Heavner isn’t exactly mollified when Tempe, aided by retired police detective Skinny Slidell and a host of experts, puts a name to the dead man. Nettled by several errors in Heavner’s analysis, and even more by her willingness to share the gory details at a press conference, Tempe launches her own investigation, which is not so much off the books as against the books.

Showboat Medical Examiner Margot Heavner makes it clear that, breaking with her department’s earlier practice ( The Bone Collection, 2016, etc.), she has no intention of calling in Tempe as a consultant and promptly identifies the faceless body herself as that of a young Asian man. The seventh adventure for Downie’s physician hero (Tabula Rasa, 2014, etc.) masterfully draws out its suspense, painting a vivid portrait of ancient Rome that feels persuasive and authentic.Īnother sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.Ī week after the night she chases but fails to catch a mysterious trespasser outside her town house, some unknown party texts Tempe four images of a corpse that looks as if it’s been chewed by wild hogs, because it has been. Could the unexpected death of their landlord, Horatius Balbus, be connected to these other mysteries? They begin to feel that they are under siege. The couple’s exploration of this alien city becomes the reader’s tutorial as well. He finds the locals similarly prickly, and Tilla fares no better in Rome’s rough streets, though a resourceful new servant girl named Narina proves an invaluable ally. Helping not one iota is wealthy Accius, Kleitos’ patron, who peppers Ruso with annoying questions and dire reports of local unrest. Nevertheless, he begins seeing patients even as he turns some attention to solving the dual mysteries of the corpse and his predecessor’s disappearance. Opening it with difficulty, Ruso finds a corpse inside. Ruso is set to take over the medical practice of the venerable physician Kleitos, but when they arrive at the older man's home, the door is locked, and when they get inside they find the furniture, including Kleitos’ medical items, missing. The trip has been arduous, with Metellus, a longtime antagonist of Ruso, popping up in Rome to insult Tilla and Mara. 122 in Imperial Rome, physician Gaius Petreius Ruso is starting a new chapter in his life, moving from Britannia with his wife, Tilla, and their young adopted daughter, Mara. An idealistic doctor who moves to the big city with his family finds a nest of corruption-and corpses-literally on their doorstep.

Vita Brevis by Ruth Downie