What do You think about Medicus (2007)?
#1 in the Gaius Petreius Ruso historical mystery series set in Roman-occupied Britannia. Ruso, a recently-divorced doctor who has moved from his family home in Gaul to an army outpost in Deva (modern-day Chester, UK) and stumbles immediately into a mystery, with the dead, naked body of a young woman brought into his surgery. Most of her red hair has been lopped off, and he's curious not only about her, but about her killer. When he discovers that she was a "dancing girl" from one of the local bars and that another woman who worked there has disappeared, and no one is investigating, he takes an unofficial but widely-known interest and begins nosing around. All this while attempting to deal with long hours in his duties as a doctor/surgeon, a slave girl he purchased who has a bit of an attitude problem and is unable to do anything because of injuries that need healing, a roommate (in a rather run-down, filthy home) who is vying with him for the position of Chief Medical Officer--a job Ruso badly needs so he can send his family money and avoid their farm going under, and a host of other little problems. Poor Ruso! He's made the mistake of being someone who cares and seems to get slapped down for it time and again in a series of unfortunate events. The story is written in an engaging style with plenty of wry humor and well-developed characters. The only regret I have is that this book sat on my TBR stacks for way too long--but I am glad to have the next two waiting for me. Excellent! A+
—Spuddie
What have we here? Medicus. I picked this one up about a year ago in the dollar store! I had picked up another book before that in the dollar store and LOVED it, so I figured I try my luck again. I should not have...Medicus is a historical fiction mystery. Or at least that is what the inside flap promises. It was historical fiction. It was superbly researched. It did have a mystery in it. But it all got lost in details! I did like the "hero" of the story, the medic Ruso, quite a lot actually. He was not the "here I come to save the day" type. He sort of stumbles into situations and becomes a reluctant hero. Very refreshing.The poor guy is harassed by debt his father left him after he died and an extended family that relies on him and his brother to pay off the debt and keep them all fed. And we get told this bit OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER.... AND OVER again. OMG!!! I GOT IT!!!!!Ruso is a medic in the Roman army. Just came over to Brittan after being stationed in Africa for a while. He also is rather fresh divorced. He rescues a slave girl which in turn gets him into a bit of trouble, because she wants him to help with another slave girl, that was not really a slave, but rather a free born, abducted and then sold into slavery.Of course under lots of grumbling and worrying and harrumphing he goes and helps. He also gets suckered into figuring out who killed two prostitutes in the bar down the street from the fort.Every time the story picks up speed and gets interesting, the author puts on the breaks again, by telling us about the blasted debt, or the blasted loan, or she looses her trail in details. I DO love details. I do love getting the feeling for a place, but it can be overdone. It absolutely stops the progress of the story. Mrs. Downie has a wonderful sense of humour and the book made me laugh out loud a few times, but it just wasn't enough to make up for the slow pace. She rather gets off on these tiny little "substories", that make for a great laugh, but don't progress the story of the actual book "you came to read". I don't mind a bit of slower going, but this was unreal. Every time I thought: "Ok, all right! We are getting somewhere! Now it's getting interesting!" The story dipped off again into long lost memories, fretting.. I do understand it is important to understand the characters motivation and frame of mind, but really we got it. It does not have to be reiterated in EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER.For example: Ruso finds out that the hair of the first murdered girl was sold. YES! WOW... LET"S GO AFTER THIS LITTLE CLUE! but nope.. that clue gets dropped in the next sentence until a few chapters later, when it gets brought up again only in passing and then forgotten all about. It gets tedious and boring to watch the book build up steam, then fizzles, build up steam, then fizzles. Do it once, I put up with it. Do that twice, shame on you, Mrs Author!Do it three times: The book goes on the free pile!By the end I didn't care any more who killed the girls, if the evil Priscus was embezzling, if Merula was going to get it, if Ruso was going to keep Tilla, or if he was going to get involved with her...I just wanted to "get out". I closed the book with about 20 more chapters to go (most chapters are merely 2 pages long) and did not pick it back up! This book is like the promise of a luxury cruse with a four star meal, only to deliver a row boat on a lake and a can of Sardines...Gosh how I hate writing bad reviews!!! This book had such promise! I would have loved to love it. But I happen to hate Sardines.
—Bridgett
Looking forward to the next in the series!Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls is the first of a series of novels that follows the misfortunes of a Roman Army Medical Officer, Gaius Petreius Ruso, after his posting from the warm climes of North Africa to the dreary grey drizzle of Deva (pron. Dewa); that's modern day Chester.Ruso is down on his luck and doesn't own much more than a few mounting debts. As well as trying to support his own life in the British garrison town, he is obliged to send funds home to his brother in southern Gaul lest his family find themselves destitute and homeless.His medical colleague at the garrison hospital, who shares his squalid house with Ruso, takes life as it comes and has a wicked sense of humour, and is no help at all. Consequently, Ruso has very little support from anyone as he tries to traverse his difficult life. Almost by accident he finds himself burdened with further unmanageable debts, becomes the reluctant owner of an injured slave, Tilla, and is in continual conflict with the hospital administrator and many of the local Britons.There are many reflections of twenty-first century society in this book, ranging from the financial and administrative pressures on the health service to the very serious issue of the white slave trade. I am sure that these parallels are deliberately drawn by the author to provoke the reader into thoughts beyond the main storyline.Ruso becomes an unwilling detective, trying to track down the truth behind the disappearance of several dancing girls from the local brothel and bar. The story moves at a leisurely pace and, in the main, insinuates the brutality of the age rather than going into explicit detail.I have always been a big fan of historical novels as, with conversations and images, they bring history to life around those dry, boring dates and names that I had to learn in the school classroom. Medicus does this for me and, at the same time, introduces some interesting characters whom I very much look forward to meeting again as the series unfolds. I strongly suspect that Ruso's slave, Tilla, will become his driving force.This is an excellent detective story, and the links between Roman Britain and Modern Britain are particularly pleasing. I would recommend Medicus to anyone who enjoys a good historical fiction.
—Lance Greenfield
