Roman Games

Plinius Secundus Mystery #1

by Bruce MacBain

Rome: 3 September, 96 AD. Sextus Ingentius Verpa, imperial senator, notorious informer and scheming minion of the despotic Emperor Domitian, has been butchered in the night. The murder of a cruel master by a slave driven beyond endurance, or the first move in something infinitely more dangerous? The Emperor has decreed that punishment will be swift and has commissioned Gaius Plinius Secundus better known as Pliny the Younger to investigate. Pliny is no detective, but unless he can find the murderer by the close of the Ludi Romani, or Roman Games, all Verpa's slaves forty men and women will be burned alive in the arena. That gives Pliny just fifteen days to uncover the murderer. Fifteen days that will draw him deep into an underworld of secretive cults. Fifteen days to unravel a plot that leads to the very heart of the Imperial household. Fifteen days that will threaten the very stability of Rome itself.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Roman, Ancient

261 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2010

About the author

From boyhood, Bruce Macbain spent his days in reading history and historical fiction. The Greeks and Romans have held a special fascination for him and this led to earning a master’s degree in Classical Studies and a doctorate in Ancient History. Along the way, he also taught English as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Borneo. Later, he taught courses in Greek and Roman civilization at Vanderbilt University and Boston University, and published a few dense scholarly monographs, read by very few. Recently, he has turned to writing fiction, a much more congenial pursuit. He has previously published two historical mysteries set in ancient Rome, Roman Games and its sequel, The Bull Slayer. Now, he has turned his attention to his other favorite folk, the Vikings. He has completed a trilogy, "Odd Tangle-Hair's Saga" consisting of "Odin's Child," "The Ice Queen," and "The Varangian", which takes our hero from his home in Iceland to Norway, Russia, and Constantinople. Two of the novels have been selected as Editor's Choices in the Historical Novels Review.
Bruce spends his spare time in the kitchen, cooking spicy food.

Reviews

[Ozymandias · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing detective stories set in a period before detectives is a difficult process. A certain degree of anachronism is almost unavoidable. It comes from a dogmatic reliance on tropes that have long since become cliche: the dedicated detective driven by an abstract notion of justice, a careful attention to physical evidence and forensics, a grand reveal leading to a confession, etc. It feels more than faintly ridiculous to have such things take place in a toga, and even the best ones like Falco or SPQR really only succeed because of charm and good humor. And so I yearn for a novel that will break that mold. One that will do the unexpected.

And then when I find it I realize why those tropes have become so rigid. It is hard to make a mystery work without a passionate detective at the core. And when a detective is uninterested in crime or forensics, the solution to the mystery becomes far too obvious. Despite that, the actual explanation for how the murder was carried out still turns out to be dumber than a box of rocks. I firmly believe it is possible to write such a book (see Aristotle Detective) but it takes skill and inventiveness.

What this book lacks is an obvious reason for us to care. Pliny’s not an evil man, but he is a boring one. He’s decent enough for a Roman, but he’s oblivious and detached from the whole case. He’s only there by force. Martial is a bit of a leach, sponging off of Pliny and other patrons. He’s not evil really, and has more interesting range in his guilty knowledge of things he will do to succeed, but he’s not the lead either. A household of slaves about to be executed because one of them murdered his master is a reason for the reader to care, but none of the characters really do. Likely enough (although such cases could be controversial) but it leaves us without an emotional point of entry. Lest we get too sympathetic ourselves, we’re never introduced to any who aren’t thoroughly unlikable or quickly removed. They are treated as prurient objects rather than sympathetic individuals.

Without anyone’s predicament really drawing us in, how are we supposed to care? I suppose hateful villains could draw on our sense of outrage enough to make us ignore the lack of sympathetic victims/investigators. And indeed, the villains are absolutely hateful. But they’re also so exaggerated that it’s hard to take them seriously. Ingentius Verpa is just a rutting pig with no other qualities apart from cruelty. Turpia Scortilla is an aging nymphomaniac. And Verpa’s son is just like the father but without intelligence. Of the three, Verpa’s dead early on and the others (despite their filthiness) don’t really don’t do anything. It’s just another chance to point a finger at the Romans and laugh at their sinfulness. And lest you doubt the book’s crassness, the villains’ names translate as Giant Cock and Filthy Whore. This is more than a little distracting to anyone who knows Latin.

I am sympathetic to some of the book’s problems, which seem likely to stem from it being a debut novel. When I tried writing my own book years ago, I found I really struggled with exploring themes. When a book is your own creation it’s easy to feel that you’ve covered each topic adequately after a single mention. You’ve been living with these issues for years, working out how to make them apply, and put your all into that one scene where they’re prominent. Repeatedly coming back to the same issue feels like repetition. But repetition and exploration are necessary for the themes to stick. And that’s not something we really get here. Ganymede’s story, for example, is played very straight until suddenly: Boom! Pathos. And then there’s the question of whether it is nobler to preserve a system that keeps the peace, even if it is currently ruled by a tyrant, in the knowledge that he will eventually be replaced, or to overthrow the tyrant knowing that it will likely cause civil war and more deaths than he ever did. This shows up at the very end of the novel. It’s the sort of thing that really needed to be a running theme.

This book tries too hard to be scandalous and outrageous. There’s nothing wrong with focusing on the seedy side of Rome, but when your villains make Trimalchio look restrained and dignified… well then you have problems. Like The Satyricon, this reads like a parody of Roman culture. Some of the issues it tries to deal with are interesting (how does a good man serve a tyrant, what must an artist do to survive, how do foreign religions interact with traditional ones, etc.), but they’re not really developed enough. Often we’re given a few lines of musing and then move on to the next thing, when I gather we’re supposed to have been thinking about the issues for a while. The mystery’s not very impressive either. It’s not a terrible book, but it’s nothing compared to Albert Bell’s Pliny the Younger mysteries (yes, the man is the detective in two separate and independent murder mysteries!). If you’re looking for a Pliny fix (and who isn't?) I recommend starting there.

[Laurentiu Lazar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let’s play a bit with some quotes… the novel has its setting in Rome “The greatest city in the history of the world, built by blood and iron, but equally by a native sense of propriety, dignity, and reverence for tradition.” during “The Roman Games… lies, murder, hypocrisy, betrayal.” and the plot unfolds a mystery with “Bloody daggers, sexual perversion, murderous fanatics, secret symbols scrawled on walls, a louche and slippery filius familias, a concubine catatonic with fright.”; everything welded in a world where “Human life is ruled by the tyrants Hope and Fear…”.

Gaius Plinius Secundus or Pliny has the unfortunate chance to be assign as an investigator to a case which concerns the future of the Empire, more precisely the fate of the “humble” Lord and God Domitian. Reluctant and with no choice in the matter, he embraces his “luck” quite clumsily at first “wills, contracts, account books were his meat, not this foul business.”. Fortunately, every Sherlock has his own Watson, a role filled by the peculiar epigrammatist Martial – a swarthy and hirsute man with a personality that combined extroversion, aggression and dogged determination. Quite a humorist, bringing forth wave after wave of grins and left me beaming – in a good mood.

“Scandal is my stock in trade,” Martial smiled modestly. “Everything is meat for a satirist, and ‘smoke,’ my friend, is everywhere if you have a nose for it. I swim in waters where you would not dip your toe, if I may mix my metaphors.”

Overall, a good detective novel with twists here and there, a well depicted Roman society and a lot of information on religious beliefs. Moreover, the portrayal of each character is smartly done, in detail and with humour; the backdrop was cleverly chosen and the depth to which the mystery spreads, quite intriguing – the plot against Domitian. As for the language, the insertion of Roman words mingled well with the more modern style of writing providing us with an entertaining easy to be read book.

I appreciate the author for all the supplementary material: author note, appendix, glossary, bibliography and additional discussion topics – newbie dive without fear, all those information will shed some light. So, it is not a book to shy away from or avoid, I’m pretty sure it is impossible to hate. A page-turner from a writer of delicacy and skill.

[stormhawk · Rating 5 out of 5]

In today's CSI, DNA, video surveillance world, mysteries don't seem as mysterious. There's always some evidence of comings and goings and presence, and getting away with murder has more to do with clever lawyering than good detecting.

Not so in Rome, A.D. 96.

(were I a joker of sorts, I might start out by saying something on the order of his name is Gaius Plinius, he carries a gladius, or something, except that he doesn't carry a gladius, or fasces, or any particular badge of office, being that he is an attorney, not the Roman equivalent of a cop. But I digress.)

Murder and mayhem is pretty much part of the Roman landscape, if HBO's Rome is to be believed ... but it gets noticed at certain levels of society. Verpa was at one of those levels, and was known to engage in shady dealings. The intrigue is rich, and the story fascinating.

I can't help comparing Roman Games with John Maddox Roberts' SPQR series ... but there is no comparison. Despite being set in the same place and close to the same time, there is more depth to MacBain's premiere novel, the story more complexly woven.

It is easy, I think, for academics to be so in love with their subject that they wander off into pedantic tangents, seeking to teach more than entertain. MacBain balances this well, with occasional exposition, and leaves explanations for the postscript, as well as providing a list of references, just in case the reader is interested in the real stories of Emperor Domitian and Pliny the Younger.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first novel in the second series I've read on Pliny the Younger [Plinius Secundus, as he's called here]. I read it in a matter of a few hours. Although enjoyable, it was not the equal of the other Pliny the Younger series by Albert A. Bell Jr.. Pliny is still the priggish but fairly astute protagonist. Pliny is called on to solve a murder of a prominent notorious senator, with the order that that he has a deadline: by the finish of the Roman Games, a two-week festival of chariot racing and theater, held in September. The kind-hearted Pliny is eager to solve the crime, because if not, the dead man's slaves will be killed. Here, the epigrammist Martial helps him solve the murder, instead of the historian Tacitus. Martial was probably a good choice though, since some scenes involve the seedier side of Rome. MacBain did give us a good picture of all facets of Roman society from high to low. The author incorporated Domitian's famous 'black dinner', but for his own motive. When Pliny visited a country estate, floating reed mats on a lake which he mistook for islands touched off a brilliant idea of how to reveal the killer. The historical Pliny wrote about this optical illusion. The mystery was easy to guess, even for me; I figured it out about half-way through.

[Andrea Oliverio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro ben scritto, ma con un ritmo piuttosto lento. Il giallo è ben studiato anche se non appassiona più di tanto. Il personaggio principale, Plinio il giovane, non risulta essere troppo tridimensionale e si fatica a generare empatia e ad affezionarsi.

[Liviu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another ok readable but forgettable easy and fast read, good for when I am tired and cannot immerse myself in the highly awaited novels i am currently reading; a mystery at Domitian court with a nice prose flow and okish characters but suffering from the "modern curse" - characters talk, think and act like 21st century Americans than 1st century Romans; still in this case that jarred less than in others - i guess the flowing style of the author helped - though I do not plan to read more if there are further books with Pliny and the rest

[Lance McMurchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great first effort by Bruce. He knows his stuff and has written an entertaining and informative book. this is my sort of book, it has mystery, politics and religion. And probably the most authentically roman characters I have read in a murder mystery. I love it! Not what I was expecting for 95 cents from amazon.

[Georgina Ortiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasantly surprised at this one. Glad to have found a new Ancient Roman series that I genuinely like (read: couldn't put down). Pliny is not Decius (Caecilius Metellus), that's for sure, but I enjoy his character just the same. Excited to read The Bull Slayer.

[Ariadne Cares · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn about my feelings towards this novel. On the one hand, there's an instance of beyond gratuitous sex, which is practically a crime within the confines of a murder mystery (gratuitous anything, except maybe a little extra period description for atmosphere slows down the suspense that should be inherent in any good detective story), and the sex hurts someone involved, but there are really no consequences for the perpetrator, which really makes me angry, especially because it's all so senseless and unnecessary. There's also a trope involving an obscene mural in the murdered man's room which is essential to the plot, and extremely clever, but nonetheless obscene. There's a complicated rape which is also essential to the plot, and only described secondhand.

Additionally, the most likeable characters in the novel all turn out to be victims or perpetrators (although the perpetrators could all have been considered to have had just cause for what they did). And several significant wrongs are not righted at the end, which probably makes the novel more realistic but less cathartic.

However, Roman Games has two significant things in its favor: period detail and character development. The intrigues of the court of Domitian and the insanity of his character are deliciously believable. And the protagonist, Pliny, seems to grow and change significantly by the end of his detective exploits. But this change is a sad one: he goes from being more idealistic to more cynical about people and government and doing the right thing. That may be a lesson we all need for living wisely, but it's not a particularly pleasant or entertaining one.

What would Keats and Aristotle say? Greatness of execution, definitely. A very clever mystery set in a fascinating time period and well-described. But definitely lacking in beauty or greatness of content, and, in fact, rather over-filled with ugliness and anti-greatness.

[TammyJo Eckhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an ancient historian myself, I have high expectations for historical novels regardless of their genre. While I might take issue with some of Bruce Macbain's portrayals in this novel, those are issues that are so minor compared to other historical novels set during the end of the emperor Domitian's reign in Rome, that I could have greatly enjoyed this novel as thought provoking and evocative.

However, there are narrative and styles problems that distracted me while I read, problems that an editor should have worked with Macbain on. The first of these is the multitude of viewpoint characters whose heads and feelings were are privy to without the need to have insight into their emotions, motivations, or thoughts. As a historical mystery, the plot should be focused on following the "detective" so getting extra information is unnecessary and only weakens his or her skills as a truth-seeker.

More than that, if an author insists on multiple viewpoints, that needs to be constructed carefully and this was not the case for this novel. Sometimes, there is a section break, often when we go from Pliny to Martial, which makes perfect sense given what the back of the book promises. However, too often we get into the head of the "baddies" or random people we encounter, no section break at all. It can be easy to write this way because you know what is going to happen, that is why an editor should help an author catch that so it reads smoothly to someone who doesn't have the entire story in her/his mind as they read. Make it easier on the reader, lay out whose mind you are in and who you are following, don't insert a sentence or two here and there or flip a new viewpoint without an excellent reason.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost a good book, although timely

I truly wanted to like this book. But I had quite a hard time getting through it. The last quarter is considerably better than the rest, and worth reading through to the end. The plot is good, and the characterizations believable. But there isn't an upstanding citizen among them. In the age of Trump the question of, "how does a good senator serve a bad emperor" hits too close to home.

[Jeanne M. Jardine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little sliw to begin with ad the characters were developed, but a great story with a twist at the end!

A great read! A little slow at the beginning as the characters were introduced, but soon zoomed into a thriller! I would recommend this historical fiction to any who enjoy the Roman days and a good mystery.

[Helen Hollick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has received a Discovering Diamonds Review:
Helen Hollick
founder #DDRevs

"I thoroughly enjoyed this romp. The characterisation of Pliny was excellent, wise, naïve and very, very fallible."

[Sekhar N Banerjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable story

It was a very read. It is truly a historical fiction- It is really full of suspense and a page turner. Historical facts have very decently woven into the story.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book.

[Carolynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this - it's a solid well written historical crime novel in the 'let's take a known historical figure and turn them into a sleuth' vein. The author has researched and taught in Classics and it shows - in places it reads like a novelisation of the Roman Social History block of the OU's A219 Classical Studies module: games, theatre, baths, Pliny, familia, slaves, Martial - ticks all the boxes.

However, I do think it fails Mary Beard's 'dormouse test' with the first baked rodent 22 pages in, followed by a cameo appearance from the poet Statius. Though I could be convinced that this is a deliberate homage to the opening sequence of the BBC's adaptation of 'I Claudius'.

One of the main plot drivers is Pliny's wish to stop slaves being executed for the murder of their master.This is the elephant in the historical novel room: was the past 'another country' or has human nature remained pretty much constant? You could argue that of course any good Roman nob worth his toga would want the slaves to burn pour encourager les autres, or you could place Pliny in that Stoic space where, like Seneca, he felt dehumanised by mob reaction to the games?

In the end MacBain has his cake and eats it: Pliny proves their individual and collective innocence but they are still executed in the arena for political reasons.

Other reviewers have criticised glaring anachronisms ie a police force, Pliny's shoulder bag, elites not knowing or recognising Vestal Virgins, but they don't jar and I assume the author has included the first two to make concepts easier for his contemporary readers. What I found jarring was his rendition of Martial's epigrams - with the rude words left in Latin. It reminded me of the 1912 Loeb which translated the really obscene epigrams into Italian - presumably so the servants / wife couldn't read them! If you're going to have Martial as a key character quoting his work then do it properly.

When a reader finds themselves thinking 'Falco wouldn't do that' or 'Gordianus would have noticed that' then it's maybe a sign that Pliny didn't convince as a detective, though to be fair he was a complete novice unlike Davis' or Saylor's creations.

John of Patmos having revelatory visions in Pliny's atrium could have easily been dispensed with and the weakest part was the 'please don't publish this in your letters' ending, to explain why Pliny didn't mention anything in his Letters.

#2 takes place in Bithynia and I'll give that a try.

[Judith Starkston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce Macbain’s Roman Games launches an excellent new Roman mystery series. If you are a fan of Steven Saylor, Lindsey Davis, or Roman history in general, you’ll want to pick it up. His detective, Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Younger), a decent, straight-laced senator, teams up with Martial, a poet of racy and scurrilous verses, to untangle a delightfully twisted murder case.

Macbain’s teaching career as a classicist and ancient historian definitely shows in his lively and detailed depiction of Roman life—the unsanitized version. Wild orgiastic parties, exotic Egyptian cults, informers, torturers, whores, and the demented Emperor Domitian all make historically accurate appearances. Pliny faces a number of morally compromising situations from which he does not always come away unscathed, and yet this flawed but likeable man keeps us on his side, if sometimes only by the skin of his teeth. Macbain’s skill in character development extends to both major and minor characters throughout the book. Of Pliny he says at one point, “He worried his appearance lacked the gravitas of a Roman senator and so he frowned whenever he wanted to impress. He was frowning now.” Of Scortilla, concubine of the murder victim, he says, “The lady lay propped on her bed, bone thin and bone white, the tendons in her neck standing out like ropes, her towering red wig askew. But it was her eyes that held him. He thought back to this morning’s sacrifice on the Capitolium—the look in the ox’s eye when the victimarius stunned it with a blow of his hammer.”

Reading the scenes in which Domitian spirals into paranoia and gratuitous cruelty made me wonder if the book couldn’t be used as a guide to understanding the present day Gadhafi. Unfortunately, crazy tyrants are still with us, and Macbain’s portrayal is excellent: terrifying and creepy without going overboard.

Macbain combines imagined characters and events with those we know from primary sources of the period, and his author’s note tells you precisely where the boundaries are. If you remember Pliny and Martial fondly from your college days, you’ll feel at home with the characters he’s created for them. On the other hand, if you know little or nothing about Rome, this is a page-turning, fun place to solve that deficiency!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roman Games is a mystery novel set in ancient Rome during the reign of the wicked Emperor Domitian. It follows Pliny the Younger as he attempts to solve a murder mystery so that he may save a household's slaves from a death sentence.
I picked this book up mostly because my favorite poet Martial is in it and I'm desperate to see him represented in literature (yes, I know I'm a self-parody at this point). Despite that single criterion, I immensely enjoyed the whole novel outside of my poet. There are two things that I think this novel does particularly well. The first is that, although religion is a pretty significant area of focus, the portrayals of Judaism and Christianity don't fall into that trap so common with fiction about post-Christ ancient Rome where the author openly scorns either Roman paganism or the monotheistic religions. After trudging through Quo Vadis, this was refreshing. The other, and perhaps more significant positive trait, is that even though major events in Roman history overlap with the plot (which often ruins the idea of a mystery since it is possible to already know the ending), it's still a compelling read, and I was still wondering how things would play out. There's a nice balance between historic events and original story, so that while the characters are affected by the changes in history, nothing is given away.
The book does have its little mediocre moments that a lot of other reviewers have pointed out, but given that I don't typically read mysteries I can't comment too much on Pliny's skill as a sleuth, so I will leave that sort of criticism in the hands of others. If I personally have anything to complain about, it's that I don't think my boy Martial was given an entirely fair treatment (although I still mostly loved his character), but given that that is going to bother approximately nobody else who might want to read this, I would definitely recommend it to somebody looking for a mystery set in ancient times.

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

[2.5 stars] How weird that two authors should develop historical mysteries with Pliny the Younger as protagonist/ sleuth. I have to say that I preferred the earlier (2002) title by Bell All Roads Lead to Murder: A Case From the Notebooks of Pliny the Younger. In that book Pliny stood out more as a character. Maybe that was because Bell's Pliny was younger and still finding himself. MacBain's Pliny is more settled into life as a Roman senator with a wife, a law practice and finds himself drawn into the mystery not because of his own curiosity or involvement but by order of the Emperor. For much of the novel he is as concerned with keeping himself out of trouble as with solving the case and protecting the victim's household slaves from mass execution.

I found this book a little slow getting into. The setting was not as vividly brought to life as in other Roman era titles I've read. Was not as fond of Martial as Pliny's 'assistant' as I was of Tacitus, his somewhat wiser cohort and mentor in Bell's book. I was a little annoyed with McBain's over-emphasis of the 'saltier' aspects of Roman life- much period swearing & anatomical/sexual references that didn't feel strictly necessary to the story - or maybe they were necessary given the bawdy poet Martial as a main character. Games was a first novel and I'm not sure it is the start of series. I'm not anxiously awaiting the next title but might read it if only to see if there was improvement. This one was not particularly memorable

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

C2010 although only released in the UK in 2012
FWFTB: butchered, investigate, slaves, informer, plot. Well, The Library Journal recommended this book for all fans of Steven Saylor and Lindsey Davis. As I have enjoyed both writers, I decided to give it a go.
It is a relatively small book, well written and a good, if predictable, plot. I believe that there is a world of difference between the 2 authors mentioned by The Library Journal and Mr MacBain. It is neither as intense as Mr Saylor’s work nor as humorous and informative as Ms Davis’ work. The ending in particular irked me as well as the inclusion of a 14 year old wife. Yes, yes, I know this did happen.......but for me it made uncomfortable reading and I truly do not think that it would have made an iota difference to the story by making the wife older. The blurb tells me that Mr Macbain is a lecturer in Greek and Roman history which has stood him in good stead for this book. Handily, there are some discussion questions posed at the end of the book. I hate this growing trend!! Just call me a pleb.An enigmatic cover. A gladiator helmet superimposed over the outline of the Colosseum. Recommended but not for those who particularly enjoy Saylor or Davis. The book stands on its own and is a good, if not exciting, read. FCN: Sextus Ingentius Verpa, Emperor Domitian, Gaius Plinius Secundus, Lucius Ingentius Verpa, Martial the poet.
“The greatest crime a tyrant commits against his subjects is the death of trust.”

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author gives us a superbly atmospheric and detailed picture of life in Rome at the height of the Empire's military and economic power. His protagonist is an actual figure from Roman history, the senator and author Pliny the Younger. Pliny, who wishes to live a quiet and philosophical life, finds himself involved in all sorts of unsavory events when the Emperor Diocletian appoints him to investigate the murder of Verpa, a wealthy informer.
The novel is a real page-turner, offering multiple suspects ranging from abused slaves to Verpa's own family. Pliny hopes to be able to save the family slaves, as Roman law requires that all be put to death if any one of them was involved in the murder. This is a brutal and violent society, where masters live in fear of slave revolts, and even the wealthy can lose their riches and even their lives at the Emperor's whim.
In addition to the murder investigation, there is a story line involving some of the characters in a plot against Emperor Diocletian. If you are not familiar with Imperial Roman history, I won't spoil the suspense by telling how that comes out.

[Erik Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many books in the Roman mystery sub-genere, Roman Games combines politics with detective work. In this case, the detective is a young Pliny the Younger. Pliny is a magistrate in the city government and has to solve a mystery involving religion, a large inheritance, slaves facing a potential death sentence, and a crazy emperor (Domitian).

While Pliny is not a great detective, the plots are quite interesting and engaging. Clearly the author knows his stuff and does, in my opinion, a good job of job reconstructing Rome at the end of Flavian dynasty. The poet Martial also plays a role as a junior detective. The characters are interesting and the book is well written. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I listened to the Audio Book and read the Kindle version of the book. The narrator has a rather dramatic style...at first it really got on my nerves but after a while I got used to it.

[Vicki Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable mystery, though it's impossible not to compare it to Albert A. Bell Jr.'s series, also with Pliny as detective (which I liked better). The plot concerns a conspiracy to assassinate Emperor Domitian, who's been in power 15 years, and who's quite the tyrant. Pliny is charged by the emperor to find out who murdered a noted imperial spy. The poet Martial helps Pliny, but is also spying on him. Since the story is told in the third person, we learn things Pliny doesn't know. This makes it different from most of the Roman mystery series I read, which are in the first person. Each style has its advantages. I liked that the book had an appendix on the Roman calendar and a glossary of Latin terms.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Roman Games. It just ticked all the right Roman boxes for me - interesting 'heroes' (though they're hardly heroic) Pliny the Younger and the poet Martial, an intriguing mystery, a revolting emperor, a well-realised depiction of courtly and servile Rome, strange religions and the presence of something dark and rotten. There might not be much here to do with the Roman Games themselves - which is good (they're just carrying on in the background, counting down the days like a menacing, resolute clock) - instead this is a courtly murder mystery and political plot enriched by religious and literary references, watched on in horror by the real victims in it all, Rome's slaves. My only complaint is the length. At under 250 pages (hardback version), I could have done with much, much more.

[Nancy Geary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a big fan of Roman-era mysteries for years - Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor, John Maddox Roberts, etc. Thank you to my Barnes & Noble Nook for recommending this "new to me" author. He is being added to my favorites list.

Pliny the Younger is the protagonist in this series. Being from the upper classes puts a different spin on the investigation process as compared to the authors listed above. There are definitely a large cast of characters to keep track of, but that doesn't detract from the story.

You can tell that the author is a scholar from the way he describes the daily life & routine of the characters, and describes the various households and their contents. The reader gets the sense of being a fly on the wall (or column?) and is easily transported back in time.

I really enjoyed this book & immediately downloaded book #2 and read them back-to-back.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave it a three because this is the author's first novel and it did have a lot going for it. His many character was difficult to like. In the beginning he was frustrated at being put in the position of investigating a death and resentful towards those who had more experience and showed him up. Then he suddenly became an expert and no one and the real experts faded into the background. Also Amatia should have been well out of her depth and was instead some resilient, knowledgeable person. That didn't make any sense at all given her background.

I won't be continuing with the series. There are two other series set during the Roman Empire with more interesting main characters that I'm still working my way through.

[Brett Bydairk · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started reading this, I felt that it wasn't written all that well, but by about page 50 I had changed my mind. Not only is this well-written, it is also tightly plotted, and moves right along, dragging the reader with it.
Taking place during September of the year 96, it involves Pliny the Younger who is appointed to investigate the murder of Verpa, a rather unpopular Senator and informer. Along the way, he befriends Martial, a writer of bawdy verse. With Martial's help, he finally uncovers a plot against the tyrant Domitian, but will he reveal it?
Possibly first in a series, although I can't find any more; not listed in SYKM.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Plinius Secundus , Roman senator mystery. Pliny is a the first in his northern Italian family to become a senator thus is not an "in" Roman senator. However, he has the patronage of Emperor Domitian and is tasked by him to find the murderer of Sextus Verpa, a highly unpopular and vile person, but is a spy for the emperor. Pliny is an up and coming inheritance lawyer who has never investigated criminal actions. He is also a basically moral person who is forced to work with morally corrupt people as he tries to unravel the details of a complicated plot that involves various religions. It is set in 96CE

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprise read. Picked up in a remainder store, I thought it would be good holiday reading however the author tells a great tale based on historical fact. I appreciate an author who uses solid research to write a fictional story that not only entertains but takes you to Ancient Rome and allows you to be enveloped by life, the smells and the intrigue of the day. I hope there are more to come from Pliny the younger and Mr MacBain! I know not a lot it Emperor Nerva and his short reign so I hope there is another intricate story to be told by this author. A great read

[Tina Sanford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not For Me

I should have paid better attention when I read the reviews of this. I'm not really into murder mystery. This fault is my own. If you like these type of books, read it. Anyway who am I to really judge. I'm not a writer. I especially liked what the author said about the background of the story and characters in the book. He is the one who did all of the research. I'm also glad that I don't have to read the next book to reach the conclusion. It has peaked my interest of reading more about Point the younger and Point the older. I hope this helps.