Review: Mixed Feelings
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 8, 2013
Furies is a fascinating whodunit kind of mystery set in 36 A.D. Rome. I love ancient history and wanted to love this book. In the end, I'm left with mixed feelings.The positives for me: I loved a few of the characters, particularly Sekhet, the healer/mortuary attendant. Parts of the time period stood out as well researched, such as the abject poverty and the struggle to survive. And the mystery unravels in a way that allows readers to try to solve the crimes along with the characters.The negatives: There are a lot of characters, many that come and go for brief periods. At times I found it difficult to keep up with them all, and sort out their roles in the story.The biggest downfall for me came in the dialogue and certain phrases in narration that were completely out of context for the time period. For instance, there is a lot of swearing. I have no problem with graphic language in books, providing it works for the characters and the situations. But people in 36 A.D. simply did not use our more modern curses. Each time a character shouted that word beginning with F that I'm not allowed to say here, or some other modern variation of cursing, I was jarred right out of the story. I felt like the characters were jumping time periods, their identities confused, and it sometimes frustrated me to the point I'd have to put the book down.I'm really picky about historical fiction. The details have to be right, and that didn't happen here.