The Queen of the Night

Rome in August 314 AD. While the rich and powerful are dealing with the violent abductions of their children - accompanied by requests for ransom, veterans of Constantine's Army are being barbarously murdered. At the same time, Christianity and older beliefs and cults are jostling for attention. Is there a relationship? Enter Claudia, secret agent to the Empress Helena. Claudia, with some able assistance, manages to uncover the mysteries and interpret the mayhem. While some readers will work out who did what well before the last page, this should not detract from the enjoyment. Some of the 'how' and 'why' questions won't be explained until the final pages. A good escapist read for those who like an ancient Roman flavour to tales of murder. Recommended. Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Paul Doherty really is the master storyteller. It seem to matter not to Mr. Doherty whether the background to the book is Medieval England, Ancient Egypt, or in the case the eternal city of Rome in the 4th century AD. I don't think it could possibly be Ancient Rome without the murder and mayhem that almost always seem to accompany any book that uses the city as its background. The children of the rich and famous are being abducted and held for ransom. At the same time veteran legionaries who have served in Britannia with Constantine, particularly along Great Wall, in the more northern reaches of the island are being brutally murdered. There bodies are mutilated, a practice that was prevalent among the Picts, the people they were fighting against, so many years ago. The Empress employs her secret agent Claudia to try to resolve these terrible happenings. However Claudia has her own problems. Her uncles garden has recently had the body of a young girl disinterred and she has the task of trying to solve both mysteries at the same time. The young girl was a Christian and her corpse was perfectly preserved. Claudia must claw her way through a mist of politics, religion and violence. One false move could cost her much more than her job as a spy . . .