Arms of Nemesis

Arms of Nemesis - Roman Sub Rosa 02

Book Jacket

Series:
Roman Sub Rosa [2]

Tags:
Historical Novel

SUMMARY:
The hideously disfigured body of Lucius Licinius was found in the atrium. The only clues are a blood-soaked cloak, and, carved into the stone at the corpse's feet, the word Sparta....For Gordianus the Finder, summoned from Rome to a luxury resort on the Bay of Naples, the case is agonizing. The overseer of Marcus Crassus's estate has been murdered, apparently by two slaves bent on joining Spartacus's revolt. The wealthy, powerful Crassus vows to honor an ancient law and kill his ninety-nine remaining slaves in retaliation. From the brutal stench of a slave galley to the limpid, sea-glazed beauty of Baiae and the sulphurous pits of the Sybil at Cumae, Giordanus draws closer to the terrifying truth. Enmeshed in a world of desperate slaves and duplicitous masters, extravagant feasts and sordid secrets, he must risk all he loves, including his life, to stop a senseless slaughter-and save the very future of Rome itself.AUTHORBIO: STEVEN SAYLOR is the author of eight books in the Roma Sub Rosa featuring Gordianus the Finder, most recently Roman Blood.He divides his time between homes in Austin, Texas, and Berkeley, California.

Steven Saylor is the author of
Roma Sub Rosa,
a series of mystery novels set in ancient Rome and featuring investigator Gordianus the Finder. His work has been widely praised for its remarkably accurate and vivid historical detail, as well as for its passion, mystery and intrigue, and the skilful blending of real and imagined historical characters.

Other novels in the series are
Roman Blood, Catilina's Riddle, The Venus Throw, A Murder on the Appian Way
and
Rubicon.
All are in paperback from Constable & Robinson Ltd. Steven Saylor lives in Berkeley, California.

More praise for Steven Saylor

'This [is a] wonderfully clever series.'
New York Times Book Review

'Saylor's sense of style and elegantly witty writing make the most of this genre

transference'
The Boston Guide

'What Steven Saylor brings to his work are a profound knowledge of the history and culture of ancient Rome and a gift of storytelling only exhibited by those few who are born with it. His work can be enjoyed by all mystery readers regardless of whether they prefer cosies or hard-boiled crime fiction.'
Deadly Pleasures

'Among the best historical series . . . and the best to use an Ancient Roman

background.'
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

'Part of the attraction . . . comes from watching lofty figures in history, tragedy and Latin II behaving as nobly and sordidly as real people in daily life . . . And Saylor is not the dry-as-dust type; he offers us sex, violence, duplicity and a woridly acceptance of the varieties of human behaviour - there's an unpretentious lightness of touch in everything.'
Boston Globe

'You read Saylor because of the skill with which he brings an ancient world to life.'

Lambda Book Report

Praise for
Arms of Nemesis

'A compulsively entertaining whodunnit.'
New York Times Book Review

'A most intriguing mystery . . . highly researched and authentic historical background . . . characters all of whom are realistic flesh-and-blood people.'
The Southbridge Ma. News

'Steven Saylor impeccably recreates life in Imperial Rome ... an intriguing mix of historical accuracy and tense drama. Gordianus proves a beguiling if

arrogant hero.'
St. Louis Post Dispatch

'Saylor manages to be both entertaining and exact in his depictions of Roman life and customs. He is also a deft writer of characters and
Arms of Nemesis
is filled with eccentric and engaging suspects ... a surprising and suspenseful mystery.'

First Hand

'Saylor interweaves history and suspense into another seamless thriller ... A marvellously authentic slice of antiquity that will serve as a savoury treat for fans of both mystery and historical fiction.'
Booklist

'Fine mystery, great history, this novel is crammed with vivid details of patrician and slave life. After reading the below-decks description of a trireme you'll thank your lucky stars you're not a galley slave.'
Omnibus

'Sensuously written . . . Richly detailed bacchanalian feasts and mesmerizing visits to the Sybil at Cumae lead to the spellbinding conclusion.'
Publisher's Weekly

Offbeat and intriguing reading.'
San Francisco Chronicle

'Arms of Nemesis
has a well-researched, authentic feel, captivating descriptions of Roman customs and mythologies, and interesting characters, enlivened from the pages of history.'

San Francisco Sentinel

'A top-notch murder mystery . . . There is enough excitement . . . enough love . . . enough blood . . . enough pathos . . . And yet the end is satisfying.'
The Community Voice

'Steven Saylor's amusing murder mystery
[Arms of Nemesis]
has a veritable bouillabaisse of suspects.'
Anniston Star

Praise for
Roman Blood

'Gordianus the Finder is a Roman private investigator, something like Sherlock Holmes and something like the hardboiled American PI. . . [He] visits all strata of Roman life and gives a vivid picture of ancient society to go with the complex puzzle . . . This is a remarkable achievement.'
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

'A story gready enhanced by its vivid characters ... A classic historical mystery, in every sense.'
Publisher's Weekly

'A combination of Hitchcock-style suspense and vivid historical details make Stephen Saylor's
Roman Blood
one of the most gripping - and also informative -mysteries to have appeared in quite some time.'
Post-Gazette, PA

'A brilliant example of Saylor's mastery of his material. . . triple sensitivities of style, place and plot that readers will not fail to appreciate for themselves.'
Lambda Book Review

'An exciting trip through the history and politics of Rome.'
Deadly Pleasures

'Saylor skilfully strings together the multiple threads of the plot to reveal dirty dealings of murder, greed, incest, deceit, corruption, and vices galore. A well thought out and finely tuned mystery novel.'
The Community Voice

"This engrossing historical novel . . . contains all the elements that make an entertaining mystery and also provides a view of life in Ancient Rome. Highly recommended.'
Booklist

'Genuine mystery and detection. . .with two handsome surprises saved for last.'

Kirkus Reviews

'Roman Blood
has the elements that make a good old-fashioned detective story great — dangerous thugs, powerful villains and a brooding, noir ambience . . . The plot is tightly woven and Saylor threads history deftly throughout the novel. . . The action is fast paced and at rimes thrilling . . . There are enough surprises along the way to satisfy even the most accomplished mystery reader, and the difficult setting is ultimately pulled off with convincing flair. The conclusion is especially satisfying and chilling.'
Daily Texan

'A witty, meticulous re-creation of Cicero's Rome as well as a deft and clever mystery.'
The Boston Guide

Praise for
A Murder on the Appian Way

'A fine series. . .
[Murder on the Appian Way]
is a richly detailed, fast-paced tale.'
Seattle Times/Post Intelligencer

'Wonderfully (and gracefully) researched . . . This is entertainment of the first

order.'
Lambda Book Report

'As always, Saylor sketches the real-life historical background with a masterly hand.'
Kirkus Reviews

'The suspense never lags as Saylor spins a sophisticated political thriller that also brings readers up to speed on Roman history.'
Publisher's Weekly

'Mr Saylor puts such great detail and tumultuous life into his scenes that the sensation of rubbing elbows with the ancients is quite uncanny.'
New York Times Book Review

ARMS OF NEMESIS

Steven Saylor

A Mystery of Ancient Rome

Constable & Robinson Ltd 3 The Lanchesters 162 Fulham Palace Road London W6 9ER
www.constablerobinson.com

First published in the UK by Robinson Publishing Ltd 1997

First published in the USA by Ballantine Books 1992

Copyright © Steven Saylor 1992,1997 Map copyright © Steven Saylor

The authors moral right has been asserted

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication data is available from the British Library

ISBN 1-85487-974-X

Printed in the EC

CONTENTS

Part One CORPSES, LIVING AND DEAD

Part Two THE JAWS OF HADES

Part Three DEATH IN A CUP

Part Four FUNERAL GAMES

Epilogue Author's Note

The
BAYS
of
NAPLES

At the Time of the Spartacan Slave Revolt, 72 B.C.

Part One

Corpses, Living and Dead

For all his fine qualities — his honesty and devotion, his cleverness, his uncanny agility — Eco was not well suited for answering the door. Eco was mute.

But he was not and has never been deaf. He has, in fact, the sharpest ears of anyone I've ever known. He is also a light sleeper, a habit held over from the wretched, watchful days of his childhood, before his mother abandoned him and I took him in from the street and finally adopted him. Not surprisingly, it was Eco who heard the knock at the door in the second hour after nightfall, when everyone in the household had gone to bed. It was Eco who greeted my nocturnal visitor, but was unable to send him away, short of shooing at him the way a farmer shoos an errant goose from his doorway.