Vita Brevis by Ruth Downie

November 13, 2019

Vita Brevis by Ruth Downie

Gaius Ruso Petreius and his wife Tilla travel from Britannia to Rome with their baby daughter Mara, at the urging of ex-tribune Accius.  Accius is hoping to marry the daughter of a rich businessman, and when Kleitos, the businessman’s Greek doctor, leaves Rome hastily and unexpectedly, Accius arranges for Ruso to take over his abandoned medical practice.  Ruso is led to believe that there is a thriving practice with wealthy patrons waiting for him, but he soon learns that not only was Kleitos, the previous doctor, deeply in debt, but that his practice has its dodgy side.  Like the dead man in the barrel that has been left outside his door.  In addition, Ruso and Tilla need to procure a nursery slave to look after their daughter so that they can see their patients and have a little privacy, but somehow end up with three barbarian slaves.

But when the businessman collapses after taking a (harmless?) concoction that Ruso has mixed for him, Ruso needs to find out who or what actually killed the man.  And what was really in that bottle labelled “poppy flowers”?  Ruso needs to find some answers ASAP.

I enjoy the Ruso mystery series very much.  The interactions and philosophical differences between Ruso, a medicus with the Roman legion, and Tilla, his British-born wife, are always entertaining.  In addition, the descriptions of daily life in Rome and Britannia and the political maneuverings of Ruso’s former legion colleagues make for an entertaining story.