The Throne of Caesar

Starred review from November 27, 2017
Can a murder whose killers’ identities and motives are known in advance provide the basis for a gripping whodunit? Saylor answers that question with a definitive yes in his thrilling and moving 16th novel featuring Gordianus the Finder (after 2015’s Wrath of the Furies). From the opening pages, set just days before the infamous Ides of March of 44 BCE, the impending assassination of Julius Caesar looms over the action, even as Gordianus is asked by Cicero and the dictator himself to ascertain whether a soothsayer’s warning of peril has any basis in fact. Caesar’s decision to make Gordianus a senator on the Ides gives the investigator a pretext to spend time with the most powerful Romans, including Marc Antony, Brutus, and Cassius, but his inquiries bear little fruit. As the clock ticks down, Saylor keeps the reader guessing as to how he will devise an actual mystery to resolve after Caesar’s assassination. In doing so, he further deepens his main characters in ways that will reward series fans. Agent: Alan Nevins, Renaissance Literary and Talent.