A Coin for the Ferryman by Rosemary Rowe

Note: This is my last week in Singapore and I have friends staying with me. So don't expect any updates until next week! Thanks :D 

So this is the last book of the Libertus series that I've been able to get my hands on in Singapore. Sigh, I really wish they had all the books, because I want to continue reading - it's definitely been getting more and more original.

A Coin for the Ferryman starts with a status change for Junio. Libertus has decided to make him a citizen and adopt him as a son! Junio is a really likable character, so I'm glad that something good is happening to him. He's even going to get engaged! Unfortunately, a corpse is found on the site of his future house (and the land of Marcus), which threatens to curse their new home if the spirit isn't appeased by Lemuria. Wanting the happiness of Junio and tasked to solve the mystery by Marcus, Libertus has to race against time to find out who the corpse is and why he was murdered. (And contrary to the blurb on the back, Junio doesn't play a significant role in this book - Libertus' temporary slaves play a bigger part)

This book reintroduced Kurso, who became Libertus' slave three books back. I'm only pointing it out because he completely wasn't mentioned in two books back (not sure about the previous book, because I haven't been able to get my hands on it). It makes me wonder if there's an inconsistency here.

I really liked the mystery in this book. Libertus engages in a lot of detective work, and I could almost follow along with his thought process this time. There wasn't much action (although there were a few deaths), but there was a hint of the family tension within Marcus' family. I would so dearly love to read a book that talked about Marcus' trip to Rome with Julia. His mother sounds insufferable, and the type of character you'll love to hate.

A lot of previously background characters take bigger roles here, as the characters mature and move into different roles. I like this change, and I'm hoping some of these 'new' stars will play a bigger role in the later books.

Enemies of the Empire by Rosemary Rowe

The 7th and second last book on this series that I've been able to get my hands on. That took much less time than expected - this books get finished very fast.

This story takes place in the outskirts of Britannia, where Libertus is accompanying Marcus on a trip. But, when one unfortunate night gets Libertus thrown in jail for suspicion of murder, the resulting investigations uncover not only a dead man walking, but a possible plot of rebellion.

The amount of investigative work in this story is higher than The Ghosts of Glevum, and the amount of action is probably roughly the same. After all the army is involved, even if a century of soldiers is only 80 people. Looks like we're moving towards a happy equilibrium here!

What I liked about this book was that it explored the tensions between the Roman conquerors and the conquered Celts. While Libertus is a Celt, he has a lot of vested interest in making sure that his Patron Marcus survives, and after that long period in captivity, he's pretty much integrated into Roman life. Same for his wife and slave Junio (Junio was even born in slavery, which means he's the most "Roman" of them all). So it was interesting for the book to go to a more rural area and look at the anti-Roman sentiment. I particularly enjoyed all the little pieces of history trivia.

It's a pity that I've run out of books and time to read. I'm hoping that because the later books are published later, I can get my hands on a physical copy. Either that, or it's really really time to get an Amazon gift card because it seems like all the books are on Kindle.

Love love loved this series. It especially picked up in the later half, because it deviated from the pattern of the first few books and got more and more original.

The Ghosts of Glevum by Rosemary Rowe

Book 6 of the Libertus series, and it threw me for another surprise! I really think that Rosemary Rowe got more confident after book 4 and started taking more risks. Book 5 and Book 6 have been more original in terms of the mystery and the situations that Libertus gets in.

In book 6, Libertus gets to explore the underside of society. When the guest of honor dies, Marcus, Libertus' patron, is accused as the murderer. When the charges are escalated to conspiracy against the Emperor, Libertus has to find the real culprits before everything is too late. Oh, and at the same time, he's being hunted down, so he can't investigate as normal.

So why is the book called The Ghosts of Glevum? Because Libertus is thrown together with a group of beggars, thieves and the lowest of the low. Those are the people that he has to pay for any scrap of information.

And I'm not sure if that makes me a callous person, but I had absolutely no sympathy for the ghosts of Glevum. I know that they have to eke out a living any way they can, but their opportunism and lack of charm makes it awfully hard for me to sympathise with them. In fact, it's only at the very end of the book that one of them (only one) does something that we can call "generous".

Mystery-wise, it's a bit disappointing. Since Libertus spends most of the book on the run from the law, there's very little investigating going around. In fact, I re-read the ending a few times, and I still don't understand how Libertus managed to piece it all together.

Overall, this is a pretty good story. It's an interesting look at the darker side of Roman Britain (remember, read the introduction so you know how much of it is accurate). Mystery-wise, it was meh, and I'm hoping the next book ramps up the investigating and the deducing again.

The Legatus Mystery by Rosemary Rowe

We're at Book 5 of the Legatus series, and oh my, it's totally different from the first four books! For one thing, there isn't a body - at least not at first.

When the Emperor sends a Roman Ambassador to Glevum, everyone is thrown into a tizzy getting ready. Unfortunately for the priests of the Imperial Cult, there's a dead body in the temple (incidentally also the temple of Jupiter). But when Libertus goes to investigate, the body disappears. And then reappears. And in the meantime, blood appears out of nowhere, and a ghostly wail is heard throughout town.

The set-up alone makes it different from the previous four books, but there's an added twist here. Libertus is hunted down by a mob. The series sees probably the most action so far as Libertus has to out-think and out-run a mob with help from Junio and his wife. It certainly kept me glued to the book, flipping page after page after page.

Plus, the characters in this book are interesting. I don't think more than one new character will become a recurring character in the series, but their personalities made a strong impression on me.

By the way, it is worth reading the introduction in this book. Since the book deals with the Imperial Cult, history purists will be interested in seeing which sections of the book are accurate and which sections were made up by the author.

I think this book makes for a nice change in the series. The murder mystery is unusual, Libertus doesn't get to do what he normally does, yet somehow, he manages to solve it. I am definitely more motivated to read on after this.