When in ancient Rome... become a detective?

Hi all!

I thought I would write about one of my favorite series of books, by Ruth Downie. She writes the Gaius Petreius Ruso novels set in ancient Rome, right around the era of Emperor Hadrian. The first novel is titled Medicus, and was published in 2006. It introduces the central characters of the series, the medicus - Latin for doctor - Ruso and the native British woman Darlughdacha, otherwise known as Tilla. The latest novel, which came out just this year, is titled Tabula Rasa, and is not yet available in libraries (I had to go out and buy it). There are 6 books so far, the last two of which are not in NB libraries, though book five can be obtained through interlibrary loan.

What attracted me to this series is the main protagonist, Gaius Ruso. He is a plain, honest, overworked doctor, just trying to do his job as medicus with the 20th Legion while they are posted in Britain. His main character flaw, which is also how he ends up embroiled in so much trouble, is that he just cannot let a mystery go. He is like a dog that has scented a trail, following every little clue to the bitter end, no matter the consequences to himself or his career. Ruso knows this is his flaw, but seems unable to let matters lie when he knows that something is wrong.

I have tried to think of who his character reminds me of, but so far I haven't been able to decide. He seems to have the same bad luck as Jackson Brodie from Kate Atkinson's series. He also reminds me a bit of Martin Freeman's portrayal of John Watson, in his exasperation over the behaviors of his friend and flatmate.

Overall, I think I'm just charmed by the portrayal of ancient Rome as filled with people, just like us. They may have had different habits, social customs and the like, but they were still people trying to make a living and find happiness. The mysteries are also usually not so clear to unravel as you find in some detective novels. The clues left by the author are subtle, and I am often as baffled by it all as Ruso is.

Anyway, I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes a good mystery, or a good historical fiction. Or even a good romance, as this book has that too!