Medicus
3.5 Stars

Gaius Petrius Ruso, a medicus (doctor) with the 20th Roman Legion stationed in Britannia, finds himself investigating the deaths of two prostitutes working out of a local bar. 

While the book is heavy on establishing the setting and developing the characters, it is light on the plot and investigation of the crimes.

Much of the story involves the day to day activities of the main character as he treats patients at the legion hospital, and becomes involved in the lives of the people of Deva (modern day Chester) due to his inadvertent rescue of a slave girl, Tilla.

Although the information on the Roman occupation of Britain is well-researched and interesting, and the characters are fully fleshed out and appealing, it is exactly this development and attention to detail that slows the pacing of the mystery.

Ruso's reluctant involvement in the murder is merely a secondary consequence of his relationship with Tilla, and he more or less stumbles across the culprit without any real investigation. Nevertheless, the resolution is satisfying as everyone gets their just desserts.

All in all, a good premise, solid writing and a likable protagonist make this a decent read. I will probably continue with the series if and when I need a book set in the Roman Empire for a challenge.

Dosadno. Nije to tako loše napisano ali dosadno. DOSADNO :D

I came across this series here on Goodreads. I'm really surprised I hadn't heard of it before that because it's just as good as the series by Steven Saylor and Lindsey Davis.

Gaius Petreius Ruso is a doctor who has joined the Roman army after a nasty divorce and the death of his father, who left the family in debt. Ruso is the main support of his stepmother, two half-sisters, a younger brother, his brother's wife, and their two children. Ruso transfers to the 20th Legion in the British port of Deva (present-day Chester). Ruso has to deal with the Roman bureaucracy, filthy and noisy living quarters, and an endless number of dogs (they seem to be more numerous than the mice!). Then there is the injured and possibly dying slave girl, Tilla, that he buys to rescue her from her abusive master. To further complicate matters, he is called upon to examine the body of a young woman who is believed to have drowned. However, Ruso discovers that her neck was broken and there is bruising on her throat. This was definitely not an accidental or natural death. Ruso becomes a reluctant detective, all the while trying to do his job, send money home, and tend to Tilla, who is not the most cooperative or grateful patient.

This reads more like a historical novel with a touch of mystery than a historical mystery novel. The characters and the background are well drawn and interesting. Downie does an excellent job of portraying Roman Britain. She really makes it come to life. My father retired from the Air Force, so the military bureaucracy in Medicus is very familiar to me. Some things never change. Ruso is world weary with a dry sense of humor. I found myself laughing several times. The book has its serious moments, though. Downie doesn't flinch from showing how brutal life could be back then, especially for young women without protectors.

This is definitely a series worth checking out. I've already started the second book, Terra Incognita: A Novel of the Roman Empire, and it's promising to be just as good as this one.

3.5 stars

A good first installment. Ruso was amusing in his long-suffering-ness and I liked Tilla. My suspicions were pinned on the wrong character, as per usual. Simon Vance reads wonderfully, as always.

A highly enjoyable and very fast read in this first book of the Gaius Petreius Ruso series. Loved Medicus, and look forward to the rest of the books in the series. A supremely fast read of a book about 385 pages long with 79 chapters - so you can see the story really moves along and it was a real page turner for me.
This is a mystery series set in Roman times, with the hero being Ruso who is a doctor that is stationed in Great Britain for this book. He stumbles across a young slave girl being beaten in the town square and who obviously is unconscious and whom also has a fractured arm. He eventually buys the girl, and because he cannot communicate with her gives her the name Tilla. He also is involved with some corpses that are brought to his hospital and so he gets personally involved in trying to figure out who were the dead people and who killed them.
Love the authenticity of the book, and the author does a super job of detailing the hospital, the town and fort where it is located and the local customs of Britain and the way the Romans felt about the Brits and vice versa. Just an enjoyable read with a very satisfactory ending, and an ending that will keep me coming back for more!

Gaius Petreius Ruso has recently arrived in a cold and rainy Britannia. He is recently divorced and has suffered bad news about the death of his father, which has left him with a great deal of debt and an extended family to support. However, despite his new good intentions to obtain promotion and, hopefully, some wealthy paying patients, things do not seem to be starting well. Although he has pledged to live frugally, he somehow ends up buying a young slave girl, whose arm is badly injured and who is being brutally mistreated. As he is staying with his friend, and fellow doctor, Valens, this leaves him with a problem of where she can sleep and, eventually, he opts for the rather dubious location of Merula’s – a bar which seems to have rather carelessly lost two of its dancing girls, one of whom was recently hauled out of the river. To add to his problems, Ruso ends up making an enemy of the rather pedantic hospital administrator Optio Priscus and be rumoured to be investigating the death of Saufeia, even though he doesn’t really want to be involved.

This is the first mystery in the series and there is a lot of introducing the characters and setting. Ruso is a likeable enough lead character, who tries his best to make things right. It is fair to say that the authorities are not particularly eager, or worried, about the death of two dancing girls – but Ruso feels there is more to the mystery than he first realised. Why did one of the dancing girls run off, when she was supposedly in love with a soldier at the garrison? Why was another, surprisingly able to read and write, suggesting that she would not be there long before going missing and what is making certain customers at Merula’s ill? Ruso attempts to discover the truth, even without really wanting to, while trying to care for the unwilling new acquisition to his household, the beautiful young Tilla, stave off debt and try to get some sleep in between tending to patients.

Overall, this was an interesting mystery, although too much of the book seemed to be about introducing the characters and the storyline was a little slow to get going. Now that the characters of Ruso and Tilla are established, I wonder whether the second novel in the series will be faster paced. I would certainly give the second book a try, as this was a light and enjoyable read.

Rated 3.5

“Medicus” is both historical fiction and a mystery, but it’s anomalous for both genres – purists, beware. Although the story takes place in the time of the Roman empire, except for occasional references to slaves, scrolls, and centurions it reads like a contemporary novel, something I appreciated but avid historical fiction fans may not. And while there’s technically a mystery here, the plotting is rather slow; we mostly watch our Harrison Ford-esque hero deal with all sorts of unfortunate (and often dryly comical) mishaps in his life rather than hot on the trail of more clues. The dead body shows up immediately, but the clues come slowly and sporadically and don’t drive the story.

That said, “Medicus” has a charm of its own. Although I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I couldn’t put it down, it was easy enough to pick up and read quickly and enjoyably. I couldn’t always follow every plot development, but I don’t know how much of that to blame on the book; preparations for Passover are wreaking havoc with my powers of concentration right now. Ultimately, I agree with the reviewer who called this “a beach read for historical fiction fans” and recommend it for anyone seeking a light and entertaining read that’s a little different.

I couldn’t put down this excellent novel about the life of Gaius Petrius Ruso, a Roman Army doctor living in 2nd century Deva. Not only does Ruso have the trials and tribulations of dealing with the local populace, the soldiers of the 20th Legion, army bureaucracy and Tilla, a truculent female Brigantian slave, but he also has a murder mystery to solve.
Two women, both working girls at the local brothel have been murdered and no-one seems to care. Investigating the murders, Ruso soon runs into a wall of silence and before very long finds that his life in danger.
Ruth Downie has written an excellent novel which brings Deva (modern day Chester, England) to life, which not many writers of this period manage to pull off. Well done to her and I’m really looking forward to reading the others in the series.

I loved this book! Our hero, Medicus, a doctor in ancient Roman-occupied Britain, is a fascinating and totally lovable guy. The book jacket compares him to young Harrison Ford, and I think that's perfect--surly, oblivious to his own charm, professional, and totally adorable underneath a mildly prickly exterior. The writing somehow makes it easy to imagine living in Deva, Brittania (an area in a period I know nothing about) and all the characters are well-written and very engaging. I am really looking forward to the sequel, Terra Incognita, and any further adventures of Gaius Petreius Ruso.

Medicus is what I call a 'popcorn' book: a book to pick up and settle in with for an evening's cozy reading. Entertainment value: 5 stars, but several months from now I'll have a hard time remembering much beyond the main characters: Gaius Petrius Ruso, a physician stationed in Brittania with the Roman army, and Tilla, the slave girl he reluctantly purchases from an abusive master. Ruso, long suffering, wry, and a humanist doomed to be forever caught up in other people's suffering despite his attempts at pragmatism, is the main entertainment here. Downie does a decent job at bringing her world to life, but the plot and various plot threads are fairly predictable.

Inevitably, I've also got to compare Medicus to Lindsay Davis's very fun and entertaining Falco series, also a detective series set in ancient Rome. I do feel that Downie has a better feel for writing from the male perspective, but Davis's Rome is more finely wrought, her plots better developed. Both series have a nice element of humor, although readers who prefer to smile rather than laugh out loud with their mysteries might be more comfortable with Downie's more character-driven style.

A nice historical mystery set in Roman Britain. It has a lighthearted, anachronistic tone similar to that of Lindsey Davis's Falco books - it even begins with an amusing dramatis personae. There isn't a comparable wealth of historical detail, but I liked the protagonist, a gruff army doctor who is not eager to play the role of detective.

The book is well written, and I very much enjoyed the setting. The mystery plot was okay, while the romance didn't really work for me. Still, this was a quick and entertaining read and I look forward to the next book.

ETA Sept. 2014: The romance that didn't work for me here has evolved into an interesting relationship in subsequent books.

The mysteries in this series are all set in the time of Trajan/Hadrian, in Roman Britain (Britannia). I loved the characters of Ruso, the overworked, compassionate Roman military doctor and Tilla, his British housekeeper. Some of the dry humor is laugh-out-loud; this book is a fast read, but bears rereading to wallow in the characters' interplay. I loved Ruso's interior thoughts. The mystery was a perhaps secondary, but necessary plot device.
Ruso's personality seems to me like a cross between the personalities of Arthur Dent and Eeyore, if such a thing is possible. Valens, Ruso's devious (but basically good-hearted) doctor roommate and friend reminds me so much of M*A*S*H's Hawkeye Pierce. The beer barrel in the kitchen -- from one of Valens's grateful British patients perhaps? -- brought to mind the liquor still in the 'Swamp', Hawkeye's tent quarters. I've read and own the other 4 books in the series and am eagerly awaiting #5.

In January 2013 I received #5 in the series, Semper Fidelis; it's just as delightful as the previous 4. Semper Fidelis

In August 2014 I received and read #6, Tabula Rasa. This is one of Downie's best yet [except for the ghastly cover!]
The contents inside were what interested me, though.