A Pattern of Blood: A thrilling historical whodunit - Softcover

'Demonstrates Rowe's pithy command of the Roman sleuth genre... A considerable achievement' The Times

'Solving puzzles and murder mysteries in the second century AD is something the freedman and mosaicist Libertus does well. And this engaging and sympathetic character once again has a date with danger and double dealing... Her gentle yet pacy writing style ensures that the action never flags as Libertus is drawn into a deadly web of intrigue... Her keen eye for detail ensures that the interesting array of characters who populate her novel are totally credible as are the surroundings in which they find themselves' Western Morning News

THE GERMANICUS MOSAIC:
'Lots of local and historical colour... The story is agreeably written, gets on briskly with its plot, and ends with a highly satisfactory double-take solution'
Gerald Kaufman, Scotsman

'A traditional country-house mystery translated to the Roman world - even featuring the mandatory body in the bibliotheca... Rowe has had the clever idea of making her detective-figure a mosaicist, and, therefore, an expert in puzzles and patterns. Into the bargain, he is a freed Celtic slave, and thus an outsider to the brutalities of the conquerors, and a character with whom the reader can sympathise... There are charming details about innocent life on the fringes of empire' Independent

Pavement-maker Libertus, a former slave who is now a Roman citizen, is not entirely surprised to witness a stabbing near the chariot race ground in bustling Corinium (modern Cirencester). Luckily the victim, the wealthy decurion Quintus Ulpius, has a personal physician on hand and tragedy is averted. Commanded by his patron Marcus Septimus to investigate the attack, Libertus arrives at Quintus's mansion only moments before the decurion is knifed again, this time fatally. When one of Quintus's enemies is found with bloodstains on his toga, for Marcus the case is closed. But Libertus is not at all convinced the solution is that simple. When a second body is found, he knows he must act fast before other lives are threatened - including his own.