In January 1698, Romans crowded a city church to view two brutally murdered elderly people and their dying 18-year-old daughter, Pompilia. What followed was the most celebrated trial of its time. The defense argued that Pompilia was an adulteress, husband deserter, and mother of an illegitimate son, grounds for which a husband could rightfully murder, but five men, including Pompilia's elderly husband, were convicted. Using comtemporary sources, Parker questions whether she was a saint or sinner.

A crime novel set in Ancient Rome. A city under the thrall of a tyrant, where deceit and death walk hand-in-hand. DECEIT, TYRANNY, DEATH. Games the Romans play best. Sextus Ingentius Verpa, imperial senator, notorious informer and scheming minion of the despotic Emperor Domitian, has been butchered in the night. The Emperor has decreed that punishment will be swift and has commissioned Gaius Plinius Secundus – better known as Pliny the Younger – to investigate. Pliny is no detective, but unless he can find the murderer by the close of the 'Ludi Romani', or Roman Games, all Verpa's slaves – forty men and women – will be burned alive in the arena. That gives Pliny just fifteen days. Fifteen days that will threaten Pliny's conscience, his life and the stability of Rome itself.

Torchlight flickers on the elegant marble walls. The sound of a mob echoes in the street. The year is 52 B.C. and the naked body of Publius Clodius is about to be carried through the teaming streets of Rome. Clodius, a rich man turned rabble-rouser, was slain on the most splendid road in the world, the Appian Way. Now Clodius's rival, Milo, is being targeted for revenge and the city teeters on the verge of chaos. An explosive trial will feature the best oration of Cicero and Marc Antony, while Gordianus the Finder has been charged by Pompey the Great himself to look further into the murder. With the Senate House already in ashes, and his own life very much in danger, Gordianus must return to a desrted stretch of the Appian Way - to find the truth that can save a city drunk on power, rent by fear, and filled with the madness and glory of Rome.

313 AD Under the rule of Emperor Constantine, Rome finally seems to be emerging from its turbulent past. But the Emperor's loyalties are brought into question when three courtesans are found dead. Claudia - a spy - is called upon, but she has secret motives of her own.

In this bestselling book that inspired the hit movie by the same name, starring Frank Sinatra, an apparent suicide forces a PI to reconsider his most famous case Joe Leland returned from World War II with a chest full of medals, but his greatest honor came after he traded his pilot’s wings for a detective’s shield. Catching the Leikman killer made Joe a local hero, but the shine quickly wore off, and it wasn’t long before he left the police force to start his own private agency. Years after his greatest triumph, Joe has a modest income and a quiet life—both of which may soon fall apart. When Colin MacIver dies at the local racetrack, the coroner rules that he took his own life, but his widow knows better. Because MacIver’s life insurance policy doesn’t cover suicide, his wife is left broke, desperate, and afraid for her safety. She hires Leland to find out who could have killed her gentle, unassuming husband—a simple question that will turn this humble city inside out.

Has a notorious murderer returned to the streets of Ancient Rome? In the fourth novel in Paul Doherty's acclaimed Ancient Roman series featuring Claudia, a killer stalks the streets of Rome. Perfect for fans of Lindsey Davis and Steven Saylor. 'An engrossing and informative read' - Publishers Weekly September 314AD, and once more death strikes the sprawling streets of Imperial Rome. When two prostitutes are found murdered - their bodies ripped open and their right eyes gouged out - it is feared a notorious killer, the Nefandus, has returned. Rumoured to be an imperial officer, he once waged bloody murder amongst Rome's prostitutes but vanished before his identity could be discovered. Has he reappeared, or is someone working in his guise? Desperate to retain order, the Empress Helena turns to her most trusted agent, Claudia. Helena commands her to discover the truth behind the Nefandus, before Rome descends further into chaos and confusion. What readers are saying about Paul Doherty: 'Paul Doherty's books are a joy to read' 'The sounds and smells of the period seem to waft from the pages of [Paul Doherty's] books' 'A great read - I recommend to anyone who loves a good mystery'

A murder in a crowded Broadway theater presents a full house of suspects—the first in this classic mystery series starring Ellery Queen! Despite the dismal Broadway season, Gunplay continues to draw crowds. A gangland spectacle, it’s packed to the gills with action, explosions, and gunfire. In fact, Gunplay is so loud that no one notices the killing of Monte Field. In a sold-out theater, Field is found dead partway through the second act, surrounded by empty seats. The police hold the crowd and call for the one man who can untangle this daring murder: Inspector Richard Queen. With the help of his son Ellery, a bibliophile and novelist whose imagination can solve any crime, the Inspector attacks this seemingly impenetrable mystery. Anyone in the theater could have killed the unscrupulous lawyer, and several had the motive. Only Ellery Queen, in his debut novel, can decipher the clue of the dead man’s missing top hat.

In the unseasonable heat of a spring morning in 80 B.C., Gordianus the Finder is summoned to the house of Cicero, a young advocate staking his reputation on a case involving the savage murder of the wealthy, sybaritic Sextus Roscius. Charged with the murder is Sextus's son, greed being the apparent motive. The punishment, rooted deep in Roman tradition, is horrific beyond imagining. The case becomes a political nightmare when Gordianus's investigation takes him through the city's raucous, pungent streets and deep into rural Umbria. Now, one man's fate may threaten the very leaders of Rome itself.

An entertaining and informative look at the unique culture of crime, punishment, and killing in Ancient Rome In Ancient Rome, all the best stories have one thing in common—murder. Romulus killed Remus to found the city, Caesar was assassinated to save the Republic. Caligula was butchered in the theater, Claudius was poisoned at dinner, and Galba was beheaded in the Forum. In one 50-year period, 26 emperors were murdered. But what did killing mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd? In A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Emma Southon examines a trove of real-life homicides from Roman history to explore Roman culture, including how perpetrator, victim, and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people. Inside Ancient Rome's darkly fascinating history, we see how the Romans viewed life, death, and what it means to be human.

September AD 81. Flavia and her friends learn of the mysterious and sudden death of the Emperor Titus. Was his death natural? Or was it murder? As the four detectives investigate this mystery, they little dream how much their lives - as well as the future of Italy - will be changed as a result.