**THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

Welcome to the most remote part of the Roman Empire. Britannia, AD117 – primitive, cold, damp and very muddy.

The Gods are not smiling on army doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso in his new posting in Britannia. He has vast debts, a slave girl who is much more trouble than she is worth and an overbearing hospital administrator to deal with . . . not to mention a serial killer stalking the local streets.

Barmaids’ bodies are being washed up with the tide and no one else seems to care. It’s up to Ruso to summon all his skills to investigate, even though the breakthroughs in forensic science lie centuries in the future, and the murderer may be hunting him down too.

If only the locals would just stop killing each other and If only it were possible to find a decent glass of wine, and a slave who can cook, Ruso’s prospects would be a whole lot sunnier . . .

The first novel in the New York Times bestselling Gaius Petreius Ruso series. With a gift for comic timing and historic detail, Ruth Downie has conjured an ancient world as raucous and real as our own. Perfect for fans of Lindsey Davis and Steven Saylor.

Formerly published as RUSO AND THE DISAPPEARING DANCING GIRLS

Praise for Ruth Downie:

“a wonderful and well-written story” – Ben Kane, author of the Eagles, Hannibal, Spartacus and Forgotten Legion series.

“My advice, read this first adventure in the series then move swiftly on to the next, and the next. You will not be disappointed” – Helen Hollick, Author - Discovering Diamonds Review

“Ruso will be a hit even if he wears socks with his sandals … the beginning of an addictively escapist series” – The Times

“Enthralling” - Daily Express

“Ruso is a comic invention whose fumblings lead him to the truth in spite of himself, and a character you can warm to” – Guardian

“Downie wields a wit sharper than a Roman scalpel” – Vicki Leon, author of Working IX to V