Furies by D.L.
Johnstone – In bustling Alexandria, over 2,000 years ago, Decimus Tarquitius
Aculeo, a proud Roman merchant, is reduced to poverty by the sinking of two
fleets of ships carrying grain for him. He had recklessly borrowed, at ruinous
interest raters, from moneylenders. When the ships sank they ruthlessly
descended on Aculeo seizing every asset.
Aculeo’s beautiful wife, Titiana, judges him a fool and
returns to Rome with their son, Atellus. Her wealthy family soon finds a new
husband for her.
Aculeo is leading an aimless existence in a small apartment
with his slave. Xanthias, and gradually drinking his way through the meagre
amounts he can raise from the sale of Titiana’s jewellery.
Former friends who equally lost their fortunes blame Aculeo
for persuading them to invest with him though it is obvious he has lost as much
as anyone.
Alexandria is a city of extremes. There are numerous fine
buildings and prosperous districts. At the same time a much greater part of the
city is composed of slum level housing and acute poverty. In the book there is
no middle class. A resident is either a member of the rich elite or desperately
poor. Aculeo has moved the heights to the depths.
The strength of the book is in its descriptions of
Alexandria and its history. I learned a great deal about the city.
The book was a good example of the challenge of names in
ancient crime fiction. There are so many unfamiliar names for such matters as
people, government and religion (objects, buildings and principles).
For many of the characters it was easy to tell if they were
good or bad by their appearance.
It was hard to maintain interest in the story when the main
characters are extremely poor and living bleak dark lives. I believe I can
enjoy stories where the characters are poor but prefer not everything be grim
about them.
Aculeo is muddled at times, no doubt from the large
quantities of cheap wine he consumes, which left the plot for periods unclear
to me.
Aculeo is roused from his listless life by reports that Iovinus,
an associate of his deceased business partner, has not drowned with the sunken
fleet but is in Alexandria. As he searches for Iovinus there are murders of
women with which Aculeo becomes involved. I did not find the combination of
mysteries worked well together. I think it would have been better to have
concentrated on either the financial mystery of the missing ships or the cruel
murders of young women.
I did find Sekhet, an aged healer and funeral attendant, a
fascinating character. She had better potential to be the sleuth with her
clever mind and unusual combination of skills.
I admired the ending. It was not predictable and
suspenseful.
A reader interested in mysteries set in ancient times will
find the book interesting. I thank the author for sending me a copy of the book (Nov. 1/13)
Bill, I'm glad you enjoyed this and it's an interesting review. I can't say that I have read anything from this period myself, though I ought to try at least one at some point.
ReplyDeleteBill - This does sounds like an interesting novel in terms of its description of the historical period. Really interesting! And I know what you mean about novels where one wishes the author would concentrate on just one mystery rather th an try to pursue more than one. It's hard to get that right I think.
ReplyDeletecol: Thanks for the comment. I will be interested in your review if you get a chance to read the book.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. Subplots can be interesting but two mysteries in one book is difficult.
ReplyDeleteAnother Canadian author. I like historical mysteries but this is going a bit further back in time than I usually like. Thanks for this review, I will put D.L. Johnstone on my list of Canadian authors to try.
ReplyDeleteTracyK: Thanks for the comment. I will be interested in your comments if you read the book.
ReplyDelete