This book took forever to get going. If it wasn't for the setting I am not sure I would have finished it. The mystery didn't really capture me. ( )

Gordianus the Finder is pleased when an old acquaintance from his travels to Alexandria, Dio the philosopher, arrives at his house, although astounded by the fact that Dio is dressed as a woman and accompanied by a eunuch priest of the Goddess Cybele. Dio, it seems, was part of a delegation of Egyptians sent to Rome to beg the Senators to stay out of Egyptian politics, but almost all of his compatriots have either been killed or scared off and Dio asks for Gordianus’s help to, most immediately, stay alive. Alas, Gordianus has no help to offer and sure enough, Dio is murdered that very night. This situation causes a guilt-filled Gordianus to do what he does best - hunt for the truth with respect to Dio’s murder, but what he finds may not be to his liking…. I read Steven Saylor’s sub Roma series starting in the 1990s, but missed a couple of books along the way, including this one. I’ve always enjoyed Mr. Saylor’s writing, infused as it is with accurate and lively details of life in Ancient Rome (in this case, 56 BCE), and the way in which he weaves the fictional lives of his main characters into real-life events and people of that time and place. One is reminded, too, of just how raucous Roman life was, and how very ribald! The whole series is recommended, of course. ( )

Convencido de que investiga un crimen político, Gordiano se introduce en el corazón de la decadencia romana. Su objetivo es averiguar qué hay detrás del asesinato de su antiguo maestro Dión de Alejandría, pero se ve metido en un juego mortal de seducciones y secretos de familia del que le será difícil salir indemne.

I do like historical fiction. Ellis Peters and Ken Follett are both favourites and Steven Saylor's first two books about Gordiano the Finder were intriguing.

This is the fourth book in the series Steven Saylor wrote, and the ninth if read in chronological order, but it seems to me to be a lot worse than the first two books. The only interesting aspect is the descriptions of Roman life, but it's no longer any news.

The long recitations by Catullus and Cicero are in particular fatiguing. The author is no Catullus or Cicero.

Now I'm not sure if I want to read any more of the books. I did miss book number three so maybe I should read it for completeness, but apart from that I am skeptical. ( )

At this point in Gordianus the Finder's life he is a 54 years old farmer in Etruria just outside Ancient Rome. He has married his Egyptian slave, Bethesda, and she has given him a daughter, Gordiana, who is thirteen years old and goes by the name Diana. Rounding out the household are two adopted sons, Meto and Eco, and Gordianus's house slave, Belbo.
In the year 56 B.C., Gordianus is trying to live the quiet life when philosopher and former teacher Dio of Alexandria arrives at his door dressed as a woman, desperately looking for help. Because Egyptian enoys have been assassinated, he has reason to believe someone is trying to kill him next. Despite their history, the strong desire to not get involved led Gordianus to turn Dio away, a decision he would later regret when Dio is indeed found stabbed to death. Gordianus, being the finder of the truth, seeks to uncover the mystery of who killed Dio and why. Despite every indication this is a straightforward political assassination Gordianus soon realizes nothing is ever that simple. ( )