Decius Caecilius Metellus is happy. The weather is beautiful and he is standing for office (literally; standing, in the Roman Forum soliciting votes) with a sure chance of winning. And Caesar's ongoing dreary war is far off in Gaul. Decius is confident that another war looming over Rome, instigated by one Crassus against the Parthians (for no reason but possible worldly gain); will be voted down in the Senate. But the vote does not stop Crassus.
On the day he and his troops set out from Rome, the Tribune Ateius Capitus, leader of the opposition, shrieks an ancient and terrible curse over the huge crowd assembled -- a curse that frightens not only the man in the street but the highest Romans. When Ateius is murdered soon after, Decius, solver of past mysteries, has the ugly task of finding the killer. Fascinating details of Rome's mixed attitudes about the power of magic and the practice of rational politics illuminate this latest of Roberts's strong historical mysteries.

• We started tracking this book on November 16, 2012.
• This book was $9.99 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 12 times in the past 4,733 days.
• The current price of this book is $2.99 last checked 7 hours ago.
• The lowest price to date was $2.99 last reached on October 31, 2025.
• This book has been $2.99 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $12.99 last reached on January 14, 2023.
• This book has been $12.99 one time since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

• Literature & FictionHistorical FictionAncient

• Publication Date: October 16, 2025
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 258 Pages
• File Size: 28 KB