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Ruso And The River Of Darkness (2010)

by R.S. Downie(Favorite Author)

3.89 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

014103694X (ISBN13: 9780141036946)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Penguin

series

Medicus Investigation

review 1: I have really enjoyed this series thus far. This is not the type of novel I usually read but I have enjoyed it. I do not like taking the chance that I give away plot points in my reviews so I try to stay away from discussing plot all together. This being the fourth in a series likely means that most readers have already decided to read this novel before they finished the previous book in the series so discussing plot is likely unnecessary.Put simply this series is about a reluctant detective set in middle years of the Romans occupying Britain. That reluctant detective is a medical man. So this series is more or less equal parts detective story and historical novel with a little bit of medical fiction/forensic science thrown in for added flavor.Because of the unfamilia... morer names of many of the characters and the unfamiliar place names these novels flow at a slower pace than most of the books I read. But for a historical novel that works just fine for me. As a point of reference I normally would expect a novel of is length to take me 3 or 4 nights at most to complete. This took 5 so it is not a very slow paced book but as I said it is slower than those I read most frequently. Well actually it took six but on one of those nights I did not read and all so really it was 5 nights of actual reading.The point here is that this is not a book which most people are going to want to read by the poolside, beach, or by the campfire in a single day or two. It is just not at kind of book. It is a little too slow paced for that. However if you just want to read a good bit of historical fiction at a reasonably moderate pace this would be a great choice for you as it was for me.As for the rating. I think there needs to be a way to distinguish the simply enjoyable book from the truly great novel. How can one paint say Jane Eyre with the same brush as the latest Jack Reacher? Yes they are both great novels in thier own right but they are hardly deserving of the same rating. While on the whole I think this is a very well written and well researched novel I can not, in good conscience, give this book a rating higher than 4 out of 5.
review 2: Yeah!! Ruso and Tilla are married, back in Britannia and looking forward to starting a family. Without spoiling, this desire runs in to complications. Valens, with a medical practice, is married and has 2 children but his marriage is a bit shaky. Unable to find a job as a doctor and needing to work Ruso gets involved, under duress, as an investigator and is looking in to the murder of a tax collector. Our beloved characters are back with plot twists and the humor I love. I just got the next in the series, Simper fidelis and I am looking forward to another wonderful read from Ms. Downie. less

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