Tabula Rasa by Ruth Downie

October 4, 2019

Tabula Rasa by Ruth Downie

Army medicus Gaius Petreius Ruso and his British wife Tilla are back in the borderlands of Britannia with the 20^th Legion, where the army is protecting the men building the Roman wall.  Many of the local residents have been forcibly moved from their lands to make way for the wall, causing tension between the Britons and the army.  Three days after reporting for duty, Ruso’s new clerk Candidus has gone missing without a trace, and Ruso feels obligated to search for him since Candidus is his old friend Albanus’ nephew.  There is a persistent rumor that one of the locals saw someone hiding a body in the wall.  To make matters worse, the youngest son of a local chieftain also vanishes, ratcheting the tension even higher.

Wonderful characters, attention to detail, historical accuracy, flashes of humor, and excellent pacing all make this another great adventure in the Medicus series.  One of the things that I really like about this series is that the author introduces the crime almost immediately, without having to go hunting for the mystery somewhere in the middle of the book.  Also, Ruso and Tilla's contrasting world views show just how extremely different their cultures were.  Simon Vance does a bang-up job with the narration on the audiobook, getting the voices just right.  I look forward to meeting up again with Ruso and Tilla to see what they get up to in their next outing.