Second Act by Marilyn Todd

Second Act by Marilyn Todd
A Claudia Seferius Mystery
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Historical, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (187 Pages)
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

The latest adventure for the Roman sleuth and glamorous heroine of “I, Claudia Busy, busy, busy . . . A house full of actors, Saturnalia coming up, the Guilds to outmanoeuvre, creditors on her back and, ahem, a slight cash-flow problem to deal with; a mother-in-law straining her nerves to breaking point and a certain security policeman, well, disturbing her senses . . . and Claudia doesn’t even know about the murderer lurking in her house. Nevertheless, self-interest and a certain weakness for her aristocratic policeman lure her into lending some unasked-for help to his investigation into the Saturnalia Rapist, a mysterious and brutal figure terrorising Rome at this most festive season. Will she manage to unmask him, or will she just get herself into a whole lot of trouble?

It’s not easy but far, much easier compared to chaos and despair of stressed to manage almost everything around us. cialis tablets uk Timely treatment can save no prescription cialis you from various dangerous episodes linked to depression. It is also fairly obvious that tension may give buy generic levitra see this birth to bad practices such as smoking or drinking also make it difficult to treat premature ejaculation, if not diagnosed on time. It is for all time a http://www.learningworksca.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Predicting-Success-CCRC.pdf cheap viagra canadian healthy practice to sip the anti-ED pill just 20-30 minutes before to engaging in course of coitus. Claudia Seferius, the twenty-five year old widow of a wealthy wine merchant, is in trouble. A scheme she devised to raise funds has backfired and the Guild of Wine Merchants has been doing everything they can to take over her deceased husband’s business. They can’t stand having a woman in a man’s profession and they aime to get rid of her once and for all. Claudia isn’t going to let that happen and to that end she decides to invite a troupe of traveling actors to perform during Saturnalia.

This historical mystery, set in Rome during the rule of the Emperor Augustus, is filled with rich details about ancient life. The setting is complete in every detail and it was easy to believe that I’d been transported back in time.

In addition, Claudia is a strong protagonist with a difficult and tricky job ahead of her. She is determined to outwit the guild. A Spectacular “with its ‘volumptuous’ beauties and musical farce, couldn’t fail to impress potential clients. And with four days of public holiday, that was a lot of clients Claudia could squeeze in to be impressed.” Caspar and his troupe of strolling players is just what she needs. She houses them as they rehearse for their performances, and soon realizes that each of the cast members has secrets.

The plot is intricate and riveting. In addition to the secrets held by the strolling players, there is a rapist, the famous Halcyon rapist, on the loose and Marcus Cornelius Orbilio, the sole member of the aristocracy attached to the Security Police, is upset, not only because of the new rapes, but also because he’d convicted and executed the Halcyon rapist last year. Had he executed the wrong man?

The mysteries abound, from minor to really terrifying ones, and the suspense keeps building. There are a number of really strong supporting characters to add depth to the story, and I found Second Act to be a real page turner.

Mystery fans, especially those who love historical mysteries, are sure to enjoy this wonderful story, the ninth in a series. And I for one plan to search out the first eight as I await what I hope will be the next novels staring Claudia Seferius.