Trade Secrets: A mystery set in Ancient Rome

by David Wishart

Overview

The intriguing, witty and irreverent new mystery featuring Ancient Roman sleuth Marcus Corvinus

May, AD 41. The emperor Claudius has acceded to the throne, and the citizens of Rome look forward to an era of peace and stability. Not so Marcus Corvinus however, who finds himself embroiled in not one but two investigations. A friend of his wife has asked him to look into the murder of her brother, found stabbed to death at the Shrine of Melobosis. A wily businessman and notorious womaniser, no one seems to have a good word to say about Gaius Tullius, not even his less-than-grieving widow. But who would have a good enough reason to want him dead?

At the same time, Corvinus’s daughter comes across a dead body in the Pollio Gardens, and urges her father to investigate. At first Marcus refuses to get involved – but when his enquiries lead him to Ostia, Rome’s busy trading port, he uncovers a disturbing connection between the two deaths.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780107264
Publisher:	Severn House Publishers
Publication date:	02/01/2016
Series:	A Marcus Corvinus mystery , #17
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	360,353
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

David Wishart studied Classics at Edinburgh University and spent several years teaching in schools and at University.

Read an Excerpt

‘You know Tullia Gemella, Marcus?’ Perilla said. She was looking a bit chewed. ‘Ah… yeah.’ I gave the lady sitting across from her a nod. An overstatement there: I knew the name, sure – one of the recent and extremely keen recruits, with a thing, according to Perilla, for lyric pieces involving shepherdesses, rustic swains and a general atmosphere of bosk – but I’d never actually seen her in person. The adjectives ‘large’ and ‘imposing’ sprang to mind. Also the phrase ‘a strong personality’: even although the lady hadn’t opened her mouth yet, she just radiated self-possession, confidence, and a knowledge of her own considerable worth. So must Hannibal have looked when he was faced with the Alps and muttered: ‘I’ll bloody have you lot for a start!’ Well, it explained Perilla’s chewed look, anyway; in the time between the end of the poetry-klatsch meeting and my arrival, Things must’ve been Fraught. ‘Pleased to meet you, Tullia Gemella,’ I said. ‘I’ll just –’ I turned to go. ‘No, don’t leave, dear,’ Perilla said quickly. ‘We’ve been waiting for you to get back. Gemella wanted a word.’ ‘Yeah? What about?’ ‘Her brother’s been murdered.’

Editorial Reviews

11/30/2015
Those comfortable with modern slang in their historical whodunits (“OK, pal, keep your hair on”) will welcome Wishart’s 17th mystery set in Imperial Rome (after 2014’s Finished Business). It’s 41 C.E., and Claudius has just succeeded Caligula as emperor. Series sleuth Marcus Corvinus is adjusting to his new role as a grandfather when Tullia Gemella, a friend of his wife, asks him to solve the murder of her brother, Gaius Tullius, part owner of an import-export business, who was stabbed to death in an alley. Meanwhile, Corvinus’s adopted daughter, Valeria Marilla, and her husband, Clarus, visit the Pollio Library, where they notice a man on a bench who appears to be sleeping. After he topples over, they discover that he was knifed in the back—and that he apparently died of apoplexy an hour earlier. Corvinus proves an astute sleuth as he tackles the nicely constructed puzzles, though the political background of the times is less central to the plot than in Steven Saylor’s superior Gordianus novels. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Wishart loves to tell a labyrinthine story, and fans of the series will really enjoy this one; they’ll also enjoy the way he blends real historical people and events with his fictional goings-on."

Booklist

"TRADE SECRETS by David Wishart is ideal for anyone interested in mystery, Rome and human nature."

Fresh Fiction

"As a first time reader of the adventures of Marcus I enjoyed the way the author is writing a story about murders in Ancient Rome but uses modern language to describe the events."

Breakaway Reviewers

"David Wishart suffuses trade with intrigue and romantic shenanigans in Trade Secrets the tenth Marcus Corvinus mystery. Set in Rome and Ostia at the time of Claudius. the womaniser Gauis Tulius is stabbed to death in a holy shrine. Family and business colleagues are suspects. Meanwhile another man dies in the Pollio Gardens. Suspicion leads to trade corruption in Ostia. Whodunit??? Read and find out. Seriously good reading."

E Ridler

"The author emulates the popular Roman novel style from the Roman era, even down to his narrator's vulgar tongue and earthy sense of humor. If you are sensitive to vulgarities, this isn't the book or series for you."

C Martinelli

01/01/2016
Roman investigator Marcus Corvinus has one too many cases on his hands, investigating two murders at the request of his wife and daughter. When he uncovers the connection between the two, he just might be able to solve both crimes. Witty and irreverent dialog marks this 17th engaging entry in the long-running historical series (Finished Business).

Library Journal