Catilina's Riddle: A Novel of Ancient Rome

Catilina's Riddle: A Novel of Ancient Rome

<p>"Saylor rivals Robert Graves in his knack for making the classical world come alive." --(ortland) <i>Oregonian</i></p><p>"Engrossing...Ironic and satisfying." -- <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i></p><p>The third in Saylor's <i>Roma Sub Rosa</i> novels featuring Gordianus the Finder. Gordianus, disillusioned by the corruption of Rome circa 63 B.C., has fled the city with his family to live on a farm in the Etruscan countryside. But this bucolic life is disrupted by the machinations and murderous plots of two politicians: Roman consul Cicero, Gordianus's longtime patron, and populist senator Catilina, Cicero's political rival and a candidate to replace him in the annual elections for consul. Claiming that Catilina plans an uprising if he loses the race, Cicero asks Gordianus to keep a watchful eye on the radical. Although he distrusts both men, Gordianus is forced into the center of the power struggle when his six-year-old daughter Diana finds a headless corpse in their stable. Shrewdly depicting deadly political maneuverings, this addictive mystery also displays the author's firm grasp of history and human character. </p><p>On first publication back in 1994, <i>Catilina's Riddle</i> was a finalist for the Hammet Award.</p>