Aurelia Marcella Roman Mysteries Series by Jane Finnis (Books 1 – 4)
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Overview: Jane Finnis has been fascinated by the past ever since as a child she walked the straight Roman roads of East Yorkshire. After reading history at London University, she worked for some years in London as a freelance broadcaster for BBC Radio. She spends much of her time researching and writing about the Roman Empire.
Genre: Mystery, Historical
# 1: Shadows in the Night
Roman Britain in 91 AD is a troublesome part of the mighty Empire ruled by Domitian Caesar. Tension is especially high in the north, where Aurelia Marcella, a young innkeeper from Italy, runs the Oak Tree Mansio on the road to York. A string of savage murders disrupts her peaceful life, and she and her Roman friends find themselves under attack from a secret native war-band, the Shadow-men, whose aim is to expel all Romans out. A traveller, Quintus, is nearly killed close to the inn. Soon he and Aurelia team up to track down the rebel warriors and identify their mysterious masked leader, the Shadow of Death.
# 2: A Bitter Chill
In late December 95 AD, Roman settlers in Britannia are preparing to celebrate Saturnalia. Innkeeper Aurelia Marcella’s plans for a peaceful holiday are shattered when her brother brings bad news. An enemy in Rome is trying to destroy her family by spreading rumours that they are plotting against Caesar. Her brother has lost his job as a government investigator, the mansio is menaced by a gang of native criminals, and when a party of rich, demanding travelers arrive to stay, their quarrels and violence spill over into Aurelia’s household. Then the Saturnalia banquet, highlight of the festival, culminates in tragic death. Aurelia’s sister Albia is one of the chief suspects.
This second book in the series takes Aurelia from the quiet countryside to the busy new garrison town of York where she must contend with traitors and crooks, and face personal danger to protect her sister and help her brother. If she fails, her family will lose not just their mansio, but their lives.
# 3: Buried Too Deep
The spring of 98 AD is a time of optimism in the turbulent frontier province of Britannia. Business is brisk at the mansio (inn) on the road to York that Aurelia Marcella runs with her twin brother Lucius. Then a wagon arrives bearing a local farmer with a grievous sword wound who is seeking treatment with the local Greek doctor. And Lucius appears at the mansio on a mission. When the farmer dies, the twins head for the coast to return the man to his family and to check out a shipwreck bearing valuable official cargo. A band of outlawed sea-raiders led by a Gaul are suspected of stealing it along with killing the farmer. It all adds up to the feuding that has erupted between the colonists and the natives. The natives claim the newcomers are stealing the best farmland, while the settlers accuse the locals of plotting rebellion against Rome. Both sides are using terrorist tactics: burning, kidnapping, and even murder. The trouble escalates and long-buried grudges are revived as counsellors, citizens, chiefs, and slaves mix in. But a subtle, personal agenda is at work as well–one or more of the combatants may have hired the Gauls to orchestrate the violence.
# 4: Danger In The Wind
A fine summer in 100 AD and good government under Trajan Caesar promise well for the Roman settlers in the frontier province of Britannia.
Aurelia Marcella runs a mansio on a busy road to York. June is always busy, but one day two unusual events occur: a soldier is murdered in his bed at the inn, and a letter arrives from Isurium, a small fort north of the city. It is from a cousin, Jovina, inviting Aurelia to a midsummer birthday party. But the missive also reads as a plea for help, referring to “danger in the wind.”
The murdered soldier also bore a message, locked in Aurelia’s strongbox, indicating violence would erupt at the very same fort on the day of the party.
At Isurium, Aurelia finds Jovina and her drunken husband and unruly children caught in a tangled web of greed, love, intrigue, and death. When violence engulfs the district, Aurelia suddenly finds herself in peril from enemies engaged in an anti- Roman plot and from family members bent on misguided or evil agendas of their own.
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