Medicus [Paperback]

Historical mysteries are a popular subgenre and rightly so. Readers are introduced to interesting places and times while they wrangle with solving the puzzle that the author has placed before them. Numberless authors have tried their hands at the game but few really succeed.

There seem to be two basic approaches: either attempt to create a world that is exotic and alien or make a distant historical period seem modern. Writers like Paul Doherty and C.J. Sansom opt for the former route and populate their pages with strange customs, offensive smells and formal pseudo-historical speech patterns -- "God's wounds! What do you here, mistress goodwife?", etc. Lindsey Davis takes the latter approach in her series centering on a Roman public informer: the hero is a wise-cracking investigator who would not be out of place in Los Angeles or New York. Ruth Downie is also of this ilk and we soon feel at home on the fringes of the 2nd-century Roman empire.

Her hero Ruso, a surgeon with the Roman army occupying Britain, is not terribly quick with his wit or his sword; he is rather a lovable loser. He is in debt, maladroit in his relations with his superiors and plagued by writer's block -- he will never finish his masterpiece on military medicine. But he does have a good heart and his essentially kind nature gets him into trouble with murderous thugs, corrupt officials, unreliable room-mates and a beautiful slave. I very much enjoyed "Medicus" and am glad to see that there are successors to Ruso's adventures.

Medicus is a mystery taking place in Ancient Rome (to be specific, Britannia). It features Gaius Petreius Ruso, a doctor working at the army hospital. He's i Britannia for a reason; to run away from several personal issues and to fix some (ie; family debt). Throughout the novel he's constantly plagued with a lot of misfortune and a lot of bad luck. He just happens to be at the wrong places at the wrong times. Ruso comes across and unwillingly takes a slave named Tilla who has her own plans up her sleeve (which I won't reveal, read the book!). Overall, there's been two women who were murdered and Ruso reluctantly takes the case even though he didn't want to be involved but since no one seems very interested in two dead dancing girls, someone's got to do it right?

I like Ruso. Mostly because I find his misfortunes really funny and the way it's written it's as if he has a dark cloud hanging over his head for most of his days. There's comedy mixed into this mystery so it's not a heavy historical fiction. I would call it "lite" not in a negative sense, but rather, although the history is there, it's not so involved like in some historical mysteries I've read where there's heavy plotting, a lot of politics, and a lot of intrigue. Which is why Medicus makes for a good "lite" history read. I especially like the inner thoughts that run through Ruso's head. Throughout the novel, he says little tidbits in his inner voice that makes you want to snicker and laugh.

He also has his friend Valens who is sort of like his sidekick/dumb friend which also adds to the comedy factor. If you place both of them together in a mouse infested dirty dwelling, you get "The Odd Couple" in Ancient Rome. It's a great laugh and a great read.
Overall the characters are all right and agreeable. Except of course, the murderer but even then you don't really feel a strong hate for the character.

My only criticism is, somewhere in between it does tend to slow down a bit. It could have been slightly shorter but perhaps extra plot and story was needed to tie all the strings together. I will be getting the second one in this series as I have enjoyed the first one. It's a good light read after a heavy epic.

I correctly guessed the villian on first appearance, so I can't call it a good mystery.

Doctors Russo ("the grumpy one") and Valens ("the handsome one") bear some resemblance to Hawkeye and Trapper John (their situations and housing accomodations are certainly comparable) and the hospital administrator is a bit of a cross between Frank Burns and Major Winchester, and Marula is almost as cheeky a bar manager as Rosie was; but there is only a vague resemblance to the characters of the television series M*A*S*H*. Both groups of doctors are sweating and freezing it out in a country their country is occupying - a country very different and "uncivilized" compared to home, and that seems to be the strongest connection I can make to the blurb touting the resemblance.
Tilla is a determined girl who can take care of herself - even with a broken arm - because she must. She wants to die, but for some reason she can't fathom, her goddess keeps putting rescuers (such as Russo), captors (such as Roman patrols) and people in distress she must help(such as a friend about to give birth) in her way.
I felt interested in these three characters; but I did not feel much drive in the plot. When Tilla escapes, Russo is concerned, but does not make much push to find her. He doesn't make much push to find out why his bed caught fire or why Tilla thinks another near fatal accident was no accident. He seems to avoid thinking about that mystery or the one about the dead brothel girls until nearly the end of the book, when Tilla might become the next victim and he wakes up and starts to do something - and even then Tilla ... well, you'll find out when you read the book. And there was no surgical details.
Lindsay Davis's Falco stories have much more punch and a much more pro-active protagonist. Like Russo, he's ground down by his demanding relatives; but he seems to shrug, say "That's life." and enjoy the scenery.
A nice summer read from the public library; but it does need more oomph to be a keeper.