Caveat Emptor by Ruth Downie Series: Gaius Petreius Ruso #4
Published by Self-Published on April 5, 2018
Genres: Historical Mystery
Pages: 353
Format: eBook
Source: Library
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso has arrived back in Britannia with his new wife Tilla and a trunk full of wedding crockery. His friend and colleague Valens has promised to help him find work, so while Tilla yearns for somewhere to make a home, Ruso is tasked with hunting down missing tax man Julius Asper.
Of course there’s something else missing: money. And the Council of the town of Verulamium is bickering over what’s become of it. Compelled to delve deeper when Asper is found murdered, Ruso discovers that the good townsfolk may not be as loyal to Rome as they claim.
Despite Ruso’s best efforts to get fired from the job of investigator, he and Tilla find themselves trapped at the heart of a treacherous conspiracy involving theft, forgery, buried treasure, and the legacy of Boudica, the rebel queen.
Ruso and Tilla are on their way back to Brittain after their adventure with family and murder in Gaul. Married, but without his old job as medicus in the Roman Legion, Ruso grudgingly agrees to a job his old medicus pal, Valens, who’s gone into private practice has dug up for him- find a missing tax collector and the tax money.
Ruth Downie once again entertains and instructs her readers all in one with her wonderful descriptions of Roman Era Brittain and her colorful, bantering characters, Ruso and Tilla solving mysteries as they happen upon them- which is often, it seems.
Ruso is still a little surprised at the turn of recent events that have led to him leaving the 20th Legion, returning home all sorts of family troubles, and now escaping, erm, that is returning to find work in Brittain with Tilla as his wife, now. A Roman with a Britain wife is mildly problematic, but being foot-loose with no prospects is the crux of his troubles.
So, when Valens recommends him as a professional investigator to the governor’s finance department in Londinium as just the man to find their missing tax collector and the tax money from a prosperous town up the road a little way, he reluctantly takes on both the false persona and the task. Tilla already volunteered him to help the missing man’s very pregnant Iceni princess wife, anyway.
Ruso isn’t on the job long when he trips over a murder and growing evidence that this is not a straight-forward case of the man absconding with the tax money. He’s investigating under the observation of the city council in question and the governor’s staff and someone is doing away with people who get too curious about that tax money. Meanwhile, what is going on with Valens and his wife? Not that he has time to consider another man’s wife when his own is an utter mystery to him already.
Caveat Emptor carries on the series story arc of Ruso and Tilla and has wonderful descriptions of a Roman era town’s workings. I found the historical details as fascinating as ever and was highly entertained by the banter and partnering of Ruso and Tilla. Let’s add in Ruso and Valens, too. The series remains strong for me and I definitely recommend it to historical mystery fans.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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You’re doing so well tackling this challenge! Happy to see this was another win for you!
Thanks, Rachel! It makes it so easy when they are a highly entertaining treat. 🙂
Look at you taking on those series. Awesome job.
Oh yeah! I’m having a blast with these. Thanks Jen!
Glad you’re enjoying this latest in the series.
This pair get me to giggling out loud and then I still get a good murder mystery and fascinating historical backdrop. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed this one. Sure seems like there’s a lot going on with these characters.
You said it, Mary. Ruso’s luck runs along the lines of “if I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all” LOL, poor guy.
How fun!! And the covers for this series is so cool.
Oh man, the covers! I think each book in the series has at least three different covers and even the name of the series has three different options. More to love, I guess. Haha!
Love the cover and glad this series is continuing well for you! Great review!
The mosaic tile look on the covers are pretty cool. I’m eager to keep going with the series.