Normally, I lean toward Tilla, but her story fell flat to me this time around. Ruso was the standout character in this book to me. HeвЂ™s a wonderful narrator for this series. ItвЂ™s what makes him admirable and flawed.

Ruso is a privileged person and he knows this and has always done as much as he can for the others. The characters do the best they can with the world theyвЂ™re living in the dangers of the Roman period, the medicines known to them, and the average intelligence and education of the people. The characters in these books are always credible to me. Also, the reveal of the killers was just subtle enough that I didnвЂ™t get it right away and I had to re-listen to the final ten minutes before I understood what had happened. It was just enough out of step for me to enjoy the book a bit less. And TillaвЂ™s investigation took away from a lot of the character development she had commanded in recent books. Ruso being accused early on took away a lot of the joy that his character often gave. That being said, this one didnвЂ™t stand out as much as the past ones had in my mind. And Tilla is getting more and more time to narrate. ItвЂ™s one of the things I like most about these books. Meanwhile his barbarian wife, Tilla, is finding out some of the answers-and marked as a security risk by the very officers Ruso is interrogating.В With HadrianвЂ™s visit looming large, the fates of the legion, Tilla, and Ruso himself hang in the balance. Is the much- decorated Centurion Geminus preying on his weaker soldiers? And could this be related to the appearance of Emperor Hadrian?В Bound by his sense of duty and ill-advised curiosity, Ruso begins to ask questions nobody wants to hear. As mysterious injuries, and even deaths, begin to appear in the medical ledgers, itвЂ™s clear that all is not well amongst the native recruits to BritanniaвЂ™s imperial army. Persona Non Grata (Medicus Investigation #3)Д«ack at his post as a doctor in the Twentieth legion in Roman-occupied Britain, Ruso uncovers a new danger even closer to home than the neighboring barbarians. Terra Incognita (Medicus Investigation #2) Other books by Downie reviewed on this blog: Semper Fidelis (Medicus Investigation #5) by Ruth Downie

Ruth downie medicus