Tribunal: A Judge Marcus Flavius Severus Mystery in Ancient Rome

by Alan Scribner

Tribunal is the 11th in the series of highly acclaimed and best-selling Judge Marcus Flavius Severus mysteries in Ancient Rome. This story takes place in the year 177 CE during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. It is two years after the events in The Wages of Sedition.
Tribunal is a courtroom drama centered on a trial for murder and treason. The litigants, both accusers and defendants, are members of mafia-style crime families in the City of Rome. The head of each crime family, the Paterfamilias, and his chief counsellor, the Consiliarius, are on trial for the murder of a Roman judge. A three-judge Tribunal, headed by the Urban Prefect along with Judge Severus and a jurisconsult, in order to reach a just verdict must figure out who among the accusing witnesses and trial lawyers is telling the truth and who is lying. Only Judge Severus’ brilliant deduction and insight reveal the truth.
This book is not only a mystery, but also captures the daily life of ancient Rome and is a sojourn into the world of courts, police, and criminal law of the period. All laws, rescripts and legal procedures are from Roman law sources. Even trial tactics and gestures of the lawyers are from Roman sources.

199 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2023

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The alignment of Judge Severus books in this Goodreads application is not kept accurately. I know I read this book before, but cannot find the file here. This was a good one for the overall Roman Justice system and its workings. Poor Severus loses a friend and serves on the court that adjudicates "justice" in the case of some miserable murderers. There is very little of Severus family interaction in this one, so not my favorite from the series.

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[Mary Heron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this series immensely but what stops.me.from giving.it five stars is the brevity. It's almost like reading a report ,an interesting report.I grant you but still......... There is not a great deal.of.detail and the crimes are always.quite easily solved, usually by some stroke of.genius from the judge but what saves the series are the characters and the dialogue, also the fact is these book.are short enough (less.than 200 pages) so they can be enjoyed easily. This book deals with the murder of a Judge in the.process of running an investigation into several Roman crime families who must get too close as he is murdered while walking in a public park. Judge Severus immediately goes to the Urban Prefect asking to be allowed to work the case (even though he's retired) as the.victim.was a close.friend.of his............

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ancient Rome Procedural

Scribner writes a crisp, business-like retelling of murder in ancient Rome through the eyes of Judge Severus. Like many good detective tales, an ensemble cast of characters brings the story all together seamlessly. Other fascinating details of Roman life are included, too: favorite foods, fashion trends, wedding traditions, etc. Anyone who enjoys the works of Steven Saylor, Lindsay Davis, and John Maddox Roberts will love this series!

[William N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope

I hope there are more in this series. I'm getting to where I really like these stories. Gives me a feel for how lucky I am in life to not be stuck in a time or place like Rome.