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Product Description
Product Description
N.B. R S Downie is published in the US as Ruth Downie and this book, RUSO AND THE DISAPPEARING DANCING GIRLS, is published in the US as MEDICUS: A NOVEL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
Britannia, 117 AD
Primitive, cold, and a touch damp
Welcome to the most remote corner of the Roman Empire
For army doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso, this overseas posting is no picnic. He has vast debts, a slave girl too clever for her own good and an overbearing hospital administrator to cope with ... not to mention a serial killer stalking the local bar. Washed-out dancing girls are being washed-up with the tide and everyone expects Ruso to investigate, even though the breakthroughs of forensic science lie centuries in the future.
Will the gods smile on him before he too falls prey to the murderer? If only it were possible to find a good Falernian wine in Britannia, life would seem so much rosier - and perhaps the locals might stop killing each other ...
About the Author
In 2004 R.S. Downie won the Fay Weldon section of BBC3's End of Story competition. Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls is her first novel.
She is married with two sons.
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First Sentence
Someone had washed the mud off the body, but as Gaius Petreius Ruso unwrapped the sheet there was still a distinct smell of river. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Someone had washed the mud off the body, but as Gaius Petreius Ruso unwrapped the sheet there was still a distinct smell of river. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Beware, this book has also been published under the title Medicus and Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls. If you have not read it under either of these titles it is an enjoyable read, in the same vein as the Lindsey Davis or Steven Saylor books. I bought this particular title expecting it to be a new story, but sadly it is the same as the ones above.
This is the first book in what will become the Medicus series. It is a novel set in Roman Britain and introduces a new author R. S. Downie. This is certainly her first novel, although I do not know if she has written any factual material. The fact that she is female may be an omen, after all Lindsey Davis writes what is probably the most successful Roman series with her `Falco' detective novels.
The main character in this novel and the one I am sure will become an old friend to the reader in future books is Gaius Petreius Ruso, a divorced and down-on-his-luck army doctor, who has made the rash decision of attempting to make his fortune in one of the far flung reaches of the Empire, namely Britain.
A doctor's life is not always a happy one, particularly when they are usually watching you and screaming while you take their arm off or pull their blackened teeth out. A swift tap on the head usually alleviates these problems, but is not looked upon as good medical practice.
After arriving in Diva, modern day Chester and spending hours on the wards in the fort, by some stroke of fortune or maybe misfortune he rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla. She is a pretty little thing, but brings a whole boatload of trouble with her. Not least the locals taking umbrage and starting to beat the sh-- out of one another.
As I've said before anything about Rome or Romans is a must read for me, but this book is for everybody, well researched, witty and most of all enjoyable. I can't wait to read more of Ruso and Tilla. I am sure the partnership will mature and become as enjoyable to the reader as Falco and Helena or Gordianus and Bethesda.
This is the first book in what will become the Medicus series. It is a novel set in Roman Britain and introduces a new author R. S. Downie. This is certainly her first novel, although I do not know if she has written any factual material. The fact that she is female may be an omen, after all Lindsey Davis writes what is probably the most successful Roman series with her `Falco' detective novels.
The main character in this novel and the one I am sure will become an old friend to the reader in future books is Gaius Petreius Ruso, a divorced and down-on-his-luck army doctor, who has made the rash decision of attempting to make his fortune in one of the far flung reaches of the Empire, namely Britain.
A doctor's life is not always a happy one, particularly when they are usually watching you and screaming while you take their arm off or pull their blackened teeth out. A swift tap on the head usually alleviates these problems, but is not looked upon as good medical practice.
After arriving in Diva, modern day Chester and spending hours on the wards in the fort, by some stroke of fortune or maybe misfortune he rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla. She is a pretty little thing, but brings a whole boatload of trouble with her. Not least the locals taking umbrage and starting to beat the sh-- out of one another.
As I've said before anything about Rome or Romans is a must read for me, but this book is for everybody, well researched, witty and most of all enjoyable. I can't wait to read more of Ruso and Tilla. I am sure the partnership will mature and become as enjoyable to the reader as Falco and Helena or Gordianus and Bethesda.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As the other reviewers have rightly pointed out, although at first it may appear to be a Falco ripoff, it isn't.
Mostly because now we're in England. Falco's useless father's alive; Ruso's is dead. Falco fell in love with the tough daughter of an aristocrat; Ruso with a tough slave.
That just about seems all that I can add to this.
A perfectly enjoyable little mystery good for reading on a boring flight, when you can't concentrate on anything better.
The ancient Rome mystery genre is already overcrowded with too many offerings. This one adds nothing new.
Mostly because now we're in England. Falco's useless father's alive; Ruso's is dead. Falco fell in love with the tough daughter of an aristocrat; Ruso with a tough slave.
That just about seems all that I can add to this.
A perfectly enjoyable little mystery good for reading on a boring flight, when you can't concentrate on anything better.
The ancient Rome mystery genre is already overcrowded with too many offerings. This one adds nothing new.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am a great fan of Lindsey Davis' "Falco" and also Steven Saylor's "Gordianus". The very cover of this book screams "Falco knockoff" at the reader and as I've always resisted the "me-tooers" of this genre in the past I nearly didn't even pick it up : Don't be put off, Ruso the Medicus is in a very different environment and his role as reluctant criminologist and slave owner taken on reluctantly to add to his already full store of woes. Luck certainly seems to give our hero a pretty wide berth for much of the time. His colleague Valens is the one with an apparently easily appeased conscience and a sense of humour while our hero just never learns that drinking in dubious bars is bound to lead to trouble (trying to help spirited locals doubly so).
I hope Ruso will have new cases to solve - perhaps he might even visit his family in Gaul- meanwhile if readers are looking for a good read for a holiday or long journey I recommend this book as a very enjoyable companion.
I hope Ruso will have new cases to solve - perhaps he might even visit his family in Gaul- meanwhile if readers are looking for a good read for a holiday or long journey I recommend this book as a very enjoyable companion.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An engrossing read
I bought this to read, not because of the investigative/whodunnit side, but because of the Roman legion aspect. Read more
Published 4 months ago by SJATurney
Something missing
It's hard for a book to have inevitable comparisons to a longstanding series. Of course the majority of readers will have read Lindsey Davis, and of course they're looking for... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Fiona Wallace
A wonderful tale of Deva, dancing girls and the legions
Given that this book is about Rome, or at least Romans in Britain, it is a no-brainer that I would want to read it. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Ben Kane
Ruso and the Disappearing Dancing Girls
It just goes to show we all have different tastes, I enjoyed the under-tones of the way Roman society supplanted the culture of the British Tribes. Read more
Published 20 months ago by she who must be obeyed
Publishers' comparisons are odious
My recently bought second-hand copy of this novel invited me to ask for my money back if I didn't think it was as good as Lindsey Davis; unfortunately the offer ran out in January... Read more
Published 21 months ago by JessicaJane
A fine start of a new serie
I picked up this book because the links everybody makes to Lindsey Davis' and Steven Saylor's books. Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2009 by Stefan Vunckx
Very good humour
Really loved this book. The style of writing is very good. There is a lot of understated humour and a great deal of historical research. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2009 by HJK
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