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Medicus

A Novel of the Roman Empire

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Medicus

By: Ruth Downie
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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About this listen

 Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on-his-luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. His arrival in Deva (more commonly known today as Chester, England) does little to improve his mood, and after a 36-hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness and rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla, from the hands of her abusive owner.

Now he has a new problem: a slave who won't talk and can't cook, and drags trouble in her wake. Before he knows it, Ruso is caught in the middle of an investigation into the deaths of prostitutes working out of the local bar.

A few years earlier, after he rescued Emperor Trajan from an earthquake in Antioch, Ruso seemed headed for glory: now he's living among heathens in a vermin-infested bachelor pad and must summon all his forensic knowledge to find a killer who may be after him next.

Who are the true barbarians, the conquered or the conquerors? It's up to Ruso (certainly the most likeable sleuth to come out of the Roman Empire) to discover the truth. With a gift for comic timing and historic detail, Ruth Downie has conjured an ancient world as raucous and real as our own.

©2007 Ruth Downie (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc. Historical Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Ancient Rome Funny Ancient History

Critic reviews

"Downie's auspicious debut sparkles with beguiling characters and a vividly imagined evocation of a hazy frontier." (Publishers Weekly)
"Fans of Alexander McCall Smith will delight in this series debut set in Roman-occupied Britain and featuring wry army doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso." (Booklist)
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The narrator used a range of distinguishable voices to help keep the story clear and flowing. This is a good story enhanced by the telling

Held my attention from the beginning

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If you could sum up Medicus in three words, what would they be?

Well worth reading

Who was your favorite character and why?

none -

Any additional comments?

I tried this on recommendation, having read all the Lindsey Davies's as they have been pujblished. I was not disappointed, enjoying this rather diffident, good-hearted character in his British posting. Very good narration, so often these days I am irritated by mis-pronounciations of words, or the use of 'the' instead of 'thee' for the definite article in front of a vowel which seems to have arrived with estuary English. Was not irritated once by this reader.who did great work on the differentiation of characters' voices.

An excellent read.

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Nice idea to do a roman murder story centred on a doctor, and he is a good character. The romance is quite cheesy, with the pretty blonde slave occasionally fiesty but with little agency in the story. Reading is mainly good but the narrators acting falls over badly when voicing the heroine with a squeaky tone and weird accent. Not too bad though because she doesn't say much! Good pace and lots happening- entertaining listen. Liked the medical details which seemed authentic.

Entertaining roman romance

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An enjoyable introduction to a series new to me. Not quite Falco or Lindsay Duncan yet, but plenty of potential for development. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Well plotted, excellently narrated.

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Crime stories aren't usually my thing but this very enjoyable novel kept me entertained and finding reasons to keep listening. Interesting story, lovely characterisation, gentle humour, although the story doesn't shy away from the human misery that is slavery, trafficking and enforced sex work which the author's afterword reminds us is still very much a part of the modern world. As I said, crime stories aren't my thing...but my next credit will be spent on Medicus Book 2

An entertaining story of Roman occupied Chester

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