Catilina's Riddle: A Novel of Ancient Rome [Paperback]

Saylor rivals Robert Graves in his knack for making the classical world come alive. --(ortland)Oregonian

Engrossing...Ironic and satisfying. --San Francisco Chronicle

The third in Saylor'sRoma Sub Rosanovels featuring Gordianus the Finder. Gordianus, disillusioned by the corruption of Rome circa 63 B.C., has fled the city with his family to live on a farm in the Etruscan countryside. But this bucolic life is disrupted by the machinations and murderous plots of two politicians: Roman consul Cicero, Gordianus's longtime patron, and populist senator Catilina, Cicero's political rival and a candidate to replace him in the annual elections for consul. Claiming that Catilina plans an uprising if he loses the race, Cicero asks Gordianus to keep a watchful eye on the radical. Although he distrusts both men, Gordianus is forced into the center of the power struggle when his six-year-old daughter Diana finds a headless corpse in their stable. Shrewdly depicting deadly political maneuverings, this addictive mystery also displays the author's firm grasp of history and human character.

On first publication back in 1994,Catilina's Riddlewas a finalist for the Hammet Award.

Steven Sayloris the author of the long running Roma Sub Rosa series featuring Gordianus the Finder, as well as theNew York Timesbestselling novel,Romaand its follow-up,Empire. He has appeared as an on-air expert on Roman history and life on The History Channel. Saylor was born in Texas and graduated with high honors from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and classics. He divides his time between Berkeley, California, and Austin, Texas.

Engrossing . . . Ironic and satisfying. San Francisco Chronicle

Saylor rivals Robert Graves in his knack for making the classical world come alive. The Oregonian (Portland)

Saylor's fashionably inconclusive reading of the conl™