Ruso and the River of Darkness

A new case for Gaius Petreius Ruso - the wittiest and sexiest character in the Roman Empire

R. S. Downie

Ruso is back with a brand-new mystery. And it doesn't take long before he fears for his life . . .

Gaius Petreius Ruso and his newlywed wife Tilla have moved back to Britannia, where Ruso's old friend and colleague Valens has promised to help him find work. But it isn't the kind of work he'd had in mind - Ruso's tasked to hunt down a missing tax man named Julius Asper.

Of course there's something else missing: money. And the Council of the town of Verulamium is bickering over what's become of it. Compelled to delve deeper by a threat from his old sparring-partner Metellus, Ruso discovers that the good townsfolk may not be as loyal to Rome as they like to appear.

While Tilla tries to comfort Asper's wife, an anonymous well-wisher warns the couple to flee before they get hurt. But it doesn't take long until Ruso and Tilla find themselves trapped at the heart of an increasingly treacherous conspiracy . . .

'Engrossing and clever . . . looks set to complete a hat-trick of hits for Downie' News of the World

R. S. Downie is the author of three previous Ruso novels, all available as Penguin paperbacks. She lives in Buckinghamshire.