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.

Ruth Downie returns with the third book in her Ruso the Medicus series. Ruso is a military doctor in the Roman army who was introduced to readers a couple years ago while serving Brittania in Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire. In this volume, fans get to meet the family we have heard about from a distance as it were. Ruso is recalled by an urgent letter from his brother - or so it seems.

Ruso arrives (with his `barbarian' lover Tilla in tow) to find his family fortune in shambles. When their chief creditor drops dead (apparently from poisoning) during a visit to Ruso's home, suspicion quickly focuses on Ruso. The rest of the book is spent unraveling that mystery and reinstating the family fortunes.

Along the way the reader learns a bit about Roman life, law, politics, and entertainment. Tilla pointedly questions who are the real barbarians, when part of the `games' sponsored by a local politician include the standard execution of criminal by tying the thief to post and letting wild animals eat them for dinner. Tilla also has a brush with the group of Christos and her attempts to understand this god who is everywhere and knows everything are fun.

As with the first two books, Downie uses light touch to combine a mystery with some history. Fans of historical mysteries, especially Roman ones like Steven Saylor's The Triumph of Caesar: A Novel of Ancient Rome (Roma Sub Rosa), will enjoy Persona Non Grata: A Novel of the Roman Empire. Recommended. ( )

Downie's third installment in her Ruso series has Ruso returning to Gaul to "finish" unfinished business from the first two books. Downie has her characterization spot on. As other reviewers have mentioned, Ruso's stepsisters seem vapid and trite, and I believe that Downie was going for just that. The stepmother is totally clueless but it adds to the story. Downie again delivers a different view on the Roman empire by sending us to Roman Gaul, an area that the general public is virtually unaware. ( )

Good writing style, well developed characters, close attention to historical detail, and an intriguing plot....what more could you ask for in a novel? Ms Downie has delivered on this third book in the Medicus series. A joy to read. ( )

Having read the first two books in the series, I was delighted to receive Persona Non Grata as part of the Early Reviewers program. The fact that it arrived in time for me to take it on vacation was an added bonus, and it turned out to be a great beach book.

This book takes us away from the previous setting in Early Britain, and back to Ruso's hometown in Gaul. There are elements of this story which have been building since the beginning of book one (the family's precarious financial situation, etc), and it was interesting to see how they played out. I particularly liked getting to meet some of the characters we'd only heard of indirectly such as Ruso's brother, step-mother, and ex-wife.

I found it interesting that Tilla, being far from home and things that are familiar to her, is finally put off her stride somewhat, if only temporarily, whereas Ruso, having come back to his childhood home, is no less overwhelmed than ever.

This was not my favorite of the series, but I certainly enjoyed it and look forward to the next installment. ( )

The third installment of this series is the least interesting so far. Ruso’s domestic woes did not hold my interest and I stalled. Had to bring the book to a waiting room to read it. I wasn’t exactly forcing myself, as the story did become more interesting once it focused on solving the mystery rather than the household complaints, but it did require discipline to finish.

The women in this one were nearly all annoying. Shrill. Selfish. Narrow. Haughty. Flighty. Ig. Even Tillla grated this time; she seemed awash in self-pity the whole time. Only Lollia seemed remotely interesting and she hardly had any stage time and even fewer lines. The men don’t fare much better, honestly; overbearing, boorish, conceited and vain the lot of them.

They mystery itself isn’t too bad, although I didn’t like the almost surprise villains at the end. They don’t exactly qualify as surprises since they were introduced and set into motion before their great reveal, but they did sort of come out of left field. A bit of a cheat if you ask me. But there it is. I doubt I’ll read another of these though. They’re a bit too squidgy if you know what I mean. Lots of intimate detail and angst within the character’s make ups and I’m just not digging it. Still loads of anachronisms peppered throughout, the effect of which is to pull me out of the story. Not the best way to keep a reader engaged. ( )

In short, this was a fun read; Ruth Downie set out to write a book which would appeal to a mass market - and this definitely does and will. However, with that being said, I can't say that this was a particularly good book.

Let me explain, as far as a jovial entertaining story goes, this book has that. It is compelling in the sense that you want to keep reading and it is the type of story into which you are drawn. The characters are all easy to love or hate, for the most part, and the story isn't so far fetched that the average Dick or Jane can't get into it.

However, it seems that the characters and the plot & language and usage could have been further developed. I found it disconcerting to have modern vernacular liberally sprinkled throughout the book, rather than keep with the setting and character of the book and using a vernacular keeping in tradition with such types of novels. The Romans didn't have "mail".

With that being said, I must also admit that I have a background in Classical Studies, so perhaps that makes me a harsher critic.

I thought the story was clever and the characters sympathetic - I'm sure that I will at some point pick up from the library the first two in the series. It was good for what it was meant to be. ( )

I find that in order to best write most of these reviews, I have to give myself a few days to process what I've read. This book falls into this category. My initial impression was that I was unsatisfied with Ruso and Tilla and the entire setting. All of the characters' actions seemed too...modern - sitting at a desk, receiving mail, looking over the bills, and so forth. The language, however, is what really bothered me. It was as if our current vernacular was taken and put into a Roman or Gaulish setting, which to me is not a true accurate historical picture. In fact, I would find myself utterly disgusted by some of the phraseology.

In addition, I was disappointed in the characterization of the women. Other than Tilla, most of the women in the book are silly, trite, and utterly obsessed with shopping and appearances. I have no use for women of this nature, and when Ruso expresses a desire that he could find a way to force the women to listen to him, I found myself wishing he could too.

However, I say that and know that I had a very difficult time putting down the book. I stayed up late, read through lunch, and so forth. I was genuinely interested in solving the murder mystery and understand how Ruso was going to solve his credit problems. The book couldn't have been that bad if I read it obsessively over the course of a few days!!

I was fascinated by descriptions of Gaulish/Roman medicine and even of the events at the amphitheatre. I wish Ms. Downie would have gone into greater detail because, to me, it appeared to be the most authentic historical portions of the book.

My feelings about Persona Non Grata remain mixed. I still remain fairly turned off by the language and some of the situations described in the book. And yet, I really enjoyed getting to know Ruso, his family, and especially Tilla. As I mentioned, I truly cared about what happened to him, how he was going to get out of trouble and how the book was going to resolve itself. Therefore, in spite of its apparent flaws, I would have to recommend this book to others. I may even have to hit the library and pick up the first two books to read the first few adventures of Ruso and Tilla.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Marketing for the opportunity to review this ARC! ( )

This was an ER read, and it is the 3rd in the Medicus series. The series is set in Roman Britain during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. The main character is a Roman doctor/surgeon. Ruso, who is with the Legion stationed there.

In this book he breaks his foot which makes him useless for work. Ruso also gets a letter from his younger brother in Gaul, asking him to come home immediately. Although Ruso is older than Lucius and head of the family, it is Lucius who has been dealing with the family farm/vineyard and the family's debts.

Ruso heads home, and brings his British (barbarian) 'housekeeper' and lover Tilla with him. He has never told the family about her, so they are unprepared for her arrival. He makes a mess of it and they think she is a servant/slave.

Once home Ruso finds out Lucius didn't send for him, and that Ruso's return endangers the family because now that he is not 'away serving the empire', the bankruptcy case in court against them can proceed. Lucius is accused of a short payment on a loan, which he denies.

In an attempt to smooth over the disagreement over whether or not Lucius paid the full amount owed, Ruso goes to visit his father's old friend Fuscus. He is supervising the steward who brought the suit. Getting a semi-positive response from Fuscus, Ruso returns home to find the steward, Severus there waiting for him.

They are working out a new agreement to avoid court, when Severus begins to twitch, complain, and vomit. He collapses and dies. His last words are "The Bitch Poisoned Me.". Ruso is alone with him in his study. He rushes off to send for the steward's family, and to find out if the steward has eaten or had anything to drink in their house. While gone, his stepmother has the maids clean the floor and strip the corpse. Ruso returns and is furious because now it looks like he is covering up something about Sevrus' death.

Ruso has always had problems with his stepmother and she doesn't listen to him. She spends beyond their means and has been treating Tilla badly.

Ruso now finds that Severus was married to his ex-wife, Claudia, and she and her father, the banker Probus, are blaming him for the death, and Fuscus has asked for investigators from the capital. Ruso has to solve the murder before the investigators from Rome arrive. They can torture witnesses they are questioning.

Another thread that seems to be part of the murder is the sinking of a trading vessel that was sponsored by both Probus and Severus. Probus had his steward, Justinius, on the ship to supervise. He died and his sister Cassiana is married to Lucius and determined to find the truth of what happened to the ship.

Cass and Tilla sneak off the question people about the incident after Tilla finds someone who can give her information. She and one of the servants are attending a private meeting of Christians when she hears the news. Tilla also finds a man who can take her to the port town. Cass unexpectedly joins her on the journey at the last minute.

Tilla is happy to be away from Ruso's stepmother who is also trying to fix Ruso up with a rich widow who is their neighbor. She thinks the woman's money will solve their financial woes.

The book goes on to show the family lives of various characters, including the demands of Ruso's sisters who want dowries so they can marry while still young. Cass and Lucius have 5 small children and they romp through the story, since no one can control them. We meet Claudius' ex wife, and get glimpses of her new life, and what Severus' death means to her status.

Ruso is investigating the death, dealing with the various family crises and also takes a job with the local gladiator company. There are big games coming up and they will need a Medicus, with combat-wound experience.

The characters are mostly fun, though a bit cliched, and the story is interesting if a bit too full of positive situations to move the plot along. It is not what I would call meaty, but also not empty fluff. I enjoyed it and cared about the characters. The setting is done well, and Tilla and her forthright outlook is a gem. ( )

I loved this! It's the third in a series. I haven't read the first two, but can easily read as a stand-alone mystery - except that now I definitely want to go back and read the first two.

The main characters are Ruso, a Roman army physician posted in Britain, and Tilla, his British mistress, a woman from a tribe of the Brigantae whom he has rescued (in an earlier book) from slavery to an abusive master. He may have rescued her, but she's no pushover, and two more different cultural backgrounds can scarcely be imagined. Still, they get along pretty well, all things considered. Then an urgent missive arrives for Ruso, calling him home to Gaul. He brings Tilla along and discovers the family estate is in a terrible mess. No one is glad to see him, and his family (along with everyone else in town) snubs Tilla as a barbarian. Pretty soon, a man drops dead of poison, and Ruso becomes the chief suspect.

Downie's research is excellent, and she brings the setting vividly to life. The mystery is puzzling and ingenious. But the best part of this novel is the humor.

More at www.HistoricalNovels.info.

When I first learned I was receiving this book through the LIbraryThing Early Reviewers program, I rushed out to read the previous two books in the series.

Persona Non Grata is a continuation of the story of a medicus in the Roman army, Gaius Petreius Russo, who is on a leave from his post in Britain and returns to his family Gaul just in time to help solve a murder. The action in the story is fast-paced and keeps you guessing thoughout with many unexpected plot twists. I found the book to be entertaining and engaging and a quick read. Perfect for summertime or for anyone who loves reading mystery novels set in the ancient world. ( )

Good murder mystery set in the late Roman Empire. 3rd of a series, I haven't read the other two but I don't think you have to. Short chapters with hooks at the end of each to keep you going. Would definitely recommend. ( )

Persona Non Grata is an excellent mystery set in early Rome. An enthralling read with a plot that just keeps you turning the pages! Fans of Steven Saylor's "Roma sub Rosa" series are sure to find this an entertaining read, as will anyone with an interest in the Roman era, or those who just enjoy a good character-driven story. ( )

I was fortunate enough to receive this book from the early reviewers program. I found the book quite enjoyable and entertaining. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did not find the plot so predictable. However, I think Ms. Downie's best writing attribute is her interesting characters.

The story has our protagonist, Ruso, going home to Gaul to take care of his family situation. How he deals with his extremely disfunctional family and their situation is guite humorous. His interaction with his signifigant other, Tilla, is also quite entertaining.

While the story is not jam packed with historical detail, in my opinion there is enough to give us some insight in to Roman life at the time. I (unlike other reviewers) particularly enjoyed the discussion of early Christianity, largely through the eyes of the "barbarian" Tilla, who provided some naive and interesting observations.

In sum, I would recommend this book. I have read her other Medicus books and find this one as good as, if not better, than the first two. Thanks for the book LT.

Bob in Chicago ( )

Ruso grows on you. Like I mentioned in the Medicus review he is an unlikely protagonist, but thoroughly enjoyable. Called home to find that his life is really spinning out of control. Beset by forces from every end. And then of course there was a body at the beginning again. Well a death anyway.

A death that does not really impact on things to mid way through the tale as Ruso has so much on his plate including finding why he was called home since no one wants to fess up. This leaves us wondering was that body important. Yes and no.

It leads us to wonder are these mysteries? Or does our hero always have bad days. That seems to really be the theme of these books. Ruso's charm is that he is in a foreign world to us, that of Rome at the height of empire, where he is just a low citizen who ends up with the world twisting around him and thrown into far more than any one man should have to deal with.

So all that makes this series very good. But then we have the downfall. Sure Christianity was coming into play. But it is introduced so gratuitously, and then our Heroine, the slave turned girlfriend, adopts it that it is irrelevant. There are scenes which should just not have been written and we had to suffer reading.

What could have been a better read, and even a repeated read is let down by some proselytizing. I don't want to sound anti-western since I am western, but the author needed to be deft and subtle. Instead she clobbered us over the head. Hopefully this habit will disappear in later books. ( )

I received this book through the Early Reviewers program, and at first I was somewhat dismayed to discover that it's the third in a series (following Medicus and Terra Incognita). However, Ruth Downie introduces the characters and their backgrounds so skillfully that I was never confused, nor did I feel like the author was "info-dumping."

The main characters of Persona Non Grata are Gaius Petreius Ruso, a doctor with the Roman legions in Britain, and his lover Tilla, a British woman. The book begins with Ruso breaking his foot in a somewhat embarrassing accident; shortly thereafter, he receives a letter from his brother, who manages the family estate in Gaul, asking him to come home immediately. Ruso wangles medical leave and sets off with Tilla, but his homecoming is anything but pleasant. The estate is at risk of being seized to pay off debts, the family is in chaos and unwelcoming to Ruso's "barbarian" friend, and Ruso's brother, not at all happy to see him, denies having sent the letter. And then the family's major creditor dies suddenly, leaving Ruso and his family under suspicion of murder.

Persona Non Grata isn't the most tightly constructed mystery I've ever read, and I was frustrated by some loose ends. But Ruso and Tilla are such engaging characters that they carried the book when the plot didn't; since I'm more interested in good characters than in puzzles, this worked quite well for me. The secondary characters didn't come to life as vividly, with many of the women in particular feeling two-dimensional and somewhat stereotyped. Even then, however, Downie occasionally offered unexpected moments of insight; Ruso's flighty, spendthrift stepmother Arria, for example, turns out to be less silly and more sympathetic than she seems.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Persona Non Grata and I plan to seek out the earlier books in the series. ( )

The mystery plot itself was put together well enough, but this book does not have the depth to its historical roots that I prefer. So there are some scenes at a gladitorial event, and there are some secret Christians, but I had the feeling that the same murder mystery could have occurred in any time or place and only the professions of one or two minor characters would need to be changed (having next to no influence on even minor side plots as a result). Those who are happy with historical-lite mysteries should enjoy it; those who are primarily interested in the Roman Empire should choose something else. ( )

As a long-time if amateur student of the time in which this historical mystery is set, I approached it with considerable skepticism. I was happily surprised. The book is tightly and well written, a good story well told. Better, Ms. Downie shows a secure grasp of what we know about the time and place she describes (basically, what is now Provence, in the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, 117-138 A.D.) She makes this knowledge an integral part of her entire story, with fascinating results.

Any historical novel is bound to be anachronistic to some degree. We can’t really know what effect the conditions of a very different time and place would have had on human nature as we experience it in our own time. The interest lies in imagining the human reactions and thoughts of people operating in under conditions that are not part of modern experience.. In this case, the striking features of the time must have included the worsening plight of the free citizen landowner of the Empire, as the economy of serfdom slowly developed, and the gradual change in moral and social outlook that must have accompanied the growth of Christianity, well before the new religion became that of the Roman establishment. These two processes are the subjects of innumerable monographs and scholarly articles. In Persona Non Grata, we have an intelligent and informed author’s attempt to show through fiction how these trends would have affected the lives and molded the outlook of ordinary people, long before either trend had reached its culmination in the Middle Ages.

The “murder mystery” genre should mix well with the historical novel. Much of the charm of the detective story lies in the reader’s introduction to a different world in some sense or another, whether it be the English country-house or the mean streets of an American crime novel. Unfortunately, the historical detective story often seems to be merely a matter of a dress-up party for the usual modern characters. Ms. Downie has done more. She is a writer for whom the setting of the story is not just costuming, so to speak.

This story of an on-leave medical officer in the imperial Roman Army, as he deals with fractious relatives and dangerous local powers back home, should please a variety of readers. Those who simply enjoy a well-plotted mystery story should like it. Those whose historical interest is in the Late Antique period are likely to enjoy it. Those who combine the two interests should go out and buy it now.
,

I received this book as part of the Early Reviews program and am currently reading it. So far it is an enjoyable read with a certain sense of humor woven into the fabric of the story. More when I get through it...
Persona Non Grata is a cross between "A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and Lindsey Davis' Marcus Didius Falco mysteries. Set in Gaul around 400 AD, it is the story of a medicus (doctor) of the 20th Legion in Britannia being summoned home to deal with a family crisis, only to end up as a suspect in a murder. The antics of the various players is at times witty, and it is easy feel the frustration of the main character as he moves through the various problems thrown in his way, from a step-mother who hasn't a clue to a sister who is in love with a gladiator. While the story could have taken place anywhere, the plot and its various subplots are well woven together. The author provides a look into Roman society while not beating the reader over the head with her knowledge the historical setting. The only quibble I have with the book is that there really isn't much suspense. The plot unfolds in a fairly predictable fashion. I figured out most of the plot twists almost before they happened. That said, it was a fun read and will appeal to those who like humor amidst the blood and mayhem. ( )

What a great book- a lot of fun. Murder mystery set in Roman Gaul; quite clever and well-written. I was a Classics major in college, and I thought the author did a great job trying to recreate the time and place, though she sometimes makes ancient attitudes seem a little more modern than they were- but she is right that the ancients were not totally incomprehensible to us. I love it when people do something to make the ancient world tangible and interesting, so kudos to her. ( )