Downie's series continues to be a kind of poor man's version of the Lindsay Davis's Marcus Didius Falco books. It mines the same veins of humor and culture while attempting to show the similarities between people then and now -- but only half as successfully. The mystery in this book is spoiled by a very misleading prologue that seems to point toward the guilt of one particular character; since the information is never known to Ruso or Tilla and the character is never suspected, it dupes the reader to no purpose.

My main problem with the book is one that I had with the earlier books in the series. I don't buy the relationship between Ruso and Tilla at all -- for all this great love they supposedly share, they never talk to each other or understand each other at all. And I continue to find Tilla in particular extremely dislikeable. ( )

Medicus Ruso, attached to a legion of soldiers stationed in Brittain in ancient Roman times, is called back to his family through a strangely brief letter. Arriving home he finds his family estate in disorder. From there his world falls apart even further when he's accused of murder. Through the help of his British female companion and various fortunate and mostly unfortunate events he eventually solves the mystery and saves his family.

I read this book over the span of a few weeks and kept asking myself why I didn't read it in a few days. The writing style is fluid and the historical details feel accurate and realistic. But there were things missing, vital ingredients that make a novel work. Characters in this book are either very stupid, very clever, or clueless and that starts getting on your nerves fairly early on. Frequently characters make very strange decisions designed to keep the plot moving forward but at the same time give the book an odd surreal feeling. Overall the plot seems both basic and overbuilt, although I did enjoy seeing its development. Persona Nongrata was all in all a good read and I'm sure the writer will produce better and better novels after this one. ( )

I enjoyed this, though I wish I had read the first two in the series to get more of a sense of Ruso and Tilla as characters, as well as why they ended up together in the first place. The writing is solid, the plot interesting without being convoluted, and I could only have wished for a bit more development in the two main characters. Overall, I liked it enough to keep an eye out for the first two at used bookstores, but not enough to buy them new.

I love this time period but I found this book hard to lose myself in. The story line is a good idea but I just couldn't get into this book. ( )

Normally when I read a historical fiction novel the book is set in Medieval England, but a few months ago I found a series set in England (Britannia back then) during the Roman occupation. I read the first two in a matter of weeks but was not sure I would read the third; the second seemed a little bit of a disappointment. As fate would have it, I won a copy of the third from the publisher and just finished it this morning. I would have finished it last night had my eyes not finally given out.
Persona Non Grata is Ruth Downie’s finest installment of her Gaius Petrius Ruso series to date. Ruso is a medic (before there were proper doctors and surgeons we had medics) working with the Roman military.

Downie’s writing skills have sharpened since her first novel The Medicus. Here in Persona Non Grata we get fully fleshed out secondary characters, a great plot line and some really great scenes. My favorite scene involves Tilla leading a prayer at a secret Christos meeting. I almost laughed till I cried. We get to meet Ruso’s family including his ex-wife Claudia. The characters are all well written and often just as interesting as Ruso and Tilla. I came away understanding why Ruso would travel to the barbaric world of Britannia; with his family I would have too!

This time the mystery hits very close to home and so it made perfect sense as to why Ruso would investigate it. I applaud Downie for having written evil characters that mirror some of our own Wall Street swindlers (though I admit I do not know of any wall street swindlers that have committed murder…yet). I get sick of bad guys who are so far gone that they do not seem in any way plausible. Many authors forget that even the bad guys have to connect with the reader on some level. Here though the characters are mere shadows and not fully fleshed out they are understandable. Greed turns many men bad.

The only complaint I have with this series is the relationship between Ruso and Tilla his slave/girlfriend. I have written about this before but it bares repeating. The relationship just does not work for me. Downie does not work on the chemistry between the two. I know Ruso is really attracted to Tilla for her beauty but other than that I see no reason why these two are together. Fans of the series will be happy with the outcome of this book but it left me wondering why Downie did not spend a little more time developing chemistry between the two. Without giving too much away, I would have liked to have seen at least one sappy moment between the two or at least a scene in which Ruso finally figures out that he loves Tilla and tells her so. This would have made the ending all that much more satisfying and leaving this reader wanting more.

I hope Downie continues to write as I look forward to watching her evolve as a writer. If you have not yet read this series you are missing out. I highly recommend it to everyone who likes historical fiction.