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Being under suspicion of murder did not hamper my freedom. This is because Romans are civilized people and don't clap suspects into prison like barbarians do. It would take an order of a lawfully convened court even to place me under house arrest. That's Decius Caecilius Metellus speaking - Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus, please. He is at an outdoor rally in Rome where he is campaigning for election to the praetorship. It looks like a shoo-in, until a man named Fulvius, of whom Decius has show more never heard, arrives at the preelection proceedings with a small army of hoodlums and begins to shout to the assembled voters that Decius is a thief and worse. While this is not an unknown effort used to ruin a candidate's chances, it is enough to have Decius's father call a meeting of family and friends - a meeting that ends with the participants going home determined to find some answers to stop Fulvius's efforts to ruin Decius's chances.Early the next morning, however, as Decius and his friends are on their way to the trial, Fulvius's body is found slashed to death on the steps of the basilica, where the court will be sitting. And that doesn't look good for our hero.For those readers who have met Decius before, the next step is clear: the man is a brilliant detective, and he is certainly now in a position where that skill is needed. So it's doubly important for Decius, with the help of his wife, Julia, and the ex-slave Hermes, to find the solution to the most personal - and possibly most difficult - puzzle that has come his way. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger is campaigning for an election he is almost certainly expected to win when he is accused of corruption and extortion during his time on Cyprus. The next day his accuser is found murdered and since Metellus is the obvious suspect he needs to clear his name before the election.
An interesting if rather complex plot line but Metellus's narrative voice is not as humorous as in the earlier volumes.
An interesting if rather complex plot line but Metellus's narrative voice is not as humorous as in the earlier volumes.
Decius is back in Rome, and back in gear -- and this time, he has to use all his talents to save himself. He has been accused of corruption, a potentially ruinous charge, and the man who accused him has turned up dead. Set in the form of a courtroom drama, this is one of the best in the series, thick with detail on Roman life and on the Roman great in the last days of the Republic.
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64+ Works 6,073 Members
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Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A Point of Law
- Original publication date
- 2006-05-16
- People/Characters
- Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger; Julia Minor, daughter of Lucius Julius Caesar; Hermes, Decius Caecilius Metellus Hermes; Asklepiodes; Callista; Fulvia (show all 7); Octavia Minor
- Important places
- Rome, Italy
- Dedication
- For John Vancouver Jr.,
Our own Prometheus: fighter, survivor, and a great brother-in-law - First words
- Rome at election time!
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)These were the events of five days in the year 703 of the City of Rome, the consulship of Servius Sulpicius Rufus and Marcus Claudius Marcellus.
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- Popularity
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- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.03)
- Languages
- English, German, Greek
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 3
