Rome: September, 96 AD. When the body of Sextus Verpa, a notorious senatorial informer and libertine, is found stabbed to death in his bedroom, suspicion falls on his household slaves-a potential death sentence for all.
The emperor Domitian orders Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus-known to history as Pliny the Younger-to investigate. Pliny teams up with Martial, a starving author of bawdy verses. Pooling their talents, they unravel a plot that involves Jewish and Christian "atheists," exotic Egyptian cultists, Rome's own pantheon of gods, and a missing horoscope that forecasts the emperor's death....

Bruce Macbain holds a B.A. in Classics from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught Greek and Roman history at Vanderbilt and Boston University. Roman Games is his debut novel.
www.brucemacbain.com