The Venus Throw, by Steven Saylor

This is the fourth book in Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa historical mystery series, set in a beautiful and richly realised Ancient Rome. I studied history at university, and work in a history-related profession, but I don't actually read that much "traditional" historical fiction. Reading this series, I've realised I only really enjoy historical fiction books when they incorporate another genre I enjoy - so, in this case, if you enjoy a good murder mystery, this is a series for you!

The plot of this latest installment sees our protagonist, Gordianus the "Finder" (as the term "detective" would qualify as an anachronism of about two thousand years), back in Rome after living the Roman idyll out in the country for a few years. He's unwillingly pulled into investigating the death of Dio, an Egyptian ambassador, which gets him caught up in the backstabbing, snide elite of Roman society.

I particularly like the "realness" of the characters in these books - you know that they're not supposed to be modern, exactly, but Saylor still had me rolling my eyes and telling Gordianus just to HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH HIS WIFE through a lot of the story. I'm also always impressed by his research and worldbuilding - from his Author's Note he seems to start with a few speeches from Roman history and spin them into an enormous, detailed, real world that's so very different to our own but relatable in small, important ways. This time around, Gordianus variously goes to a pub in the dodgy part of town and drinks too much, fends off the sexual advances of his employer, goes to a fancy party where he has to make awkward small talk with people who aren't interested in him because he's not high enough up the social ladder, and, on top of all of that, deal with the mystery of watching a teenage girl grow up.

I also think Saylor handles the sticky issue of writing a novel set in a slave society reasonably well. Gordianus owns enslaved people, because having even a semi-respectable Roman who didn't would be unrealistic. He isn't a saviour who's going to take challenge the status quo that much, but he also isn't blind to the horrors, lamenting the suffering of individual enslaved people who get sent off, for example, to the silver mines.

Ultimately, the plot twists and turns and ends with a satisfying twist which, like with all good murder mysteries, the reader has the chance to spot a few pages or chapters before the detective - or Finder - so that you feel a sense of resolution - and, yes, smugness about it - when the big reveal is made. A Murder on the Appian Way is already on my to-read list!