Roman Games: A Plinius Secundus Mystery »

Bruce Macbain holds a BA in Classics from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught Greek and Roman history at Vanderbilt University and Boston University. His special interest is religion in the Roman Empire. He enjoys travelling and was one of the first Peace Corps Volunteers to serve in Borneo. He lives with his wife in Brookline, MA. This is his first novel.

Rome: September, 96 AD. Sextus Verpa, a notorious senatorial informer, is found stabbed to death in his bedroom. His slaves are suspected. Pliny, a young senator and lawyer, is ordered by the emperor to investigate. But the Roman Games have just begun, and for the next fifteen days, the courts are in recess. If Pliny can't identify the murderer in that time, Verpa's entire slave household will be burned alive. Pliny teams up with Martial, a starving author, and they unravel a plot that involves Jewish and Christian 'atheists,' exotic Egyptian cultists, and a missing horoscope forecasting the emperor's death.

Library Journal

When Sextus Verpa, the emperor's number one informant, is murdered in his bedroom, Emperor Domitian wants the killer found and gives young, naive lawyer and senator Pliny the Younger 15 days to do the job. If he fails, Verpa's household slaves will be burned alive in the arena. MacBain, a scholar of ancient Greek and Roman history, leads the reader down the mean and dirty streets of Rome to find a conspiracy of hatred and greed that ends in an entanglement of diverse religious groups united by a mutual hatred of the emperor. VERDICT This debut is sure to appeal to fans of Steven Saylor and Lindsey Davis. Readers may also want to try Gary Corby's The Pericles Commission, which involves historical figures from the ancient world.