In 2003 on the Costa del Sol a teenage girl was found dead having gone missing on the night of her local fiesta. Her murder bore remarkable similarities to the murder of another teenage girl nearby four years previously, for which a lesbian woman named Dolores Vazquez had been sentenced to 15 years following one of Spain's most controversial trials. As the Spanish police slowly groped towards an awful new possibility, the resulting picture sent shivers through the Spanish people. The picture that has emerged is of a serial killer on their hands who held a history they could never have guessed at from his passport. This is a story that reaches shockingly close to home, closer than you may wish; a story of one nation's collective sexual paranoia and another's dark secrets; and a story to make anyone think twice before setting out by foot on a dark night on the Costa. Including exclusive interviews with all those involved, this is essential true crime reading.

“James’s writing dazzles with its poetic brevity . . . in between the mordant hilarity and the splendid, read-aloud quotes lies a modern morality play of epic scope.”—Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly on The Venus Throw "Engrossing ... Simmering with eroticism ... An absorbing brew of Rome's decay."
Ruth Rendell in The Sunday Times "Saylor's scholarship is breathtaking and his writing enthrals."
Sunday Times on A Murder on the Appian Way "How wonderful, to have a scholar write about ancient Rome; how comforting, to feel instant confidence in the historical accuracy of a novel."
The Poisoned Pen on Catilina's Riddle "I can't say enough good things about Saylor's style, scholarship or his mastery of the period."

Wonderfully entertaining mystery stories set in the world of the acclaimed ROMA SUB ROSA series.

It is the Rome of the Late Republic, and Gordianus the Finder has a knack for finding trouble - and dead bodies. Known to many as the one man in the ancient world who can both keep a secret and uncover one, Gordianus lays bare some of his most intriguing adventures in this new volume in Steven Saylor's highly acclaimed mystery series.
In 'Little Caesar and the Pirates', Gordianus must act as a go-between for kidnappers, but he begins to wonder who is really being held hostage; in 'The Alexandrian Cat', a mischievous girl and a tell-tale sneeze reveal an ingenious plot of murder and thievery; and in 'The House of the Vestals', blackmail goes horribly wrong and there is no one to take the blame. The result is an engrossing collection of finely wrought mystery tales with all the suspense and craft that are the trademark of Saylor's work.

Steven Saylor's fascination with Ancient Rome began in childhood. A history graduate and former newspaper and magazine editor, he has now completed five novels featuring Gordianus the Finder. He lives in Berkeley, California.