Arcadia Public Library

Continuing the epic story begun in his "New York Times"--Bestselling novel "Roma," Saylor charts the destinies of five more generations of the aristocratic Pinarius family, from the reign of Augustus to the height of Rome's empire.

A crime tale based on actual events from more than one hundred years ago follows a serial killer dubbed "The Servant Girl Annihilator" who roamed the streets of Austin, Texas.

Gordianus, recently returned from Egypt with his wife Bethesda, is essentially retired from his previous profession of "Finder" but even he cannot refuse the call of Calpurnia, Caesar's wife. Troubled by dreams foretelling disaster and fearing a conspiracy against the life of Caesar, she had hired someone to investigate the rumors.

Set against the backdrop of the later Roman Republic, a collection of short mystery tales featuring ancient Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder follows the early career of the classical sleuth.

"The young Gordianus has been waiting out the chaos in Alexandria, with Bethesda, when he gets a cryptic message from his former tutor and friend, Antipater. Now in Ephesus, as part of Mithridates' entourage, Antipater seems to think that his life is in imminent danger. To rescue him, Gordianus concocts a daring, even foolhardy, scheme to go behind enemy lines and bring Antipater to safety. But there are powerful, and deadly forces, at work here,...

When the high-born populist politician, Publius Clodius, is murdered on the Appian Way, Rome explodes into riot and arson. All fingers point at Titus Milo, his arch-enemy and a friend of Cicero. The emperor calls on Gordianus the Finder to find out the truth.

"In 88 B.C. it seems as if all the world is at war. From Rome to Greece and to Egypt itself, most of civilization is on the verge of war. The young Gordianus--a born-and-raised Roman citizen--is living in Alexandria, making ends meet by plying his trade of solving puzzles and finding things out for pay. He whiles away his time with his slave Bethesda, waiting for the world to regain its sanity. But on the day Gordianus turns twenty-two, Bethesda is...