The Blood of Caesar

Pliny the Younger #2

by Albert A. Bell Jr.

Pliny the Younger and Tacitus have another mystery to solve - actually layers of mysteries. During dinner at the emperor Domitian's palace, a workman is discovered dead in the archives. Why is this humble man's death important to the ruler of Rome? Domitian assigns Pliny to uncover references to an unknown heir of Augustus Caesar in a memoir of Nero's mother. Why does Domitian suspect his own copy of the memoir is incomplete? And how does his suspicion relate to the niece of Pliny's old friend and mentor? Is Tacitus' father-in-law Agricola a villain or a potential victim? Like a sinister red line slashed through a carefully prepared manuscript, the legacy of the great Augustus marks the connections to slaves of Pliny's own household. Pliny and Tacitus must descend to the Stygian underworld of Nero's buried "golden house" to find answers. Will the answers save the peace of Rome, or mark its doom?

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Roman, Historical Mystery, Ancient

257 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2008

About the author

Dr. Alfred A. Bell has taught at Hope College in Holland, Michigan since 1978, and, from 1994 through 2004, served as chair of the History Department. He holds a PhD from UNC-Chapel Hill, as well as an MA from Duke and an MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. His published works include the contemporary mysteries Death Goes Dutch and Kill Her Again, nonfiction works Exploring the New Testament World, and Perfect Game: Imperfect Lives. His articles and stories have appeared in magazines and newspapers from Jack and Jill and True Experience to the Detroit Free Press and Christian Century.

Series:
* Pliny the Younger
* Steve and Kendra Mystery

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another delightful Pliny the Younger mystery from the pen of Albert A. Bell. Mr. Bell has given us a more intriguing mystery than in his debut Pliny novel. In this one, Pliny, with the aid of his faithful friend Tacitus, are asked by the Emperor Domitian, to find the unexpurgated memoirs of Agrippina, for some nefarious purpose of Domitian's. Pliny does demonstrate to the emperor his skill in nosing out how the murder of a slave, a mason and plasterer, was probably accomplished. As a first step in his search for the missing scrolls, Pliny visits an old philosopher with ties to the imperial family and meets there a woman of mysterious background, Cornelia, whom he brings to his home at the behest of the philosopher. His and Tacitus' search leads them to the reason for the slave's death; a hunt underneath the Baths of Titus for a certain fresco; a dinner party at Tacitus' home at which he meets Tacitus' father-in-law, the famous governor Agricola of Britannia, who later gives great help in solving the mystery.

Pliny was as engaging as in the first novel and I like it that he is not perfect; he sometimes makes mistakes. I liked that Pliny's mother, Lady Plinia, was so important here. Both she and Cornelia were strong women and likeable. The author does introduce bits of history or Roman customs. Also in this case, several characters were Jewish and they explained about their funeral customs. Though the author is sometimes too obvious in how he inserts history, these books are a pleasant way to learn a little factual information. I liked the part demonstrating the workings of the Roman client-patron relationship. Pliny has done favors for a jeweler; in turn, the jeweler makes a beautiful necklace for Cornelia to wear to Tacitus'. I also liked the little line drawings that adorned practically every page.

I plan to continue on with this series. I couldn't put this novel down.

[Ozymandias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the last book in this series immensely, but I felt it fell just short of greatness. For a series’ debut that’s pretty good. But as I read this one I got the feeling I’d just have to get used to that. It’s not that the novel is badly written. It’s not. It just feels like it’s trying too hard to shock you with its audacity. And for the very humdrum no-drama Pliny that seems out of place.

The good news is that the book is every bit as well researched and realized as its predecessor. The world of ancient Rome really comes to life, this time actually in Rome rather than some hovel in Smyrna. I actually kind of liked the first setting better to be honest, simply for the novelty value. But Pliny on his home turf is fun to see. We also get to meet a lot of other characters. It must be said that I wasn’t overly impressed by all the cameos. Yes, Pliny knew Martial and could easily have been familiar with Josephus. Doesn’t mean we need to see them shoehorned in. But others may find this charming.

Tacitus is as enjoyable as ever, although I can’t stress enough how hard I find it to connect him to the real man. “His reputation as an orator, I’ve come to realize, rests on his technical brilliance and his fine voice, not on his reasoning ability.” That’s a cruelly cutting comment that I disagree with, but at least it engages with Tacitus the author. But the real man could not have been this thick. And to have him basically worshiping the Republic and loathing all emperors is far too simplistic for the often subtle historian. Also rather too simplistic is Domitian, who’s just another bully with no real redeeming qualities. Not that he has to be lovable or anything, but it would have been nice to see the man’s introversion and resentment instead of just his malice. His envy of Agricola is extreme too, extending even beyond Tacitus’ depiction (note: Tacitus was Agricola’s son-in-law and had reason to exaggerate) to become a genuine rival. This is what I mean when I say it was all a bit much.

I actually really like the nature of the mystery this time. The murder’s not the real point, in fact I think it was redundant and thrown in there just to meet the requirements of the genre. The real mystery was tracking Caesar’s bloodline and finding his descendant. This is something that is both original and I could see a Roman emperor doing. The solution to this conundrum is pretty obvious early on unfortunately, for all the distractions thrown our way. The pleasure is in how it gets there. And just the feel of the place.

So I liked this book, but I didn’t find it as much fun as the first one and the ending left me disgusted for its sheer implausibility. I enjoy Pliny (from now on I should call him Gaius the Necromancer) and Tacitus and find them entertaining sleuths. I will read more. But I suspect this series will never rise above being merely good to be one of the greats. And it comes so very close.

[grosbeak · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first one in the series was painfully bad, but glutton for punishment that I am, I continued... only to find that I do have a limit for Wrong Interpretations of Tacitus. The plot of this completely misreads the Agricola BOTH in terms of what that work wants you to think AND in terms of what it might be concealing.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always nice to discover a new historical mystery series and this one did not disappoint. A little slow getting into but caught my interest and it has been a while since I traveled back to Ancient Rome. Looking forward to reading the next installment.

[Sekhar N Banerjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

I really enjoyed the story. The story about Agrippina's daughter and that any of her descendants will be a threat to the Roman Emperor is really unique.

[paul witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cases of piney the younger

Very good read! along with the rest of the series!! Great reads! The author really takes you back to old Rome!

[Italo Italophiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Blood of Caesar is the second case in the Notebooks of Pliny the Younger Series, that features a fictionalized version of the historical first-century Roman aristocrat, investigating murder and other crimes, usually in close proximity to the Roman Emperor. The series is meant for adults, amateur Roman historians, and people who don't cringe and feel nauseous when reading about Ancient Rome's sadism.

The author provides a glossary of some terms and some historical persons who appear in the story, and a chronology of the time leading up to the story, which begins in the summer of the year 83. There is a first-person narration by Pliny himself, but it is not clear when the narrator is writing the story: soon after the events or as the events unfold. Generally speaking, it reads like a journal description of the events, but with very little hindsight.

The author provides a glossary of some terms and some historical persons who appear in the story, and a chronology of the time leading up to the story, which begins in the summer of the year 83. There is a first-person narration by Pliny himself, but it is not clear when the narrator is writing the story: soon after the events or as the events unfold. Generally speaking, it reads like a journal description of the events, but with very little hindsight.

Sadly, the protagonist, Pliny the Younger, is not a man among men, nor a man enlightened for his time. He is a slave-owner and as paternalistic as any Roman aristocratic head of family. While he does not approve of raping, whipping or killing his slaves, he does not mind selling them off, or accepting slave-freebies from others. Slaves were for Pliny and others "like pieces of furniture".

In fact, the strict historical accuracy of the book is my biggest problem with it. Too often I found the book read like a fly-on-the-wall depiction for sick voyeurs of the horrible Roman society. The society was one where pedophilia, prostitution, child-brides, child-murder, and all forms of misogyny were accepted, along with many other forms of sadism.

For me, these things are just bearable if the protagonist condemns them. So, if you are like me, you might not enjoy this series. If you are not like me, then you have many books to enjoy, and the promise of more books to come.

If you are a student of the Latin language, then you will get especial pleasure reading this author's series. He incorporates into this prose many English words that come from Latin, in a sort of joke for Latinophiles, playing with the fiction that the characters are speaking Latin, and that the narration is in Latin.

But we are almost a quarter of the way into the book before Pliny actually begins investigating a "case". The book takes a long time to get moving, taking lots of time to set the scene. When it does pick up speed, the author seems to really enjoy displaying how Caesar's blood, or genes, might show themselves in a descendent. I won't say any more, because I don't want to ruin the story for anyone!

Please read my full and illustrated review at Italophile Book Reviews.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second in what may turn out to be only two installments in the Pliny's casebook series, and in spite of the fact that the author says he had an extremely hard time writing it, it is the far better of the two. Pliny is a prim young aristocrat, a bit of a prig, and nowhere nearly as smart as he thinks he is. That allows the reader to pretend that any little infelicities or awkwardnesses might be his fault rather than the author's. Once those are allowed for, this is a very good historical novel, and a much better mystery than the first one, although the reader will be far ahead of Pliny in figuring out what is going on. The detailed descriptions of ancient Rome sound absolutely authentic to me, and a visit to a huge public bath (and the slave-worked furnaces below), while maybe a little over the top, is unforgettable. The title refers handily both to murder by the current Caesar, and to the bloodline of Julius Caesar. There is a good plot twist at the end which certainly fooled me. And the characters of Tacitus and his father-in-law Agricola were vividly enough drawn that they led me to read the actual Agricola by Tacitus himself. It's the account of Agricola's running the province of Britannia, and includes the famous description of Rome's power which Tacitus put into the mouth of a valiant British leader rallying his men before their destruction in battle: "The Romans steal, butcher, and rape and call it government; they make a desert and call it peace." It was the line quoted by Robert Kennedy in reference to the US in Vietnam. Anyhow, if a book is good enough to inspire you to go back to the sources, as this one did for me, it's a pretty good effort at historical reconstruction. Oh, and like the first in the series, it has many decorations in the margins and at the beginnings and ends of chapters, making it even more of a pleasure to read.

[Rob Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the author really stepped up his game when he wrote this book over the first one. The character of Tacitus is developed significantly, and some of the later parts about Agricola and Tacitus admiring Pliny's mom's work ethic gave me a more positive and well rounded picture of Roman society. That said I think, for better or worse it seems like the author must watch a lot of tv, that many of the characters and moods in these novels seem to relate to famous bible epics such as the Robe, and Ben Hur, with others from, even star trek, to other films a person might be familiar with. Not that he steals anything but you could just about say here's Cesear Romeo(!), here's Dethan! pretty readily. The one character seems to go from 'from the sticks,' 'Hicksville' to 'Nashville' in a real hurry. All in all it really is a pretty good book. My one complaint with the first book, and another two from the series while diminished in this, is that the author seems to be into the idea of 'thought experiments,' not that he isn't thoughtful in this regard, be he just about ends up putting the use of ambiguity as a psycho-literary device ahead of or instead of sticking to a good plot.

[Amador · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the historical details on the novel and the cameos of historical figures in the plot, I also liked the twists and turns taken towards the end... but I hated the end... I found it extremely unlikely, far-fetched and frankly, an insult to anyone's intelligence.. Why would an extremely powerful character, put himself in an extremely dangerous situation in order to PROTECT himself from a hypothetical and very far away risk from a very powerless character. It does not make any sense, it's sheer stupidity, and looking at the historical figure of Domitian, it makes even less sense that he would have acted that way... Caligula? perhaps, but not Domitian.. The end ruined the book I had enjoyed until then and put me in a bad mood, so there!

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple and sweet mystery, but I liked it a lot and couldnt wait to get home from work and read some more. The story is set in Rome and the "hero" is the nephew of the famous historian Pliny the Elder. It's a very complex story about the descendants of Julius Ceasar and while there isn't any of the usual modern novel complex-bankrobbing-computers-cellphones-doublecrosses. But because it's ancient Rome and we're talking about the children of Nero and Caligula, the plot twists are tricky and the stakes are VURRRY high. Everything resolves nicely in the end. The characters are, for the most part, interesting although one, Nelia, is annoying and a little bit of a cardboard cutout.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I've given Mr. Bell's earlier books 2 stars. His writing & characterizations have improved enough for me to recommend this one to readers who like Steven Saylor's Roman mysteries, though it is not as lively as Lindsey Davis' Falco books. As an American living in the 21st century, it is difficult to grasp the perils of the political situation --- how dangerous was the general living situation for an equestrian man just to talk to a supposed friend, much less the greater danger for an equally privileged woman, and the even greater danger of a plebian man or woman. And then there is the horrible life of a slave, also in gradations of horrible.

[Brett Bydairk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Number 2 in the series of novels featuring Pliny the Younger, and his friend Tacitus. This time, Emperor Domitian "requests" Pliny to find the original of Agrippina's memoirs to see if perhaps she had another, previously unknown, child, who could possibly provide a legitimate claimant to leadership of the Empire.
Pliny starts investigating, and soon finds himself deep in deception, plotting, and of course politics.
Lively writing, an engaging style, and interesting characters make this another winner.
The author says that it too six years to write this entry; let us hope it doesn't take that long for the next one.

[Argum · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second entry in this series, Pliny the Younger gets mixed up in a plot of Domitian's, never a good thing. Tacitus and Pliny work together with appearances by Josephus, Agricola, and others to figure out whether there is a descendant of Caesar no one knew about still living. Like the first book, a lot of information about the first century is worked in in an unobtrusive way. Yet the history lesson doesn't overwhelm the mystery. I had most of the pieces and still found it enjoyable.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
At some point it just felt like the author was spending a lot of words to get to an ending I already saw coming. I would be lying if I said I didn't love the addition of the various sketches throughout the book. They make things fun. After the second book I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about Pliny. I don't really like him but I find him interesting. Maybe I need another book to help me out.

[Rosemary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two and a half stars. Authors need to be able to do two things: know their fictional world back-to-front and write well. I think this author does the first but unfortunately his style is a bit clunky in its presentation of interesting academic facts. Didn't finish. I've been spoilt by Tolkien, CS Lewis and Georgette Heyer.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't think I would like mysteries about ancient Rome, but I was wrong. This is the second in this series, and I am really looking forward to the next one. The Romans were really treacherous and this series surely proves that.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, but

The author indicates that this was a difficult book to write and unfortunately some of that shows. Regardless, a good book well worth reading. Good characters. The Roman locale is faithfully depicted yet an integral part of the plot. The plot is a bit twisty, although that's supposed to be a good thing. Overall, I look forward to reading the next installment of Pliny the Younger.