Memento Mori is the eighth installment in Ruth Downie's historical mystery series set in 2nd Century A.D. Roman Britain that began with Medicus. Her sleuth is a Roman doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso, who was born in the Roman province of Gaul (France), trained as a medicus, and served with the Roman legions in Britain. At the start of the series he rescues a British girl from a brutal slave dealer, and winds up marrying her. Part of the appeal of the series is the very different ways that Ruso and his wife, Tilla (whose British name is Darlughdacha), see the world and the people around them. This very often puts them at cross-purposes, and contributes to the humor of the series.
Tilla is stubborn, independent, and impulsive, and her behavior is definitely not what's expected of a respectable Roman wife. But Ruso is equally unable to maintain the role of the stern and stoic Roman paterfamilias. Now retired from military service, Ruso and Tilla have tried living with his family in Gaul, seeking their fortune in Rome, and are staying with Tilla's family on a farm in the northern wilds of Britain near where Hadrian's Wall is under construction.
In Memento Mori Ruso responds to an urgent plea from his former colleague and best friend, Valens, who's been accused of murdering his estranged wife, Serena, and dumping her body in the sacred hot springs of Aqua Sulis (modern Bath). This is not only a crime but a dreadful sacrilege, and could destroy the town's prosperity, as many Romans and Britons seek healing in the sacred waters. Tilla of course will not allow Ruso to go alone, and so the entire family travels to Aquae Sulis to exonerate Valens.
They discover that Valens is hiding because his father-in-law, (retired) Centurion Pertinax, is determined to track Valens down and see him tried and executed. Ruso learns that there was also a disastrous fire the night of the murder that destroyed a lodging house and left three guests dead in their beds. There are rumors that the fire was deliberately set, and that the local veterans' association lost a lot of money they had invested in the project to build a second shrine and healing pool on the site. The engineer for the project, Terentius, has gone missing. To make matters even more complicated, Terentius was also Serena's lover, and she was asking Valens for a divorce so that she could marry Terentius.
Ruso finds his friend, but to his dismay cannot entirely believe Valens' protestations of innocence. Events escalate rapidly, but Ruso survives to solve the puzzle. Another entertaining outing with Ruso, Tilla and Company.
Click HERE to read the review in Kirkus Reviews.
Click HERE to read the review from the Italophile bog.
Click HERE to read the review from Open Letters Review.
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