat to read.
Storytelling as always is of a most superb quality, because the author has the ability and drive to keep you entertained with her books from start to finish.
Time has moved on a bit, for this book is set in late August in the year AD 191, and it is staged mainly in and around Glevum (Roman Gloucester).
The subject and basis of the book, as it suggests, is about Vestal Virgins and their way of life, from a very young age (from six to ten years old) till the end of their 30 years of service.
The story itself is about the ex-Vestal Virgin Audelia, and this same Audelia is to be married in Glevum, but when the bridegroom is waiting there for her arrival she's nowhere to be found.
What will follow is an investigation led by Libertus, that will lead him to Druid rebels as well as to the disappearance of a young girl destined for the Vestal ranks, and so in the end and in a race against time Libertus has to find and identify the guilty persons of these shrewd deeds.
Really recommended, because a bit cheekily I would like to call this book, "As Pure and Thrilling as a Virgin"!
August 24, 2023
You can sort of.work out where this story is.going but there are still puzzles to be solved and the answers may surprise you. A Vestal Virgin has completed her thirty years service and is now contracted to marry a visiting Roman noble. On her wedding day the lady goes missing, the prospective groom hires Libertus to find the Lady .............. Easier said than done................ The tale is at once simple but also complex in it's mystery and you may find yourself.discovering some of the answers but you won't get all of them...........
August 24, 2020
Not the greatest mystery. I guessed the ending...parts of it... less than midway through the book. Mildly interesting reading about vestal virgins and Romans and slaves in Britain.
August 24, 2023
4.5 stars
I picked up my first Libertus mystery by chance several years ago. I only recently rediscovered the author and have absolutely loved every book of hers that I've read! The Vestal Vanishes was no exception. I love the world of Roman Britain that Rowe has created and her ability to keep me guessing until the very end makes me want to read every story in her back list!
I picked up my first Libertus mystery by chance several years ago. I only recently rediscovered the author and have absolutely loved every book of hers that I've read! The Vestal Vanishes was no exception. I love the world of Roman Britain that Rowe has created and her ability to keep me guessing until the very end makes me want to read every story in her back list!
September 23, 2023
A retiring provincial Vestal disappears on the way to her wedding, and Libertus feels compelled to investigate. Are Druids behind a plot to attack the Vestals, who form a cornerstone of the very foundation of Roman religion?
July 6, 2019
Not the best plotted story but I still enjoyed reading it. It features a believable mix of very kind characters among the not so kind characters.
August 3, 2022
I enjoyed this, even though we saw virtually nothing of Libertus' family.
July 4, 2014
Late August, 191 AD: the birthday of the Roman Emperor Commodus. The day is celebrated—in keeping with Commodus’s very inflated ego—with much pomp and show all across the Roman Empire. Even in its most far-flung and northern colonies. In Roman Britain, in the colonia of Glevum (modern day Gloucester), for instance, are organized ritual ceremonies, gladiatorial contests, games and feasts. It is at one of these that the detective of Rosemary Rowe’s The Vestal Vanishes first appears: the no-longer-young Longinus Flavius Libertus, Roman citizen, ex-slave, Celt, mosaic-maker.
And, as becomes apparent soon enough, quite a sleuth too. Bundled with the imperial birthday celebrations is to be the celebration of a wedding: a patrician named Publius is getting married to Audelia, a Vestal Virgin who has just retired after her 30 years of service to the shrine and is heading to Glevum to meet and marry Publius. But along the way, the Vestal has vanished. Somewhere between Corinium (modern day Cirencester) and Glevum, Audelia appears to have disappeared into thin air: the carriage she was travelling in—and into which numerous people saw her enter—arrives at Glevum minus the Vestal.
Libertus’s patron, the wealthy Marcus, recommends Libertus to Publius, and Libertus gets down to the business of trying to find Audelia. Only to make, pretty soon after, a gruesome discovery: the headless, handless corpse of Audelia, still in its Vestal’s distinctive robes, locked into a box left in the carriage. Who could have done this? Is it, as people suspect, the work of rebellious Druids? When yet another mystery crops up—the disappearance of Audelia’s cousin, little Lavinia, who was on her way to become a Vestal—Libertus must exercise all his powers of deduction to reach the truth.
Ancient Rome is not a new setting for historical detective fiction. Among the first writers of historical detective fiction I read was Lindsey Davis, whose delightful Falco series (and now, the Flavia Albia series) are among my favourites. Then, there’s Steven Saylor, with his brilliantly atmospheric, painstakingly researched and very well plotted Gordianus the Finder series.
And there’s this new find of mine, Rosemary Rowe. Besides the fact that The Vestal Vanishes is well plotted and fast-paced, it has lots of interesting little details about life in Roman Britain—for example, about the Druids versus the Romans, or the privileges of Vestal Virgins, or how society treated the deaf and mute. For me, even more appealing was the fact that the detective here, far from being Roman by birth, is a Celt-turned-Roman citizen. Libertus sounds so intriguing that I’m definitely going to search out the rest of the series.
And, as becomes apparent soon enough, quite a sleuth too. Bundled with the imperial birthday celebrations is to be the celebration of a wedding: a patrician named Publius is getting married to Audelia, a Vestal Virgin who has just retired after her 30 years of service to the shrine and is heading to Glevum to meet and marry Publius. But along the way, the Vestal has vanished. Somewhere between Corinium (modern day Cirencester) and Glevum, Audelia appears to have disappeared into thin air: the carriage she was travelling in—and into which numerous people saw her enter—arrives at Glevum minus the Vestal.
Libertus’s patron, the wealthy Marcus, recommends Libertus to Publius, and Libertus gets down to the business of trying to find Audelia. Only to make, pretty soon after, a gruesome discovery: the headless, handless corpse of Audelia, still in its Vestal’s distinctive robes, locked into a box left in the carriage. Who could have done this? Is it, as people suspect, the work of rebellious Druids? When yet another mystery crops up—the disappearance of Audelia’s cousin, little Lavinia, who was on her way to become a Vestal—Libertus must exercise all his powers of deduction to reach the truth.
Ancient Rome is not a new setting for historical detective fiction. Among the first writers of historical detective fiction I read was Lindsey Davis, whose delightful Falco series (and now, the Flavia Albia series) are among my favourites. Then, there’s Steven Saylor, with his brilliantly atmospheric, painstakingly researched and very well plotted Gordianus the Finder series.
And there’s this new find of mine, Rosemary Rowe. Besides the fact that The Vestal Vanishes is well plotted and fast-paced, it has lots of interesting little details about life in Roman Britain—for example, about the Druids versus the Romans, or the privileges of Vestal Virgins, or how society treated the deaf and mute. For me, even more appealing was the fact that the detective here, far from being Roman by birth, is a Celt-turned-Roman citizen. Libertus sounds so intriguing that I’m definitely going to search out the rest of the series.
January 30, 2013
As usual Rowe manages to create a convoluted mystery dropping clues that I catch and some that I don't. I love thinking "Ah, that's going to be important later!", but also love realizing that she did put in important clues that I missed. She doesn't hide the clues, and if one is careful, the reader can solve the case as quickly as Libertas does. Also, she doesn't have him be the only smart person in the book. I quite liked Pricilla and wouldn't mind seeing that character again.
I've yet to catch Rowe in an historical mistake (although that may say more about me than Rowe) but it's so jarring when one does spot an anachronism in a piece of historical fiction. I love the way she manages to write about a culture with slavery, noting the abuses, but not superimposing a modern attitude. I have also always loved that the hero is not young. I can so relate to aching knees, and a preference for simple foods. The worst thing about having enjoyed the whole series is that I have to wait for the next book. (although I can enjoy recommending it to friends)
I've yet to catch Rowe in an historical mistake (although that may say more about me than Rowe) but it's so jarring when one does spot an anachronism in a piece of historical fiction. I love the way she manages to write about a culture with slavery, noting the abuses, but not superimposing a modern attitude. I have also always loved that the hero is not young. I can so relate to aching knees, and a preference for simple foods. The worst thing about having enjoyed the whole series is that I have to wait for the next book. (although I can enjoy recommending it to friends)
January 15, 2013
This is another good one in Rosemary Rowe's Libertus series, about a former Celt who has has become a Roman citizen (albeit a lowly one) and who gets drawn into various mysteries by his wealthy, high status patron. The mystery is well done, the characters are very interesting, but what I like most is learning about how life was back then, particularly for slaves, former slaves, and women. This story is about a woman who had spent her life as a Vestal Virgin and was slated to retire and marry her uncle's wealthy friend. She vanishes and Libertus is tasked to find out if she has been taken by bandits, held for a ransom, run away, or killed. A parallel story is that of a poor deaf girl whose parents, unlike the custom of the time, didn't kill her immediately. However, she has no status under the law and her desperate widowed father would do anything to help her. Very interesting!
October 18, 2013
Audelia, an ex- vestal virgin, having served her thirty years in the temple is on her way to Glevum (Gloucester) to marry her rich bridegroom. When her carriage arrives at the city gates it is found to be empty and there is no sign of Audelia, likewise her young relative, a girl of 6 years of age and destined to become a vestal virgin, also goes missing. The family and the bridegroom are distraught and Libertus, is asked to carry out investigations into what can only be assumed to be the abduction and murder of the two girls. This is a really good story, keeps you guessing right to the end, I shall certainly read more books by Rosemary Rowe.
October 5, 2012
An interesting foray into Romano-Britain society. Rowe frequently bases her novels on some aspect of Roman/celtic life and beliefs. In this Libertus novel a vestal virgin has completed her thirty years service and is free to marry, an event of considerable importance. But when her Litter arrives at the gates of Glevum, the lady has disappeared.
February 25, 2019
Complicated plot. At one point I seriously considered drawing a map with colored pencils just to figure out who was on what road going what direction when. Most of the regulars from the Libertus series are missing from this entry, so it probably works well as a standalone read.
February 11, 2012
Rosemary Rowe delivers another Ancient Mystery. Very readable, full of the sights and sounds of Ancient Rome. No new ground broken, but fun.
March 18, 2012
a sweet book i wasnt in the mood right now for it but will save for later
April 2, 2013
One of the more intelligent Historical Mysteries. This is a real mystery, not a thriller. I'd recommend it for people who like an intricate mystery plot, with a full explanation at the end.
March 1, 2014
A murder mystery that's not really murder mystery. I think I'm becoming too familiar with her books. Had the ending figured out about half way through the book.
March 12, 2016
Another of the inestimable 'pavement maker'. This time a Vestal who vanishes, or does she? The mystery seemed more complex and better resolved, the story a tad more complex? Enjoyable.
May 30, 2017
Read the first eight in the series and just found this one at a book sale. Glad I did. Good read. Author's description of life is well researched. Ending is good.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews