Tense, taut, and unforgettable.
A healer to the empire’s most celebrated fighters is drawn into a deadly puzzle that threatens both his heart and the imperial order in McGrath’s excellent mystery. Solon of Pergamon, physician to Rome’s prized gladiators, lives by the measured discipline of medicine and the cool logic of philosophy. When a beloved friend is slain, he lays aside his healer’s instruments and follows the trail of a killer, a path that winds from the blood and roar of the gladiatorial ring to the hushed corridors of imperial intrigue. Caught between the dangerous charm of a gifted student and a secret that could upend the uneasy truce between Greek custom and Roman might, he must weigh love against loyalty.
McGrath unfolds the mystery with the patience of a skilled anatomist. He layers political intrigue, philosophical debate, and the harsh realities of ancient medicine into a narrative that moves with the steady burn of a torch through catacombs. Streets, bathhouses, and training yards come alive with the smells and textures of a world poised between grandeur and decay, while Solon’s wry, skeptical voice gives the tale a modern pulse. The result is a murder mystery that is both cerebral and visceral. Lovers of well-crafted historical mysteries will be thrilled.
Pub date January 4, 2021
ISBN 979-8511759401
Price $19.99 (USD) Hardcover, $9.99 Paperback, $2.99 Kindle edition, $0.00 Kindle Unlimited