Finished
Ruth Downie's
Semper Fidelis, 5th in her Gaius Ruso, Intrepid Globe-Trotting Legionary Doctor series of historical murder mysteries set in Roman Britain during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, possibly best known for the Wall (non-Pink Floyd version).
The 1st in the series,
Medicus, was a freebie several years ago, and I liked it enough that I promptly bought the 2nd when it went on deep-discount promotional sale, and then eventually got the 3rd & 4th out of the library. (I might have bought them too, but apparently Bloomsbury has changed the versions they sell, so while Kobo still has my original copies, it's no longer easy to tell if I'd bought the lot or not just by looking at the newer product pages.)
Anyway, it's been several years since I last
read the then-latest, and in the meantime, two more installments have been written, which I went and purchased while the latest round of Kobo contest coupons were still working.
Once again, this is a nice blend of occupying Roman and native Briton culture and history, with Roman Ruso and Briton Tilla taking a journey to Eboracum to inspect the medical records for the outgoing local Legion in advance of the incoming replacement, and discovering an unusual number of suspicious accidents, injuries, and outright deaths among the recruited native British trainees, who seem to be convinced that they are under a curse which their Roman colleagues regard as mere superstition.
Complicating the investigation seems to be a cover-up meant to keep things tidy while the Emperor Hadrian himself visits the city as part of his official imperial tour, in company with his estranged wife the Empress Sabina and a few other historical personage cameos.
One of the things that I've always liked about the series is its emotional complexity, and the way it usually doesn't take the easy way out when resolving personal conflicts between its main characters.
Ruso and Tilla are both working on the case in their own ways, but while sometimes they accomplish things in tandem, more often they seem to end up at cross-purposes, each of them tangling things up further for the other with plausible cause-and-effect consequences. I like that even after 5 books, they're not that kind of perfectly professional amateur sleuth couple that sometimes mystery series like to present.
A few personal issues that were introduced in previous installments also get something of an airing in this one as well, but they don't dominate the plot (which I'm grateful for, since I was a bit iffy about how some of them might have turned out when they were first alluded to), and add a bit of continuing character development.
As usual, the author includes an Historical Note at the end (a little briefer than previously), mentioning the events/background material she incorporated, the things she changed for dramatic effect, and giving further reading recommendations for non-fiction works with which to follow up with the actual known history which inspired this, should the Gentle Reader wish to do so.
Recommended if you like historical fiction with an Ancient Roman or Ancient Britain setting, or stuff involving historical medical/military staff. Another solid installment of an enjoyable series.