Ancient Mystery Fiction

In the late autumn of AD 666, Fidelma of Cashel - an advocate of the Brehon courts, sister to the king of Cashel, and religieuse of the Celtic Church - is at a crossroads. Needing to reflect upon her commitment to the religious life and her relationship to the Saxon monk Eadulf, she leaves Eadulf behind and joins a small band sailing from Ireland on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James in modern-day Spain.

On the eve of Marcus Cicero's inauguration as consul of Rome, the grisly death of a boy sends ripples of fear through a city already wracked by civil unrest, crime, and debauchery of every kind. Felled by a hammer, his throat slit and his organs removed, the young slave appears to have been offered as a human sacrifice, forbidden as an abomination in the Roman Republic.

Flavia Albia, daughter and successor of private informer Marcus Didius Falco is twiddling her thumbs with no clients during the December festival of Saturnalia. But that doesn't mean all is quiet. Her husband Tiberius and the Fourth Cohort are battling organized crime interests that are going to war over the festival nuts. A series of accidental poisonings, then bloody murders of rival nut-sellers, and finally a gruesome warning to Tiberius from the hidden criminal powers to back off.

In the sacred grove of Julius Caesar, something deadly stirs in the undergrowth - a serial killer, who haunted the gardens for years, has claimed another victim - in Lindsey Davis' next historical mystery, The Grove of the Caesars. At the feet of her adoptive father, renowned private informer Marcus Didius Falco, Flavia Albia learned a number of important rules. First and foremost - always keep one's distance from the palace, nothing good comes from that direction. But right behind it - murder is the business of the Vigiles, best to leave them to it.

In Ireland of AD 666, Sister Fidelma is sent by her brother, Colgu of Cashel, the king of Muman, to the remote valley of Gleann Geis, whose inhabitants still adhere to the ancient Druidic ways. Her mission is to negotiate with the chieftain, Laisre, for permission to build a Christian church and school in his territory. Fidelma's task won't be an easy one, though, as Laisre's clan is known for its hostility to the new religion and fierce adherence to the old.

A perplexing case of murder and conspiracy in the pagan wilds of Northern Italy... In AD 664, just after the events detailed in Shroud for the Archbishop, Fidelma of Cashel takes a unexpected detour on her trip home from Rome. While in the port at Genua (modern-day Genoa), Fidelma - sister of one Ireland’s kings and an advocate in her country’s law courts - receives word that one of her old teachers, Brother Ruadan, is reaching the end of his days.

Athens, 460 B.C. Life's tough for Nicolaos, sole investigating agent in Athens. His girlfriend's left him and his boss wants to fire him. But when an Athenian official is murdered, Pericles has no choice but to put Nico on the job. The case takes Nico, with a beautiful slave girl, to the land of Ionia within the Persian Empire. The Persians will execute him on the spot if they think he's a spy.

In September of AD 666, an aged monk and a set of relics disappear during the night from the Abbey of Imleach. The missing monk is a matter of great concern for the abbey. But the relics are a disaster of a much higher order. They are the priceless holy relics of St. Ailbe, the man who, in the fifth century, brought Christianity to the Irish kingdom of Muman, converted and baptized its king, and founded the abbey. The relics are the political symbol of the entire kingdom, and their disappearance threatens to disrupt its continued peace and stability.

Sani Natonaba's ancestors have lived in these canyons for more than 700 years, but they aren't the only ones. When he awakens to the bleating of his family's sheep being slaughtered, he learns that something is stalking this isolated corner of the reservation, a predator unlike any he has encountered before, one that attacks with alarming stealth and ferocity. Only his grandfather knows what lurks outside in the darkness, but a stroke has left him unable to communicate, forcing Sani to embark upon a journey into the distant past to discover the horrible truth.

Gabriel Radu isn’t your average detective... Residing in the quaint but quirky town of Denmark, Tennessee, the semi-immortal Gabriel is called upon from time to time to assist local law enforcement in solving unusual crimes that often end in murder. And by unusual, the crimes always involve something he's quite familiar with: magic. When Sheriff Billy McCain comes calling for help in solving the brutal slayings of a pair of homeless men whose corpses have been marked by a dark snake and scythe symbol, Gabriel accepts the challenge to help solve the case and bring the killer or killers to ...

Redemption and revenge: can they be one and the same? Marcus Sempronius Gracchus, a soldier of Rome, has spent two thousand years cursed to walk the earth, but that journey may soon end. He has secured the only weapon capable of stopping ultimate evil, but is he already too late? Will Thomas find the ancient seal and open the gates of hell, ushering in the end of times?

In November of AD 667, Fidelma of Cashel has returned home to her brother's castle to discover that a servant, her son's nurse, has been found brutally murdered in the woods near town, and her son is missing, presumed kidnapped or worse. Sister Fidelma, sister to king of Muman in Ireland, an advocate of the Brehon courts, and a religieuse of the Celtic Church, and her husband, Brother Eadulf, now must face their most personal and baffling case ever. Is there a traitor at her brother's court?

It’s business as usual on the set of another cheap sword-and-sandal production by Pharos Pictures—until the lead actress suddenly falls into a deep, mysterious sleep. Jordan Harper can talk down high-strung starlets and knock sense into stuntmen, but this…this is the kind of uncanny problem that he’d usually bring to Mrs. Hope. Unfortunately, the preternaturally capable secretary is on a business trip with the studio head. Harper must get to the bottom of the mystery on his own before another cast member succumbs—or worse, they blow the budget.

“I read all ten books in this series in one go.” – Matt S., Amazon reader Gruesome murders are occurring in a fantastical city by the sea. Dark magic is returning to Calec’s world. For over a year killings have plagued Red Pike’s Landing. No one has been able to find the murderer who takes all the fingernails of their victims and tucks them into bed. Witnesses are unreliable… and for good reason. Perhaps dark magic lies at the heart of these deeds and covers the Necromancer’s tracks. Calec of the Woods is called upon for aid. And Serileen, Calec’s witch lover, must accompany...

3 BC. Two wild Germanic brothers, Armin and Wulf, are held hostage in Rome to keep their father from rebelling against the Empire. As the years pass, they are moulded into ideal soldiers: brave, disciplined, ruthless. Attributes that are to be tested when a conspiracy arises, threatening their emperor and the Empire’s future.... As serving Roman soldiers, the brothers are separated at opposite ends of the Empire, each proving their bloody might on the battlefield.

If you think history is boring, this book will change your point of view completely. History is simply a series of events linked together by the long, slender thread of time.The Mystery of Queen Nefertiti is a spectacular adventure novel in which apparently unconnected historical events weave together a dramatic and exciting story that will have you on the edge of your seat. Its frenetic pace will draw you in and its characters will become so dear to your heart that you won’t want it to end.SynopsisWhen the Wilfords move into an old, ramshackle house in London, they have no idea that ...

In Egypt during the late Roman Republic, the young Gordianus finds himself involved in a raid to steal the golden Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great....

It is A.D. 79. In Ostia, near Rome, Flavia Gemina and her three friends, Nubia, Lupus, and Jonathan, are celebrating Jonathan's birthday. Then a visitor from the past arrives to see Jonathan's father. The next day, the visitor has disappeared, and so has Jonathan. When the three friends discover that Jonathan has gone on a secret mission to Rome, they immediately follow him. Their journey takes them to the Golden House of the Emperor Nero, where a deadly assassin is at work.

A gothic mystery book set in Ireland during the early 19th century. In the midst of poverty-stricken Ireland, in fall of 1816, Michael Smith abandons his studies at Trinity College to attend to a familial duty. His journey takes him to the isolated and eerie County Wicklow to care for his wealthy and reclusive uncle who lies on his deathbed, guarded within their dilapidated ancestral estate. Disturbing Revelations As he steps into his uncle’s haunting estate, Michael stumbles upon chilling secrets of his uncle's past. He encounters disconcerting memories and discovers the mysterious room ...

Fame is never what it seems. Deception, lies and death follow in her footsteps. War thrusts Secundus into the public eye - a fame that he does not want. And then when the famous Gaius Scavolo is implicated in a scam at the Temple of Jupiter it soon becomes clear that someone is plotting against the Merenda family. Loose lips lead to death as gossip and scandal follow our hero and an old flame comes to his door. With his ever-increasing role within the politics of the City, Secundus must make a choice - the life of a priest or to disappear into obscurity. And whilst he dithers and waits to ...