The Roman Empire

9 books in series
4.5 out of 5 stars 9,273 ratings

Medicus Publisher's summary

Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on-his-luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. His arrival in Deva (more commonly known today as Chester, England) does little to improve his mood, and after a 36-hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness and rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla, from the hands of her abusive owner.

Now he has a new problem: a slave who won't talk and can't cook, and drags trouble in her wake. Before he knows it, Ruso is caught in the middle of an investigation into the deaths of prostitutes working out of the local bar.

A few years earlier, after he rescued Emperor Trajan from an earthquake in Antioch, Ruso seemed headed for glory: now he's living among heathens in a vermin-infested bachelor pad and must summon all his forensic knowledge to find a killer who may be after him next.

Who are the true barbarians, the conquered or the conquerors? It's up to Ruso (certainly the most likeable sleuth to come out of the Roman Empire) to discover the truth. With a gift for comic timing and historic detail, Ruth Downie has conjured an ancient world as raucous and real as our own.

©2007 Ruth Downie (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.
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Product List
  • Book 1

    • A Novel of the Roman Empire
    • By: Ruth Downie
    • Narrated by: Simon Vance
    • Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
    • Release date: 03-05-07
    • Language: English
    • 4 out of 5 stars 3,234 ratings

    Regular price: $18.05 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $18.05 or 1 credit

    Included in Plus membership
  • Book 2

    • A Novel of the Roman Empire
    • By: Ruth Downie
    • Narrated by: Simon Vance
    • Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
    • Release date: 04-08-08
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,357 ratings

    Regular price: $17.62 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $17.62 or 1 credit

  • Book 3

    Regular price: $17.19 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $17.19 or 1 credit

  • Book 4

    Regular price: $18.05 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $18.05 or 1 credit

  • Book 5

    • A Novel of the Roman Empire
    • By: Ruth Downie
    • Narrated by: Simon Vance
    • Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
    • Release date: 03-11-13
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 798 ratings

    Regular price: $15.47 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $15.47 or 1 credit

  • Book 6

    • Roman Empire Series, Book 6
    • By: Ruth Downie
    • Narrated by: Simon Vance
    • Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
    • Release date: 08-05-14
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 625 ratings

    Regular price: $15.47 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $15.47 or 1 credit

  • Book 7

    Regular price: $15.47 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $15.47 or 1 credit

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  • Book 8

    • Roman Empire Series, Book 8
    • By: Ruth Downie
    • Narrated by: Simon Vance
    • Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
    • Release date: 03-06-18
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 452 ratings

    Regular price: $17.62 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $17.62 or 1 credit

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  • Book 8.5

    • A Crime Novella of the Roman Empire (Roman Empire Series, Book 8.5)
    • By: Ruth Downie
    • Narrated by: Simon Vance
    • Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
    • Release date: 11-19-19
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 212 ratings

    Regular price: $11.17 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $11.17 or 1 credit