Timaeus the Tracker

by Larry Winebrenner

When the most famous private investigator in the Roman Empire was asked by the acting governor of Judea to accomplish an assignment, the Tracker---as all such private investigators of the time were called---liked neither the assignment nor the man who made it.For one thing, the poor shepherdess who saved his life and nursed him back to health, awaited him. Although he was immensely wealthy and his background that of the highest social class, he was going to ask her to marry him. Would she accept? She hated wealthy people. She just didn't know he was wealthy.But this assignment stood in the way. It didn't help that the Zealot rebels thought he was working for Rome to defeat them. They wanted him dead. He believed that completion of the assignment would also mean death, so that the matter would remain secret.The book weaves through the Roman machinations with the help both of the provinces most beautiful and popular prostitute, and of the Zealots who want him dead, and some biblical figures familiar to biblical scholars.Though the story is set in the city that became Jesus's home after leaving Nazareth, it takes place before his move to that city and he does not appear in the novel.The novel is an action-filled adventure and romance.

223 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2013

About the author

Dr. Winebrenner knows about secret military matters. He had to be cleared for Secret to become an advanced underseas weapons technician in the navy. It was the baby carrier he was assigned to that transported the nuclear device tested on Enewetak Atoll. More than that, he served on various confidential committees while professor at Miami Dade College for 33 years. He is also an ordained clergy in the United Methodist Church. He and his wife live in Miami Gardens FL.

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great fun mystery, a private investigator tale set in Roman-occupied Judea. What an interesting place and time, with the start of TIMAEUS THE TRACKER in the town of Capernaum beside Lake Tiberias on the River Jordan. Romans, Jews, Persians, Nubians, tax-evaders and everybody else passing through the area make for a varied cast. Tensions include rebellious Zealots, determined to regain control of the area conquered by Roman general Pompey; the wealthy in villas paying mercenaries to guard them against the impoverished and banditry; and of course the age-old family or tribal disputes.

Timaeus is an investigator or a tracker of people and the truth. He has a history of unearthing the truth about crimes, which earns him rich rewards - so much that he secretly has his own villa in this backward, inexpensive province. The Roman wealthy obliged to oversee Judea think that a senator's nephew has been exiled here to live a secluded life. Timaeus's greatest secret however, is his admiration for a local girl, a mere shepherdess of great courage and resource, who has already saved his life after a climbing fall.

Enter shepherdess Lila, a doughty heroine at a time when girls were not supposed to be so, a determined protector of her flock and her virtue. I loved her at once. By contrast, the town also harbours harlots who earn a few coppers from the many soldiers frequenting the small inns. They're just making a living.

The Governor Marconius hires Timaeus following his brother's untimely death - but his request is more than a little unusual. This sparks an investigation among assorted citizenry and soldiers, with the tracker donning a series of disguises and paying informers for gossip. Working for the Romans, who routinely crucify thieves by the roadside while shaking down honest merchants, is unpopular - creating a further source of danger for the foxy tracker.

The windswept, rocky Syrian desert is counterbalanced by the friendly fisherfolks on the lake. Filthy beggars contrast with wealthy camel-driving silk merchants. Sour milk flatbread is baked by some while others sip spring-chilled pomegranate juice. Larry Winebrenner, who has previously set mysteries in modern Florida, has excelled himself with the quality and action to be found in the scrolls of TIMAEUS THE TRACKER. If there is a sequel, I want to read it!