Ruth Downie

BOOK ONE:

Ruso (Medicus) and the Disappearing Dancing Girls (UK)

Medicus (USA)

‘…the beginning of an addictively escapist series.’ (The Times)

‘Ruso is a wonderful character, fuelled by a dyspeptic machismo and sullen charm reminiscent of Harrison Ford in his heyday. A charming novel.’ (Kirkus, starred review)

Roman Army medic Gaius Petreius Ruso has come to Britannia to make a fresh start. Within days he finds himself landed with a female corpse that nobody else wants to deal with, and a local slave girl who won’t talk to him. He’s also fallen foul of the dreaded hospital administrator at Deva (modern-day Chester), and a senior centurion wants to strangle him. The last thing he wants to do is investigate the murders of local barmaids – and naturally, his handsome and spectacularly lazy colleague Valens is no help at all.

Things can be tough on the edge of the Empire – not only for a civilised man, but for the women he seems fated to gather around him.

To listen to Ruth discussing the book with Scott Simon of NPR, click here

BOOK TWO:

Ruso and the Demented Doctor (UK)

Terra Incognita (USA)

‘The second in Downie’s delightful series… hardback – but it’s so good it’s worth the extra cost.’ (Sue Baker’s personal choice, Publishing News.)

‘This book… is even better than the first… This is a terrific series that historical mystery fans shouldn’t miss.’ (Margaret Cannon, Toronto Globe and Mail)

‘Ruso rocks. Let’s hear it for those Romans.’ (Kirkus, starred review)

After unravelling the mysterious murders in Deva, Ruso’s hoping to settle into a quiet life and concentrate on medicine. Unfortunately he’s been persuaded to travel to the northern borders of Roman Britannia, where Tilla has old scores to settle. The building of Hadrian’s Wall is still three or four years into the future, but already trouble is brewing. And naturally, Ruso is about to find himself in the middle of it.

‘A splendid sequel … This looks like becoming a dangerously addictive series of superior historical detective stories. It has a good sinister plot, finely drawn characters – Ruso himself and his spiky relationship with Tilla are wonderful – and above all, an enthralling and historically believable background in Rome’s distant, damp northern frontier.’ (Harry Sidebottom, author of the ‘Warrior of Rome’ series)

‘…Presents an ancient medical practitioner in a far more humanly complex manner than is usual in modern historical crime fiction… The medical details are accurate, but do not intrude… Her novels demonstrate a talent for evoking second-century Britain and its denizens.’ (Times Literary Supplement)

‘Who would guess that life and death in the far reaches of the Roman empire could be so darn funny?’ (Library Journal)

‘This well-researched novel places Downie alongside such established masters of the Roman historical as Steven Saylor and Rosemary Rowe.’ (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

‘Vance captures the volatility and rawness of the era, offering rich characters and a compelling saga that never ceases to excite the imagination.’ (Publishers Weekly, reviewing Simon Vance’s reading of ‘Terra Incognita’)

The second book in the Ruso series was published in March 2008. Paperbacks appeared in the US in March 2009 and  the UK (with a new cover, see above!) in mid-April.

BOOK THREE

Persona non Grata (US publication July 2009)

and

Ruso and the Root of all Evils (UK publication spring 2010)

… in which Ruso takes Tilla home to southern Gaul, only to find that his brother in law has disappeared and his family is on the brink of bankruptcy. In the midst of the crisis, his sisters are demanding dowries and his stepmother is busy organising dinner parties to which Tilla isn’t invited. Then the family’s chief creditor winds up dead, and the real trouble begins…

‘Downie’s Roman Empire series… continues in gripping fashion. The plotting is clever and suspenseful, with subtle clues and lots of action, while the setting and supporting cast are vividly drawn. This is solid entertainment, nicely done.’  (Publishers’ Weekly)

‘This lively sequel to Medicus and Terra Incognita continues Downie’s delightful historical series. Her characters are wonderfully memorable, particularly the dry and acerbic Ruso, whose internal dialog provides some genuinely funny laugh-out-loud moments despite shipwrecks, ex-wives, gruesome gladiatorial games, unruly children, family discord, and, of course, mayhem and murder. Highly recommended.’ (Library Journal, starred review)

So why the different editions?

The short answer is, ‘different publishers in the UK and USA’.

The long answer, during which you may feel inclined to doze, begins, ‘Different publishers have different editors…’ You may drift back into consciousness occasionally to hear phrases like, ‘…felt the other one’s title wouldn’t work for their readers…’ and ‘different design departments’. You may, however, find yourself fully awake after the phrase, ’suggested that men might not pick up a book with a woman’s name on the cover.’

This last came as a surprise to me, but a very unscientific survey of opinion in a few readers’ groups suggests that it might be true. In the UK, at least. (Incidentally, the RS Downie who writes real medical textbooks is not me. Absolutely none of the medical advice in the Ruso books should be followed. Would you trust a 1900-year-old man who prescribes mouse droppings?)

A extra complication was added when the UK edition of the first book changed from ‘Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls’ to ‘Ruso and the…’ and gained a new cover between hardback and paperback.

None of this would matter except that the reach of Internet bookselling means all the versions can appear at once – especially on a site like Amazon where dealers have imports to offer – and it’s not always clear that some are the same book. We’ve tried to have an explanatory note put on each page, but it’s not ideal. There doesn’t seem to be a magic solution. To anyone who’s been inadvertently confused by this, I am extremely sorry. (Mr. Chippindale, if you ever read this, please get in touch.)