8.2 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Series Roma Sub Rosa Publication date 1993 | 4.1/5 Goodreads Language English Publisher St. Martin's Press Originally published 1993 Genre Historical drama | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) Preceded by Rubicon, Raiders of the Nile Followed by A Mist of Prophecies, The Venus Throw: A Novel of Ancient Rome, The House of the Vestals Awards Lambda Literary Award for Gay Men's Mystery Similar Works by Steven Saylor, Roma Sub Rosa books, Historical novel books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Catilina's Riddle is a historical novel by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 1993. It is the third book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery novels set in the final decades of the Roman Republic. The main character is the Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder.
Plot summary
The year is 63 BC, and Cicero is consul of Rome. Gordianus, once an associate of Cicero, has moved to the Etruscan countryside, where he has inherited a farm from an old aristocratic friend of his. Unfortunately, he doesn't get on well with his neighbours, who are family of the man who left him the farm. Cicero, however, still needs his help, and asks Gordianus to look out for the notorious Lucius Sergius Catilina, who Cicero is convinced is plotting a conspiracy to take power in Rome. Then one day, Gordianus' daughter Diana finds a headless corpse in their stable, whom Gordianus dubs Nemo.