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The King’s Gambit

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The King’s Gambit

By: John Maddox Roberts
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

Blackmail, corruption, treachery, murder - the glory that was Rome.

In this Edgar Award-nominated mystery, John Maddox Roberts takes listeners back to a Rome filled with violence and evil. Vicious gangs ruled the streets of Crassus and Pompey, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike. So the garroting of a lowly ex-slave and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Subura district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy. But Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger, highborn commander of the local vigiles, was determined to investigate. Despite official apathy, brazen bribes, and sinister threats, Decius uncovers a world of corruption at the highest levels of his government that threatens to destroy him and the government he serves.

©2007 John Maddox Roberts (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Historical Mystery Fiction Government Rome
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I enjoyed this novel - but agree with others who say this is not the best of the series. Some of the attitudes didn't seem consistent with Roman attitudes (e.g. Decius being willing to risk his life to investigate the murder of foreigners). But, that aside, the book was a lot of fun and was full of interesting and accurate information about life in Ancient Rome - and I am keen to read more.
Unfortunately, I was not enamoured of John Lee's narration. It seemed rather stilted and affected.

Good fun and lots of great historical detail

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