Additionally, the ending had a nice plot twist. While not completely immersive, there’s just enough detail to get a hint of what life might have been like in the Roman army that occupied England. The characters, including an appearance by the Empress Sabina, are interesting.

The setting and subject matter make it unique. As I said in the intro, it’s light and entertaining, similar to a cozy mystery. And when a centurion is murdered, it’s a race against time to prove Ruso’s innocence and find the real killer.

The information they discovered falls on deaf ears.

Together with what Ruso discovers, a dark story begins to emerge.īut the two of them draw the ire of those in charge and they’re in danger of punishment. Because she’s a native of Britannia, the locals are more willing to share gossip. Ruso’s wife, Tilla, who is also a prominent character, starts digging for answers, too. It’s clear something is not right, but the recruits are too scared to talk, and the officers are stonewalling Ruso. As the Twentieth Legion’s doctor, Ruso feels responsible for the health and safety of the native recruits, so he starts informally investigating. Several of the recruits have been killed or injured under suspicious circumstances. Ruso gets entangled in troubles with the new recruits at the Roman fort in York. The wall is mentioned several times, but it’s north of York and not the subject of the story. The story takes place in what is now York during Hadrian’s rule and while the Roman’s are building Hadrian’s Wall. Since I jumped into the series on the fifth novel, I missed the story of how they met, but I’m sure it’s interesting. Ruso is a doctor (a medicus) in the Roman army who is married to a native of Britannia named Tilla. The main character in Semper Fidelis, and the Medicus Novels series, is Ruso. (As a side note, most books in this category are really, really long.) March’s challenge was to read a book about or set in ancient Rome. I read Semper Fidelis as part of the 2023 Thoughtful Reading Challenge. (This in no way affects the honesty of my reviews!) All commissions will be donated to the ALS Association. As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you, from qualifying purchases. This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links. The time period, setting, characters, and plot make it a light and entertaining read. It’s set in England (formerly known as Britannia) during the Roman occupation somewhere around 122 AD. Semper Fidelis is the fifth book in Ruth Downie’s Medicus Novels series.

Ruth downie medicus series in order