A murder on the Appian Way
By: Steven Saylor.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 304
Subjects: Milo, Titus Annius, d. 48 B.C. -- Trials, litigation, etc. -- Fiction; Clodius, Publius, ca. 93-52 B.C. -- Assassination -- Fiction; Gordianus the Finder (Fictitious character) -- Fiction; Private investigators -- Rome -- Fiction; Rome -- History -- 53-44 B.C. -- Fiction
Description: Rome is in a state of turmoil as the rival gangs of Publius Clodius, a high-born, populist politician, and his archenemy Titus Milo fight to control the consular elections. When Clodius is murdered on the famed Appian Way and Milo is accused of the crime, the city explodes with riots and arson. Even the sacrosanct Senate House is burned to the ground.

As accusations and rumors fly, Gordianus the Finder - whose famed investigative skills and integrity have made him much sought after by all sides in the escalating conflict - is charged by Pompey the Great with discovering what really happened on the Appian Way on 18 January 52 B.C. What were the circumstances of Clodius's death? Who is responsible? And should his murderer be despised as a villain or hailed as a savior of the Republic?

As Cicero fights to save Milo, and the Clodians to destroy him, the answers become ever more vital and ever more obscured. While the city descends into chaos, Pompey and his rival Julius Caesar watch from a distance, and plot their own ambitions.