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Book Review By Alan J. Bishop
The Germanicus Mosaic by Rosemary Rowe

Libertus the freedman lives in Glevum (ancient Gloucester) during the long Roman occupation of Britain. He's a talented pavement maker (thats mosaic maker to us) who tries to make an honest living. He needs the patronage of the provincial Governors representative, Marcus Septimus, but he doesn't need Septimus to involve him in a murder inquiry. He may have constucted a mosaic for the uncouth retired centurion Germanicus but it didn't make him obliged to investigate his death, did it? Unfortunately, when the body is found in the furnace room of Germanicus' villa, Marcus Septimus decides that Libertus is the right man for the job.

Soon Libertus and his slave Junio finds himself involved with the dead man's enemies, ex-wife, his brother and the patricians who might conceivably want the lout out of the way.   Here is a small slice of Roman life in 186 AD, a time of settled occupation in a province on the fringes of the Roman Empire. It fills in the gaps of what we know of life under the Romans and adds colour to history book accounts.


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - depressing/sad
How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging
Time/era of story:
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60%
Kind of investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 %
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - none

Setting
Farm/Ranch? Yes
Farm/Ranch: - farm

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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