Murder in the Forum

Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain #3

by Rosemary Rowe

When Perennis Felix, favorite of the Roman Emperor and would-be enemy of all, heralds his arrival in Glevum with the capricious execution of a slave, there are few who dare to question his actions. Indeed, a feast in his honor is universally approved in the cause of self-preservation. Libertus, freedman and pavement-maker, and his patron, Marcus Septimus, are among the reluctant citizens at the celebration. But the festivities come to a sudden halt when Felix appears to choke on a nut and dies in front of a stunned gathering. And soon, the ever-vigilant Libertus notices the mysterious disappearance of at least two guests. Is it possible that behind Felix's seemingly accidental death there lies something infinitely more sinister?

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Fiction, Roman, Crime

273 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

A pseudonym used by Rosemary Aitken

Series:
* Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my, poor Libertus has his trials in this tale...somewhat offset with a ray of hope. Marcus sends him in search of the answer to a death and it leads to a whole lot of misery and deprivation he must endure with little hope of rescue.
One ray of hope has him spotting his long lost wife on a transport going in the opposite direction. Thus, teaser given must lead to a reunion? Must read on to find out.
Marcus marries his chosen woman before his mother can manipulate him into unwanted alliance.

Lively descriptions of Celtic figures who arrive in the area provide amusement.

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2011, and its the 3rd volume of the astounding "Libertus" series.

In this tale Libertus, freedman and pavement-maker in Glevum (Gloucester) will need to come into action to solve another murder case.

Once more Libertus is taken into the murky world of dirty politics, and the scheming that is undertaken by wealthy Roman aristocrats, and in this world the local and slave communities are the most vulnerable.

While investigating this case his own life is at stake also, because of the power and connections those wealthy and corrupt Roman aristocrats have, but somehow Libertus must persevere.

What is to follow is a brilliant Roman mystery, in which Libertus will have to need his wits and cunning to unravel this thread of deceit and death, and when he does so after a superbly worked out plot, he will be able to present the real culprit behind the murder in the forum.

Highly recommended, for this is another excellent addition to this great series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Superb Libertus Sequel"!

[Mary Heron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libertus finds himself in danger

There is a Roman official in town, Felix is his name and he has the ear of the Emperor Commodus, there is no one who dares annoy him in any way without risking life and limb. His arrival in town is proof of this, Felix has a dead body attached to his carriage that he has dragged along behind him all the way to Glenvum. The body was when alive a slave belonging to Marcus, Libertus's patron. But Marcus is not in town when Felix arrives so Libertus has to step forward and greet Felix, the man insists Libertus to at once to Marcus and bring him back to town that day in order to attend a banquet being held in his honor. Marcus is furious at the arrival of Felix and at his murdering one of his slaves (the dead man was his herald) but......even be cannot afford to offend the man so off they go back to Glenvium to attend the feast. Libertus is miserable, he is the lowest of the low, an ex slave and a tradesman, put at the worst table he just wishes for the feast to be over so he can gracefully make his departure when things take n unexpected turn. Felix grabs a handful.of.nuts from a bowl.and.next thing everyone sees is him starting to choke, no matter what those closest to him try Felix dies. Accident obviously but the Emperor will.still not be happy the his favoured friend has died in Brittania.....then thing get worse Libertus discovers something which leads him to believe Felix's death may not have been an accident after all.................

[Johanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A interesting little romp, I'd not read any of these before although I enjoy the Falco books by Lindsay Davis. Slightly more gritty and set in a less cosy setting than Falco, they feel subtly more grounded in reality in terms of characters and attitudes than those and less domestic. Set in Britain in the 2nd century CE tits here is the slightly travel worn Libertus a former captured Celt sold into slavery and now eking out a living as a craftsman who also solves problems for his Patron. A worthwhile read if you like historical detectives (of the not too chewy variety) or have vague interest in life in Roman Britain

[margaret chalmers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder most foul.

Another in a series growing better. Libertus the mosaicist in Roman Britain has to investigate the death of a vile man who had people queuing up to kill him. Along the way he gets a glimpse of his lost wife so he knows she is alive out there. And he gets a new toga. Great. So what is missing from these informative tales? Why do I feel cold about our hero? So I contrasted these books with those of Lindsey Davis to which I look forward with delight. Result? Falco and Fabia have lives outside the immediate mystery. They have remembered pasts, relatives, distinctive neighbours, tastes, dreams. All enrich the stories. What do we know about Libertus.? No more than we learnt in the first book. He likes oatcakes, hates Roman fish sauce, is a mosaic maker. He is Celtic, was a noble with a wife. Enslaved, his master died and he was freed.. He has a young slave he treats as a son and he is training him to be a detective. as well as a pavement maker. He has a youngish noble patron. But where is the detail? His neighbours are nameless, characterless. His wife apparently took his sex life with her. He seems to feel nothing about anything and this may be deliberate, the author showing the affect of a slave mentality. However the result is he is one dimensional. I have no empathy and yet there could be so much if we were fed snippets of information through the series. What was his Celtic name? Did he have parents, brothers, sisters, friends, pets? Has he Celtic tattoos? What was his dead master like? What was his slave job? Was he treated appallingly to obliterate his free Celtic nature to that of an obedient slave? How did his master die? How did he attract the attention of his patron? He is a native Roman. Why did he come to Britain? Then there is the apprentice. He was brought up in a Roman household. Is he a Briton or ethnically from elsewhere in the Emoire? It would flesh out the characters to know more. The search for the lost wife looks as if it is going to be long drawn out. I am trying to care but our hero is so one dimensional it is difficult. Please author give me a heart for your tin man then I might be giving you five stars.

[Moeeza Azeem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be the third book in the series that I read. So really, order isn't that big a deal, unless you're deeply, deeply interested in the relationships.
Having a historical background,
the details of Romano British life and 'death' for that matter as funeral practices are profoundly taught.
In a story set in Roman Britain during the reign of Commodus, Libertus is a pavement-maker who has considerable talent as a crime-solver. When Perennis Felix, a particularly nasty aristocrat, chokes on a nut and dies at a banquet, it is more than a catastrophe since he was a favorite of the murderously unstable Commodus. It's interesting and well-researched book that does not gloss over the cruelty of the Roman social structure.
There was a twist to this case that I definitely didn't expect. There's more to this case than it seems. It seems Felix death wasn't a mere accident but a mysterious murder. Only one reaches the end to know another twist is waiting ahead. The plot gets a little overly convoluted near the end.So okay hero, good historical feel but actual mystery and action plotting needs improvement.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 5 out of 5]

At last, it comes to an end. This author has a way of writing that gently reminds you of when you were in your last Latin class without demeaning you as a person for not studying now.

Although there is mention of dog abuse early on, I have already observed others' cruelty to animals, and it is not openly detailed in the text, so if that is something that bothers you, it is not anything to be concerned about - the author only mentions that it happens and does not actually go into the mechanics.

One of the characters is named Phyllidia, and I had named my student oboe Phyllis, so that was fun.

The next one in this series is called The Chariots of Calyx, and I will not need to do an Interlibrary Loan for that one.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I abandoned this series in 2014, with the next instalment left on my Kindle. In a spirit of cleaning out, I picked it up - eight years later. At first I was bewildered by why I had abandoned the series - the set-up is a great one, good time and place setting, interesting background for our protagonist, lots of history to mine. Unfortunately, as the book wound on I began to remember the less positive things: plotting which makes no sense, an absence of smart women, and an uncomfortable dickishness of the main character in dealing with his enslaved assistant (who does most of the deducting as well as the work). Maybe these things are turned around in further instalments, but I suspect it will be another eight years before I get around to another one.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a story set in Roman Britain during the reign of Commodus, Libertus is a pavement-maker who has considerable talent as a crime-solver. When Perennis Felix, a particularly nasty aristocrat, chokes on a nut and dies at a banquet, it is more than a catastrophe since he was a favorite of the murderously unstable Commodus. An interesting and well-researched book that does not gloss over the cruelty of the Roman social structure.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the historical background fascinating; in fact much better than the rather slow and complicated plotting. Libertus is a likeable character, but not especially interesting or indeed believable.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and well plotted. A good series so far.

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent enough mystery set in 187 AD England that feels fairly believeable with a tile setter as the detective. The plot gets a little overly convoluted near the end.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be the third book in the series, but it was the fourth (or was it fifth?) book that I read. So really, order isn't that big a deal, unless you're deeply, deeply interested in the relationships.

By that I mean Libertus and his long lost wife, Marcus and his new wife (this was started in the previous book, A Pattern of Blood (link to review) ) and Junio and an unnamed slave girl (also started in the previous book). Personally, I don't think it's that important, since apart from Libertus, all the romances aren't integral to the plot at all.

In this book, Libertus is called to investigate a politically sensitive mystery. Felix, a favourite of the emperor, dies suddenly. At first, everyone thinks it's an accident, but with one guest who came under false pretenses, and who is conveniently missing (there's another missing guest too), there's definitely more to this case than it seems.

There was a twist to this case that I definitely didn't expect. In fact, I just realised that Libertus is very much like Poirot - he keeps his cards to his chest, and then he reveals everything at one go. The only difference is that the book is told through the eyes of Libertus and not his sidekick (like how Poirot's mysteries are mainly told through the eyes of Hastings or whoever is his sidekick).

It's an enjoyable book, though it's very much like the previous books in the series (actually, it's probably the similar in style to books 1 to 4)

This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile

[Nicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Murder in the Forum isn't great, nor is it terrible. Since it's the third book of a series, I might've been more interested if I'd read the other books, since I'd have known the characters and cared about them a bit more -- and I might've missed some subtleties of character-relationship. I don't think so, though. It was quite easy to get into without feeling that I was missing something, and it had a horrible tendency to overlabour a point -- like, "look! look at me! I'm a clever detective novel and I'm set in Roman Britain!". The historical accuracy wasn't too bad -- I didn't notice any glaring errors, though I only ever got up to A Level in Classical Studies.

The plot was also terribly elaborate. Possibly over-elaborate. I'm not that quick at keeping up with crime/detective novels -- I like them, but I'm not that great at working things out generally -- but this one felt particularly circuitous and I didn't have a moment of realisation where I figured it out ahead of the book telling me (and even I normally have that).

[KayDee · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a freedman and pavement maker, Libertus enjoys the patronage of one of the most powerful men in Roman Britain, Marcus Septimus Aurelius, the regional governor’s personal representative. Often asked to investigate various crimes for Marcus, Libertus is again thrust into the center of intrigue when a powerful, yet unpopular, Roman official apparently chokes on a nut at a banquet given in his honor. Convinced that Felix was poisoned, Libertus must find the killer before Rome hears of it. As Felix was hated by a great many people, Libertus has a long list of suspects. When several servants of Marcus’s new wife are also murdered, Libertus feels he has stumbled onto a far worse crime than the murder of one man

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Libertus pavement maker Roman Britain mystery series. Libertus is a freed Celtic slave whose patron is the Roman head of the settlement of Glevum (Gloucester) in 187 AD Roman Britain. A particularly unpleasant Roman citizen, favorite of the Roman emperor, visiting Britain stops in Glevum where he causes a lot of disruption and dies his first night there. Libertus is asked to investigate and discovers that whatever happened is more complicated than originally thought.

A very good mystery.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 3rd in the series, and as entertaining as the previous two. This time our intrepid lapidarian polisher of stone almost comes acropper, as he challenges one of the emperor Commodus' own. An imperial flunky is murdered, and his slave involved in disloyal shenanigans. A tangled web, but skillfully resolved, and with a new toga at the end of the puzzle.
On a personal level, Libertus does sight his long, lost wife, and his patron, Marcus, takes a wife (a wealthy widow). Enjoyable read.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would personally prefer Roman mysteries set in Rome itself instead of Britain, but Rowe manages to make the story interesting by telling it from the perspective of a Celtic freedman. An enjoyable novel for a bit of light reading in your spare time.

[Talietha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed.

[Steve Caudle · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review of "The Germanicus Mosaic" by the same author.

[Mary's Bookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read "Murder in the Forum" because it is a murder mystery set in Roman Britain, one of those places/times I would love to time-travel to. This is the third in the Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain series. I have not read others in the series.
"Murder in the Forum" is a serviceable mystery which follows all the rules of mystery writing. Libertus, our detective, is a freed slave, born a Celt, who has been granted Roman citizenship. He has the nominal job of being a tile artisan, but in real terms he is the go-fer for Marcus Aurelius Septimus, the top guy in Glevum (Gloucester). If something happens that needs to be investigated, Libertus is given the task. He is assisted by his slave Junio, who is pretty bright too.
When Perennis Felix, a very unpleasant Roman who bears a passing resemblance to Jabba the Hutt, appears in Glevum, he demands attention be paid. He is a close friend of Emperor Commodus back in Rome. (Commodus is the Emperor in the movie Gladiator--in other words, not a nice guy.) A banquet attended by everyone who is anyone in Glevum is held to honor Felix. When he suddenly chokes on a nut and dies at the table, it is first considered an accident. But Libertus soon has suspicions that someone wanted Felix dead. There are plenty of suspects to spare. Marcus, who has recently married, is distracted, and hands the investigation off to Libertus.
The rest of the book follows Libertus as he follows clues and red herrings. It involves a tricky explanation of a potential coup that does not quite come together. I had the feeling as I finished the book that it could probably have been set in almost any historical period. Although the characters are dressed like residents of Roman Britain, we don't really find out what makes them different from us.
The book has a map of Roman Britain (not terribly detailed). It could have used a map of Glevum too, to help make sense of the trotting back and forth that Libertus does. There are some very useful explanations of life in Roman Britain, particularly about funeral rites. I would actually give it a 3.5 rating. It didn't rise to the level of a 4. One failing in the writing was the tendency to tell, not show.