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Medicus (Gaius Petreius Ruso #1)

by Ruth Downie (Goodreads Author)

3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 · rating details · 2,468 ratings · 460 reviews

Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on his luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. His arrival in Deva (more commonly known as Chester, England) does little to improve his mood, and after a straight thirty six hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness...more

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published March 6th 2007 by Bloomsbury USA (first published January 1st 2006)

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Community Reviews

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Mar 25, 2009 Carre rated it 5 of 5 stars

Five stars, five, and again five! Hurray for Medicus: it's the page-turner I've been looking for for a long time. I read it in an entire day because I couldn't put it down.

Set in Roman Empire-era Brittania, this is the story of reluctant hero , Gaius Petrius Ruso, a doctor in the local army hospital, who turns detective very much against his will. Humorous, lighthearted, colorful... This is Downie's first novel, and I hope she's planning a whole series of Ruso mysteries!

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Feb 06, 2010 Laura McLean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book! Our hero, Medicus, a doctor in ancient Roman-occupied Britain, is a fascinating and totally lovable guy. The book jacket compares him to young Harrison Ford, and I think that's perfect--surly, oblivious to his own charm, professional, and totally adorable underneath a mildly prickly exterior. The writing somehow makes it easy to imagine living in Deva, Brittania (an area in a period I know nothing about) and all the characters are well-written and very engaging. I am really lo...more

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Mar 29, 2009 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars

Medicus is what I call a 'popcorn' book: a book to pick up and settle in with for an evening's cozy reading. Entertainment value: 5 stars, but several months from now I'll have a hard time remembering much beyond the main characters: Gaius Petrius Ruso, a physician stationed in Brittania with the Roman army, and Tilla, the slave girl he reluctantly purchases from an abusive master. Ruso, long suffering, wry, and a humanist doomed to be forever caught up in other people's suffering despite his at...more

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Feb 12, 2009 Kassandra rated it 2 of 5 stars

...The back cover made it sound so interesting and original - like a historical fiction mystery with men in short tunics with great senses of humor. It's really about a lonely, rather boring medicus (doctor) for the Roman Empire stationed overseas who stumbles upon a whorehouse, a couple of missing girls, and some bad oysters. Of course in the mix there is a beautiful, resilient, implausible slave girl - who was possibly once royalty or a healer or ???. Did I mention the doctor is in debt trying...more

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Apr 23, 2013 ~M~ rated it 5 of 5 stars

I! LOVE! THIS! BOOK!!!!!

I picked it up at a thrift store on a whim, because I love ancient Rome, and it seemed to start with a murder mystery.

It just got better and better and better.

I should say that I don't consider this book a real murder mystery, though there are some dead girls and Ruso does ask around about them. I consider it more of a character study of Ruso, the army doctor, and a portrait painted of his work in an outlying army post in Brittania. I always wanted to know what would hap...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, my-fav-books, my-fav-authors

Having read all of the Gordianus books by Steven Saylor and the Falco books by Lindsey Davis, I was excited to find this series by Ruth Downie. She introduces the character of Gaius Petrius Ruso--a Roman doctor (known as a "medicus") stationed on the edge of the empire during the time of the emperor Hadrian.

Ruso has come out of a failed marriage. His father has died recently and his "investments" are actually bills and the family is deeply in depth. As the paterfamilias (head of the family), Ru...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Yune rated it 3 of 5 stars

A forensic mystery set in Ancient Rome! How could I resist?

The tone is modern enough to be readable even by those who don't normally seek out historical fiction, I think. Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced physician stationed with the Twentieth Legion in Brittania when the unidentified body of a woman is brought to him for a post-mortem. The opening scene captures a lot of what I liked in the main character: dry humor -- Ruso is stuck with the mortuary assistant's assistant, whose note-taking skil...more A forensic mystery set in Ancient Rome! How could I resist?

The tone is modern enough to be readable even by those who don't normally seek out historical fiction, I think. Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced physician stationed with the Twentieth Legion in Brittania when the unidentified body of a woman is brought to him for a post-mortem. The opening scene captures a lot of what I liked in the main character: dry humor -- Ruso is stuck with the mortuary assistant's assistant, whose note-taking skill leave something to be desired -- and a meticulousness that makes him revise "place of death" to "location of body." He's also a decent man, who purchases an injured slave so he can nurse her back to health.

She's ungrateful, of course; she's a British native who won't even speak to him at first, and Ruso ends up being forced to hide her in a brothel so she can convalesce. In the meantime, he contends with a supercilious administrative officer determined to nickel and dime the medical facilities; a smarmy roommate who snatches up all the best opportunities; a secret family debt he's desperately trying to pay off by being parsimonious; and a second dead woman.

Don't read this for any particular charm (I read comparisons to Lindsay Davis's Falco series, which kind of horrifies me); it's not particularly light-hearted, nor is our hero exceptionally clever. But he's a decent man who occasionally pokes his nose a little too far into things, and I liked that aspect, how he wasn't following the mystery like a dog with a bone. It just sort of kept being there to get bumped into, or lurking someplace where he could just possibly ask another question.

There's a lot of mundane everyday detail here, most of which rang true (especially the bureaucracy) without drowning me in a sense of Ancient Rome. I could see it boring some folks. And the slave woman's development into a respectable character was a bit fraught in my opinion, but satisfying enough in the end.

I'd pick it up for a quieter read if the premise appeals and you're not looking for sharp or glittery writing.(less)

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Dec 16, 2012 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

I cannot wait to read the rest of the series. I'm about seventy pages into the second book, which I began a day after I finished the first....which, if you've met me, is a pretty good indication that this is going to be a positive review. Downie's understanding and research into the Roman colonization of Great Britain is wonderful She's obviously done her homework, but coupled with that hard and tedious research is a great deal of wonderful and very love prose, with gorgeously dynamic characteri...more I cannot wait to read the rest of the series. I'm about seventy pages into the second book, which I began a day after I finished the first....which, if you've met me, is a pretty good indication that this is going to be a positive review. Downie's understanding and research into the Roman colonization of Great Britain is wonderful She's obviously done her homework, but coupled with that hard and tedious research is a great deal of wonderful and very love prose, with gorgeously dynamic characterizations. I _thought_ I had figured out the mystery by about halfway through, and didn't care because I was enjoying the book so much. Then, in a final, lovely twist, I found I had only figured out half of the mystery, which made my enjoyment of Medicus even more! As someone who reads over a hundred Mystery novels a year, who searches out those which are complexly plotted and yet do not confuse "filled with swear words and sex scenes" with "current and fascinating" as so many books do, I was delighted to also find that, although the concept of sex and the sex trade in the army camps of Rome's conquest is a large portion of this book, when discussed it is discussed intelligently, and without a lot of... well, detail. The accidental detective who has even more accidentally acquired a slave he does not want or desire to have, who has complex problems in a very different culture than the one I live in, is still very personable and identifiable. The slave girl, whose name is a crucial part of the book so I won't say it, and the circumstances under which she has found herself in slavery is even moreso identifiable, and such a remarkable character... and of course you realize early on that she is a crucial plotline to this story and others. More than anything else, I found it particularly fascinating to be reading of the oppressor/oppressed relationship in a way that I usually do not experience, years before England was colonizing the world, when Britain herself was not yet named and during which time her people were under siege. It somehow made the cultural and power struggles between the people both extremely foreign and extremely familiar, which in itself is a great reason to read this series. I cannot wait to download the next few...and am glad that the series continues onward, and that I found it when there are several and I don't have to wait to read the second book! From what I have read of the second, this author is NOT a one hit wonder... the beautiful imagery and plotlines have continued with an even more complex relationship between the main characters, which becomes even more convoluted (from what I've seen in synopses) in the next few books. An amazing story all around, and a great weekend winter read! (less)

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Mar 15, 2012 Alethea rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read, intermittently, historical fiction, and I also read, intermittently, mystery books. While some of my very favorite authors cross both genres (Laurie R. King being the premier examples), I am fussy about both, and so tend to be leery of historical mysteries—most fail to work for me, as mysteries or as historical novels. This book is one of those rare examples of an excellent historical novel wrapped around an excellent mystery. It is fairly unconventional as a mystery, as it never actuall...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Rebecca Hill rated it 3 of 5 stars

Medicus is full of surprising twists and turns which lead to a somewhat unexpected ending, and somewhat predictable ending. Two military doctors in Roman England compete with each other to receive a promotion. One doctor is in the trade for the money and notoriety only, while the other does it because he believes in it and needs the money desperately. The two doctors live together and are in constant opposing views on any topic which comes up in the town they are stationed in. Good character dev...more

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Sep 24, 2011 Marfita rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of Stephen Saylor

Recommended to Marfita by: Goodreads Auto-thingie

Shelves: mysteries, period-mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was totally misled (a word I learned from Nancy Drew, by the way) by the blurb on the back that compared this series to "those by Lindsay Davis and Stephen Saylor on the Ancient Rome beat but adds at bit more humor to the mix of period detail and suspense." I therefore expected a great deal of humor, but didn't find it. That was mostly because Davis's Falco stories are chock full of "humor," Saylor, not so much. So, this series is more like Saylor's but with more humor. Maybe it's just too sub...more I was totally misled (a word I learned from Nancy Drew, by the way) by the blurb on the back that compared this series to "those by Lindsay Davis and Stephen Saylor on the Ancient Rome beat but adds at bit more humor to the mix of period detail and suspense." I therefore expected a great deal of humor, but didn't find it. That was mostly because Davis's Falco stories are chock full of "humor," Saylor, not so much. So, this series is more like Saylor's but with more humor. Maybe it's just too subtle for an American. Lindsay Davis is an exceptionally hard act to follow. It was probably unfair to judge this book by my love for Falco and his escapades. I might read more in the series, but if they don't strike me as funny, I'll have to avoid them like I do Saylor's.

The series is set totally in Roman Britain, giving Downie a chance to make fun of British "cuisine" ever so briefly. Druids are being exterminated. Some Britains are accepting Roman citizenship and some are still causing trouble. Enter Gaius Petreius Ruso, an army doctor or medicus, whose life so far has not been very successful, mostly from an inability to put himself forward.

Ruso might build into a more amusing character, with his unimaginative, stick-up-his-whatsis demeanor, as the series goes on. His slave Tilla (a play on "useful" - apparently) is also stiff and unbending, so maybe they're made for each other. The secondary characters are certainly more entertaining. The co-Medicus and Ruso's roommate, Valens, is a stitch (pardon the pun), seeing everything from the humorous and reasonable side. He easily manipulates Ruso, whose mind is burdened with an estate with too many liens on it and isn't able to parallel process. His amanuensis Albanus has potential as well.

The climax is more of an argument over responsibility and the bad person evokes the deus ex machina of suicide that I find so annoying. It seems as if Downie wrote herself into a corner and used the tool of dialog to work it out, gave up, and left the dialog.
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Sep 13, 2011 Jacqie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book in a lovely series. I inadvertently started with the last book and have hopped my way around. While I enjoyed this book, it suffered a bit of the unevenness of some first books. We meet our medicus, Tilla, Valens, and Albanus. The fact that our hero really wants nothing to do with solving any murder, and keeps getting dragged back into the situation, is amusing. I liked the details of Roman life, the hobnailed boots, the bad wine, and the dicey situation with British tribe...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Lucinda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Medicus (2007, APA: Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls, Ruso and the Disappearing Dancing Girls) introduces Gaius Petreius Ruso, a Roman army physician in second century Roman Britain, who has transfered to the 20th Legion in the remote Britannia port of Deva (now Chester, England) to start over after a divorce and the death of his father have left him with a huge pile of debts. When a dish of bad oysters disables one of the other doctors, Ruso works a two-day shift at the hospital, incl...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Lilian rated it 4 of 5 stars

In classic mystery form, the novel opens with a dead body. But for the first third it reads more like a literary novel and even the rest of the book is driven, not so much by suspects, investigation, danger relating to the crime, but by the character of the characters. I couldn’t put it down. If Downie can sustain the quality of writing throughout the series, I will be seriously impressed.

Medicus is about a doctor in ancient Britain under the occupation of the Romans. Gaius Petreius Ruso is an a...more In classic mystery form, the novel opens with a dead body. But for the first third it reads more like a literary novel and even the rest of the book is driven, not so much by suspects, investigation, danger relating to the crime, but by the character of the characters. I couldn’t put it down. If Downie can sustain the quality of writing throughout the series, I will be seriously impressed.

Medicus is about a doctor in ancient Britain under the occupation of the Romans. Gaius Petreius Ruso is an army doctor, recently divorced, broke and burdened by financial obligations to his extended family, a guy whose career is held back by his honesty and integrity. He is likable and believable because he is also a man of his times, with prejudices and blind spots. His exposure to a new country, its inhabitants, and the culture of occupation is a learning experience for him.

So is Tilla, the young British slave whom he buys in order to nurse back to health, a feisty herbalist and midwife who would gladly bite the hand that feeds her if it gets her back to her people and the British rebellion. To her dismay, the hand belongs to a man who is much more sympathetic than she expects.

The dead body is that of a young prostitute, which raises issues that are universal in time as well as place, about sex, slavery, armies, and freedom. Although the novel takes place in ancient Britain, it is typical of the latest wave of historical novels, which give a contemporary feel to language and setting and make free with some of the facts.

It worked well for this book and I was completely engaged, even though normally I’m a stickler for historical accuracy, because I was rooting for Gaius and Tilla. Highly recommended. Page 17:

Ahead of him, a chorus of excited voices rose in the street. He recognized the fat man, still shouting orders in a thick Gallic accent. The female who had collapsed had now attracted a sizable crowd. They seemed to be carrying her to the fountain. Ruso tossed the last fragments of cake to a passing dog and strode on in the direction of the amphitheater. It was nothing to do with him. He was not, at this moment, a doctor. He was a private citizen in need of some bath oil…

There was a sudden gasp from around the fountain. Someone cried. “Ugh! Look at that.”

A child was pawing at her mother’s arm, demanding, “What is it? I can’t see! Tell me what it is!”

Russo hesitated, came to a halt, and promised himself it would only be a quick look.

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Feb 05, 2011 Libtechgurugoddess rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because it's a mystery set in ancient Roman times, though based in Brittania. The hero is Gaius Petrius Ruso, but he refers to himself as simply Ruso. He's an army doctor for the Roman Empire. I like his quiet irony and self-effacement, although he's obviously more intelligent and observant than most of the people around him. Solving the murders seems to be almost a side story, compared to the fascinating minutiae about the Roman army and life as a doctor in ancient Britain...more

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Dec 11, 2009 D.w. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

So what's not to love. We have a doctor who is just trudging along, be set by a large amount of burdens from his fathers debts to his divorce. We have a setting which is not the fast paced Londinium, but Deva, (Chester) a little out of the way, a little backwoodsy, a little slow.

But this book opens so well. A coroners inquest, so we have a body, right at page one. But hey, this is the back end of the empire. Who cares.

No one, and that is part of the problem that holds this back from getting a be...more

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May 01, 2009 Valorie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Medicus: : A Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth Downie is about a divorced and female wary Roman doctor named Ruso who quite simply has terrible luck. First, he finds himself the owner of a very expensive and wounded female slave named Tilla who can’t cook or obey any orders. Second, a dead prostitute from a local bar that sells poison oysters is found floating in a river and Ruso somehow finds himself in the middle of the investigation. And third, yes, there is also a third, Ruso’s family in Gau...more Medicus: : A Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth Downie is about a divorced and female wary Roman doctor named Ruso who quite simply has terrible luck. First, he finds himself the owner of a very expensive and wounded female slave named Tilla who can’t cook or obey any orders. Second, a dead prostitute from a local bar that sells poison oysters is found floating in a river and Ruso somehow finds himself in the middle of the investigation. And third, yes, there is also a third, Ruso’s family in Gaul is in serious debt with creditors on their back. Ruso can’t seem to save let alone keep any money, is behind on his concise guide to medical care, and the hospital administration is constantly on his back. There’s no hope of riches or promotion in his future. Or having a decent hot meal.

To put it simply, I loved this book. From the moment I picked it up, I didn’t want to put it down. Though the mystery wasn’t so much a mystery by the middle of the novel (I guessed the culprit, though perhaps Downie intended for us to get hints along the way and work this out), I still found how it unfolded very riveting. Also, Downie inserts a lot of humor into the novel and you end up feeling both sorry and amused by Ruso all in the same breath. Ruso is a very likable character because he is neither too unfortunate nor too impressive. In the end, Ruso comes out as an average man. Because Ruso was such an interesting and likable character, he sustained the story well enough for me when the plot waned.

What about historical accuracy? In the end notes, Downie herself admits that information about Roman Britain is hard to come by and scant. She also confesses that some of her information is made up or exaggerated to move the plot along. The few books that Downie listed as sources are secondary sources, which are always to be used critically since their information may not be correct or unbiased. A few primary sources would have made her history more credible, certainly. A lot of the speech and infrastructure in Medicus was inspired by modern practices—characters used words like ‘lad’ and ‘bloody’. Still, I was relieved that this book did not read like a textbook and that it did not focus around big names and big people. Yes, Julius Caesar marching on Rome was an amazing thing, but we should only have so many fiction books about it. It is nice to read about an average Roman.

It was refreshing that Downie allowed me to use my own knowledge of Rome to fill in the gaps and set the scene rather than laying it all out for me in a tedious, fact rich way. Like I said, Medicus did not read like a textbook. In a way, it was taken for granted that the reader should know a little something about the Roman way of life. I may be better off than your average reader since I do know a lot about Rome to fill in blanks with. Yet, a non-scholar can still pick out a lot about Roman life such as that slaves were property and frequently abused, Romans wrote on wax covered pages with a stylus, Romans diluted their wine with water, etc. You won’t finish this book without some idea of how Romans lived.(less)

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Mar 06, 2012 Serene rated it 2 of 5 stars

I love period books, and while I thought Medicus was a nice and readable book, it could've been set in any country in any era. I never got the feel that I was reading a book set in ancient Britain. While the character talks a lot about the Celts, they are mostly just boring tribespeople with funny mannerisms.

The hero himself is quite modern. He buys a slave out of sympathy, beggaring himself. He is concerned about the plight of prostitutes. He frets about whether his slave Tilla has someone to t...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Shawna rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed it. Took a bit to get into it, but the story pulls you in. Entertaining, but not amazing.

I did find my first "dog barked" line in this, though! (since reading the article: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/cu...)

Page 279:

He passed through the gates and made his way across the open area that supported the fort from the civilian buildings. At this time of night the town was little more than a huddle of angular shapes illuminated by the occasional glimmer of a torch. Somewhere among the...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Ed rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Very interesting concept. It is kind of like a reluctant Quincy dropped in 2nd century Roman Britain. Did not think I would like it at first, but it became interesting. Did not expect the guy behind everything, even though I found him annoying and wanted to see him flogged and sent on a 25 mile march.

Did Ruso ever straighten things out with the second spear? Or did he continue to cover for his friend. I thought many of the things described seemed anachronistic. Probably just based on what certai...more

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Jul 10, 2011 Laura Droege rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, mysteries, fiction

Gaius Petreius Ruso serves as a military doctor during the Roman occupation of Britannia, dealing with his over-meticulous hospital administrator, his wounded and mangled patients, and an unclaimed dead body washed to shore. And not just a dead body but a murdered body. During a moment of sleep-deprived vulnerability, he manages to pick up a half-dead slave girl who won't talk and can't cook, and winds up investigating the mysterious deaths of several prostitutes.

Ruso is a grumpy, tactless and u...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Terence rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, mysteries

Reading Medicus I’m put in mind of Colin Cotterill's Siri Paiboun series. In both two men more devoted to their jobs than anything else find themselves reluctantly involved in murder investigations. In both we have a comedic more than tragic writing style that still manages to inject notes of seriousness along the way – in Medicus, it’s a reflection on slavery and sex trafficking.

Medicus is not a “heavy” read, however. It’s a very nicely written, moderately complex murder mystery set in the Roma...more Reading Medicus I’m put in mind of Colin Cotterill's Siri Paiboun series. In both two men more devoted to their jobs than anything else find themselves reluctantly involved in murder investigations. In both we have a comedic more than tragic writing style that still manages to inject notes of seriousness along the way – in Medicus, it’s a reflection on slavery and sex trafficking.

Medicus is not a “heavy” read, however. It’s a very nicely written, moderately complex murder mystery set in the Romano-British town of Deva (modern day Chester) at the beginning of Hadrian’s reign (AD 117). Our put-upon protagonist is Gaius Petreius Ruso, a doctor in the XX Legion, whose marriage has failed (because he was too devoted to his craft and not devoted enough to advancing his career), whose family is drowning in debt and in danger of losing their Gaulish farm, and whose first “mistake” is rescuing a British slave girl from her slimy owner.

The mystery isn’t all that complex or hard to figure out. I enjoyed reading the book because I enjoyed following Ruso as he stumbles along, inadvertently uncovering the clues (view spoiler). Our hero is by no means stupid, he’s a rather good doctor, in fact, but he is often blind to his environment, awkward socially and politically inept*. Ruso is a man I can identify with and Downie’s writing is engaging and “user friendly” if you’re looking for a diverting, not-too-serious reading experience.

I’d enjoy seeing PBS or BBC adapt this into a series like Brother Cadfael ; it practically cries out for it.

I’m going to head down to the library this weekend and get some more entries in this series – I’ve been reading too many depressing things lately.

* Downie makes Ruso the “mysterious stranger” who rescued the Emperor Trajan from a collapsing building during an earthquake in Antioch but – much to his wife’s disgust – Ruso never parlays it into anything advantageous.(less)

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Sep 09, 2009 Lynn rated it 2 of 5 stars

I see some of the other folks below reacted to this book as I did: it was a page turner, but I won't be likely to remember I even read it in a few months (or next week). I, too, found the main character kind of boring. He was a good guy, but not a very interesting one. I didn't feel a connection with the character, which I really need to do to love a book. It was really a modern mystery novel set in Roman Britain. The trappings of the Roman Empire were there, but not the spirit or really the und...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I went into this book primarily because of wanting to read a book set in my hometown, Chester, in the Roman period. Based on the effusive recommendation of author Ben Kane I tracked it down and dived in.

I was wary when I found that it was filed not under the library's Historical Fiction section but in their Past Crimes genre. If there's one genre almost guaranteed to kill my enthusiasm for a book it's murder mystery, only just surpassing vampire books.

What I uncovered however was a pleasant surp...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Shelley Fearn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-mystery

Downie had me with her introduction: "

"Medicus
a novel
in which our hero will be...
baffled
by Tilla, a slave,
Quintus Antonius Vindex, a recruit,
a family of native Britons.

She continues to set up the novel by telling us who would "alarm" him, "assault him", "amuse" him...

You get the idea.

Downie has created a likeable hero in Gaius Petreius Ruso, a surgeon with the XXth Roman Legion in Britain. When a body is discovered and delivered to the surgery, he really doesn't want to get in involved. Bei...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Tom rated it 3 of 5 stars

Set in Britain under Roman rule, circa 1st century, AD, "Medicus" follows Gaius Ruso - legionnaire, doctor and reluctant detective. Divorced with a lot of family money problems, Ruso becomes the unwilling owner of an injured slave. This gets him wrapped up in a lot of intrigue at a local pub.

While I set out to enjoy the historical setting, the story took only superficial cues from it. This murder/mystery could have been told in any other time period or location with only minor changes. I always...more

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Sep 12, 2010 Abraham rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: greco-roman, mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A fun fast read: I like a good mystery now and then, and of course it doesn't hurt if the book in question happens to be set in Ancient Roman times. Roman Britain, in fact, during the relatively pleasant and peaceful reign of Hadrian. But enough history:

The main attraction here is Gaius Petreius Ruso, divorcée, army medical doctor (medicus, medical... I think I get it!) and reluctant protagonist of this here tale. He is such a stick in the mud! A nice guy at heart but, trouble is, everything see...more A fun fast read: I like a good mystery now and then, and of course it doesn't hurt if the book in question happens to be set in Ancient Roman times. Roman Britain, in fact, during the relatively pleasant and peaceful reign of Hadrian. But enough history:

The main attraction here is Gaius Petreius Ruso, divorcée, army medical doctor (medicus, medical... I think I get it!) and reluctant protagonist of this here tale. He is such a stick in the mud! A nice guy at heart but, trouble is, everything seems to be going wrong... his wife left him a few years ago but he still hasn't gotten over it, he's overworked and still lives in squalor... he lives in Britain... and worst of all, he somehow manages to get himself wrapped up in the murders of two prostitutes from a nearby brothel.

Ruso is the classic put-upon patriarch, an old and well-worn character trope which has been a staple of comedies at least as far back as the Romans themselves, and which found success long into the twentieth century (I can name three perfect examples: George Banks from Mary Poppins, Mr. Alonzo Smith from Meet Me in St. Louis, and "father" from E.L. Doctorow's 20s-set historical novel Ragtime). Secure in his faith of his de jure position of authority as a man -- over women, children, slaves, and anything else that moves -- the impotent patriarch is at the same time quite shocked when his de facto influence falls way, way short of his expectations, usually to comic effect. The modern approach of this kind of character is ambivalence at best: glad to see a few cracks in the patriarchal stranglehold, yet full of sad feelings regarding the mere existence, past and present, of that stranglehold. For my part, I say it's good to be back in the days when men were men, slaves were slaves, and cataract surgery was scary as all get out.

Ruso's the main attraction, of course, but a decent supporting cast surrounds him. There's Tilla, the dying native girl Ruso reluctantly buys off some random guy dragging her home -- a real fixer upper. She turns out to be a looker, though, so I guess that counterbalances the whole "sorry I got you wrapped in a ridiculous mystery" thing. Then there's Valens, the handsome, funny, socially at ease fellow doctor and roommate. And Priscus, the balding, bureaucratic administrator of the hospital -- who can really handle himself with a kitchen knife. There are others of course, but they're all women and/or slaves, so you can understand my silence.

This book, it is Roman enough for my tastes -- and modern enough too. "This book could be set at any time period, any place." Well yeah, granted, jokes about British cuisine never go out of style, but surely the Romans have a character all their own! Surely... lead water pipes, slaves, and a life expectancy of thirty-five -- isn't that enough? Ruth Downie, she does a pretty good job. Yeah, yeah, she's not Robert Graves, but then she's not Robert Fagles either (impressed yet? okay, how about Robert Redford? Robbie Williams? Robin Williams? Okay, I better stop...) Like I said, the book is Roman enough -- enough to get me in the mood without tugging and tearing at my poor little overworked brain cells. This delicate balance saw me through to the end of the book, allowing me to overlook the slow start, the just average writing style, and the really rather average mystery tale itself; to shrug my shoulders and go along for the ride. My little local library, for some reason, has every book in this series so maybe I'll go back for a double or even triple dip. *shrug* "When in Deva..." as they say.

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Jan 12, 2013 Sara rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Weeeeell...I liked it enough to keep reading but I expected more.
The pace was excruciatingly slow for the first two-thirds of the book. But then, what can you do, when the main characters are master and slave determined not to relate to each other as human beings for their own separate reasons. Medicus Ruso is preoccupied with his work, his spendthrift family in southern Gaul, and the puzzle of two "slaves" unwillingly working as prostitutes who turn up dead. Then there's the administrator Pris...more

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Jun 01, 2010 Minsma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book. Told with heart and a great deal of humor, it had me buying the sequel before I’d even finished the first book. Gaius Petreius Ruso, the hero of the story, is a doctor, known as a medicus, for the Twentieth Legion stationed in Deva (current day Chester) in Roman Britain ca 178 AD. He’s a wonderful, well-rounded character: a man burdened with debt from his profligate farm family back in Gaul who is trying to earn a living as best he can and get the family out of trouble. He’s a...more

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May 06, 2013 Buffy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reading-challenge

The first couple of chapters of this book were a bit rocky. I initially felt as though I was reading someone's creative writing project. The dialogue was clunky and if I hadn't read the synopsis of the book, I would have had no idea that the story took place in Roman Britain.

But then, all of a sudden, it became really good. I'm glad that I didn't put it down as I was tempted to do.

The author is really good at communicating personality and I soon became very involved with the characters. I reall...more

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About Ruth Downie

Ruth is the author of five mysteries* featuring Roman Army medic Gaius Petreius Ruso. The fifth, SEMPER FIDELIS, is now available in the USA and Canada, and will be published soon in the UK. She lives in Devon, England, and is married with two grown-up sons. A combination of nosiness and a childish fascination with mud means she is never happier than when wielding an archaeological trowel.

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Books by Ruth Downie

Terra Incognita (Gaius Petreius Ruso, #2)

Persona Non Grata (Gaius Petreius Ruso, #3)

Semper Fidelis (Gaius Petreius Ruso, #5)

Caveat Emptor, A Novel of the Roman Empire (Gaius Petreius Ruso, #4)

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Medicus (Gaius Petreius Ruso #1)

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