SPQR I: The Kings Gambit

Blackmail, corruption, treachery, murder--the glory that was Rome.In this Edgar Award-nominated mystery, John Maddox Roberts takes readers back to a Rome filled with violence and evil.Vicious gangs ruled the streets of Crassus and Pompey, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike, so the garroting of a lowly ex-slaved and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Subura district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy.But Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger--highborn commander of the local vigiles--was determined to investigate.Despite official apathy, brazen bribes, and sinister threates, Decius uncovers a world of corruption at the highest levels of his government that threatens to destroy him and the government he serves.

John Maddox Robert has written numerous works of science fiction and fantasy, in addition to his successful historical SPQR mystery series. His latest book in the series, SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion, will be published later this year. He lives in New Mexico with his wife.

"This literate mystery introduces the newest in an ever-expanding genre of quirky dicks: Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger, a high-born bad boy, but patriotic head of a civil detective force in ancient Rome."
--Publishers Weekly