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.