Second Act [Hardcover]

Marilyn Todd brings back Claudia Seferius for her tenth mystery and doesn't disappoint.
Continuing her method of introducing italicized anonymous insights into the mind of the murderer(s) we commence with 'The Digger' burying another body in the hills outside Rome. Meanwhile, in the city itself Claudia has a host of troubles coming on her at Saturnalia, most of them self-induced as usual. Shady deals with Moschus to feign loss of her wine (which she's selling at a loss in the first place) ensures her double dealings with Butico are instantly spotted by the latter who promptly threatens her unless she pay back the owed monies at an exorbitant thirty-two percent interest. At the same time the patron-client custom of handing out silver on this festive holiday (and a lack of funds to do so) means the ever-intrepid Claudia invites a theatrical group - 'Caspar's Spectaculars' - into her home to perform for her guests, thus giving our author a lot of suspects for the reader to puzzle through as 'The Digger' is amongst them. The excellent group, comprising Ion, Syles, Periander, Doris, Adah, Jemima, Fenja, Erinna, Hermione and Ugly Phil gives Todd the chance to have a multitude of potential victims and killers with which she entwines in an ever more confusing manner.
Meanwhile, Claudia's true love (though she'd never admit it), supersnoop Marcus Orbilio, has landed the post of tribune but is more concerned with the reappearance of the Halcyon rapist, whom he thought captured and executed a year ago. Is it just a copycat, or did Marcus condemn an innocent man? Also juggling the attentions of the overly promiscuous Angelina, he sets off to track down the rapist who is now targeting people close to Marcus whilst Claudia takes the time to sort out her extended family, ending Marcellus' gold-digging affair, giving plain Flavia a dose of infatuation and the dour Julia some pointers on how to maintain her marriage.
The novel skips through as Claudia gains her revenge on Moschus and Butico with the help of Orbilio, he assuages his feelings of guilt over prosecuting the wrong man last year and helps one victim, Deva and her older husband, a herbalist, by putting them up in his house, which is promptly burned down by the delusional pixie. Meanwhile, both separately realize who the Halcyon rapist is, Orbilio confronting and arresting him whilst Claudia finds herself kidnapped by the Senator Sextus Valerius Cotta who is desperate to discover the secret of gunpowder in his very own Guy Fawkes plot. It is this latter minor plotline that actually reveals the truth as to what's going on her by its very act of separation and we end up with true love by the time Erinna takes a nosedive off the higher reaches of a wool warehouse. By the end, Claudia lets her guard slip and she allows a glimpse of her true feelings for supersnoop to come out. The historical purist will find lots of historical inaccuracies and implausiblities, the vernacular been the glaring one, but it doesn't matter. Claudia Seferius is an irreverant but delightful heroine and her forthright journey through the early principate makes the series immensely readable. Another fine and recommended effort from the pen of Todd.

The latest adventure of Roman superbitch Claudia Seferaius is one of the most amusing so far. Claudia, in trouble over a dodgy business deal, gives houseroom to a troupe of strolling players over Saturnalia, to entertain her demanding clients. Naturally, one of them turns out to be a murderer, but which one? Luckily, Caludia's hunky would-be boyfriend Marcus Orbilio is on hand to help her solve the mystery (are those two ever going to get it together?). There are lots of amusing supporting characters, interesting subplots, and narrow escapes. Claudia is as always a feisty, outrageous heroine. This Roman mystery series is not the most authentic in period detail, but it is definitely the most entertaining.