The Saint's Day Deaths
(2000)(A book in the Getorius and Arcadia Mystery series)
A novel by Albert Noyer
Murder, Mystery and Mayhem on the Ancient Rhine
A.D. 406, the Roman province of Germania Prima: on the Rhine River near the town of Mogontium, three barbarian tribes wait for the river barrier to freeze over and become a footpath to invading the province and Gaul. After a worker setting a cross on a former temple to Jupiter is killed by lightning, superstitious citizens consider this the god's revenge. Pagan factions in town seek to exploit the fear and restore ancient worship. A plot develops to form a rebel province, New Gothia,; Gaisios, a Vandal chieftain, is enlisted as a conspirator. A series of deaths soon reveal a sinister pattern: victims die on their patron saint's feast day and in the same gruesome manner by which their namesakes were martyred.
On December 31 Vandals surge cross the frozen Rhine and attack Mogontium. narrowly thrown back, they remain in the area to confiscate villas and land. As the deaths continue, by April citizens panic at governor Albanus's inability to find those responsible. Conspirators are encouraged by the mayhem, which triggers near riots and makes acceptance of New Gothia more feasible. Treverius and Blandina, with Christian presbyter Modestus, scan names on tax rolls and struggle to discover why the murders occur, how to protect potential victims, and who might be next to die. When Flavius Stilicho, Roman Army Commander, arrives to inspect defenses, he survives an assassination attempt in the theater, but cannot offer help from Emperor Honorius at Ravenna. On August 1, an ancient Celtic harvest festival, and Blandina's feast day, Treverius rises early to practices javelin throws with his friend, David, for games later in the afternoon. With legion surgeon, Nicias, they determine that Blandina has been lured to the theater. Rushing to the stage area, the men confront a tableau of unimaginable horror that involves the conspirators, actors, and Blandina -- and which forms a climax to this gripping mystery.
Genre: Historical
A.D. 406, the Roman province of Germania Prima: on the Rhine River near the town of Mogontium, three barbarian tribes wait for the river barrier to freeze over and become a footpath to invading the province and Gaul. After a worker setting a cross on a former temple to Jupiter is killed by lightning, superstitious citizens consider this the god's revenge. Pagan factions in town seek to exploit the fear and restore ancient worship. A plot develops to form a rebel province, New Gothia,; Gaisios, a Vandal chieftain, is enlisted as a conspirator. A series of deaths soon reveal a sinister pattern: victims die on their patron saint's feast day and in the same gruesome manner by which their namesakes were martyred.
On December 31 Vandals surge cross the frozen Rhine and attack Mogontium. narrowly thrown back, they remain in the area to confiscate villas and land. As the deaths continue, by April citizens panic at governor Albanus's inability to find those responsible. Conspirators are encouraged by the mayhem, which triggers near riots and makes acceptance of New Gothia more feasible. Treverius and Blandina, with Christian presbyter Modestus, scan names on tax rolls and struggle to discover why the murders occur, how to protect potential victims, and who might be next to die. When Flavius Stilicho, Roman Army Commander, arrives to inspect defenses, he survives an assassination attempt in the theater, but cannot offer help from Emperor Honorius at Ravenna. On August 1, an ancient Celtic harvest festival, and Blandina's feast day, Treverius rises early to practices javelin throws with his friend, David, for games later in the afternoon. With legion surgeon, Nicias, they determine that Blandina has been lured to the theater. Rushing to the stage area, the men confront a tableau of unimaginable horror that involves the conspirators, actors, and Blandina -- and which forms a climax to this gripping mystery.
Genre: Historical
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Used availability for Albert Noyer's The Saint's Day Deaths