num_pages: 496
description: Using scholarly, historical insight, and evocative storytelling that brings to life the glories of ancient Rome, Steven Saylor takes the reader from the bloody lines of clashing Roman armies to the backrooms of the Senate floor, where power-hungry politicians wrestle the Fates for control of Rome's destiny. With the consular election drawing near, Rome is fiercely divided between the conservative Cicero and the tempestuous Catilina, whose followers are rumored to be plotting a blood-thirsty siege for power if their leader fails to win office.Gordianus the Finder, retired to his Etruscan farm, is happy to be free of the intrigue and danger of the capital, but when his old friend Cicero enlists the Finder in an elaborate plot to control Catilina, Gordianus is drawn back into a familiar world. Now caught in a cloak-and-dagger political struggle for the fate of the Republic, Gordianus finds himself strangely drawn to the controversial candidate. Is Catilina really a subversive renegade, or are Cicero suspicions part of an even greater conspiracy? When a headless corpse ominously appears on his farm, Gordianus knows he must unlock the secret of Catilina's Riddle before Rome tears herself apart.
language: English
title: Catilina's Riddle
titlecomplete: Catilina's Riddle (Roma Sub Rosa, #3)
characters: Gordianus the Finder, Marcus Tullius Tiro, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Lucius Sergius Catilina
genres: Historical Mystery, Historical, Roman, Mystery, Ancient History, Detective, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime
ratings_count: 4117
places: Rome
series: Roma Sub Rosa, Gordianus the Finder - Chronological 
awards: awardedAt: 725875200000
name: Hammett Prize, awardedAt: 757411200000
name: Dilys Award, awardedAt: 725875200000
name: Lambda Literary Award
category: Gay Men's Mystery
publisher: Minotaur Books