
I think he’s a great character to connect the modern reader to the ancient world. I can understand why he reacts the way he does and his motivations. I understand his motivation and share his frustrations. He’s easy to relate to and empathize with. Ruso is my favorite character in this series. I like the range of characters Downie has included because modern readers are able to connect with Ruso and Tilla while still experiencing those typical of the era. The commentary about hierarchies and bureaucracy are always funny. Ruso and Tilla are a bit ahead of their time, but it comes off as comedic and the other characters are more representative of ancient Britain. Instead, it seemed like there were long stretches that were unimportant to the plot which is why this has been my lowest rating of the series. I’m sure there were some clues dropped into the story that I missed because of how infrequently I would pick this one up. Branan’s disappearance was the main focus of the book to me and Candidus seemed like an afterthought for a lot of the book, which I thought was unfair to Albanus. However, I think it’s because of how long it took me to get into and finish this book, which I blame more on life circumstances than anything else.
#RUTH DOWNIE BOOKS IN ORDER SERIES#
This book didn’t grab me in the same way some of the previous books in the series did. While struggling to keep the peace between the Britons and the Romans, Ruso and Tilla uncover an intricate deception involving slavery and fur trappers, and it becomes imperative that they solve the mystery of the two disappearances before it’s too late. The tension grows when Ruso’s recently arrived clerk goes missing and things go from bad to worse when the young son of a local family also vanishes. Having been forced to move off their land, the Britons are distinctly on edge and are still smarting from the failure of a recent rebellion that claimed many lives. The medicus Ruso and his wife, Tilla, are back in the borderlands of Britannia, where he is tending the builders of Hadrian’s Great Wall. Semper Fidelis (Medicus Investigation #5) Persona Non Grata (Medicus Investigation #3) Terra Incognita (Medicus Investigation #2) Other books by Downie reviewed on this blog: Tabula Rasa (Medicus Investigation #6) by Ruth Downie Spring might actually arrive soon which would make it a lot easier. Life hasn’t given me a lot of audiobook time between Baby and the weather. This book took me longer to read than I would have liked. I’ve been reading it for probably about a decade now in total, but it’s easy to come back to and enjoy.

This series has been so fun to read and enjoy.
