SPQR Series by John Maddox Roberts

3.98 · 106 ratings
  • The King's Gambit (SPQR #1)
    #1

    The King's Gambit (SPQR #1)

    John Maddox Roberts

    Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings · published 1990

    In this Edgar Award nominated mystery, John Maddox Roberts takes readers back to a Rome filled with violence and evil. Vicious gangs ruled the streets of Crassus and Pompey, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike. So the garroting of a lowly ex-slave and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Subura district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy... more

  • The Catiline Conspiracy (SPQR #2)
    #2

    The Catiline Conspiracy (SPQR #2)

    John Maddox Roberts

    Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings · published 1991

    It was a summer of glorious triumph for the mighty Roman Republic.Her invincible legions had brought all foreign enemies to their knees.But in Rome, there was no peace. The streets were flooded with the blood of murdered citizens and there were rumors of more atrocities to come.Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger was convinced a conspiracy existed to overthrow the government -- a sinister cabal that could only be destroyed from within... more

  • The Sacrilege (SPQR #3)
    #3

    The Sacrilege (SPQR #3)

    John Maddox Roberts

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings · published 1992

    When a sacred woman's rite in the ancient city of Rome is infiltrated by a corrupt patrician dressed in female garb, it falls to Senator Decuis Caecilius Metellus the Younger, whose investigative skills have proven indispensable in the past, to unmask the perpetrators. When four brutal slayings follow, Decius enlists the help a notorious and dangerous criminal... more

  • The Temple of the Muses (SPQR #4)
    #4

    The Temple of the Muses (SPQR #4)

    John Maddox Roberts

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings · published 1992

    When Roman junior senator Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger has a chance to join a diplomatic mission to Alexandria, he welcomes the opportunity to temporarily elude his enemies in the Eternal City-even though it means leaving his beloved Rome. Decius is just beginning to enjoy the outpost's many exotic pleasures when the suspicious death of an irascible philosopher occurs, coinciding with the puzzling and apocalyptic ravings of a charismatic cult leader... more

  • Saturnalia (SPQR #5)
    #5

    Saturnalia (SPQR #5)

    John Maddox Roberts

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings · published 1994

    Although not everyone can define 'Saturnalia' precisely, for almost everyone the Roman holiday conjures a picture of wild abandon- celebrations where all bets are off and everyone does-or tries to do-exactly what he or she wants. (And you can often guess correctly what that is likely to be... more

  • The River God's Vengeance (SPQR #8)
    #8

    The River God's Vengeance (SPQR #8)

    John Maddox Roberts

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings · published 1997

    He would rise up as savior of the State, but Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger already has a lot on his mind. In the year of his aedileship, Decius is expected to stage elaborate and expensive games out of his own pocket. Along with his duties of pleasing the crowds with the feats of gladiators and wild beasts, are the more practical, and commonly neglected, ones of maintaining the city and its laws... more

  • The Princess and the Pirates (SPQR #9)
    #9

    The Princess and the Pirates (SPQR #9)

    John Maddox Roberts

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings · published 2000

    His two years of aedileship over, Decius is ready for his next adventure. He would rather do anything than join the war with Caesar, so he and Hermes find themselves on a mission to rid the Mediterranean of pirates. They set off with shoddy ships and sailors to the island of Cyprus, where a young Cleopatra is staying... more

  • A Point of Law (SPQR #10)
    #10

    A Point of Law (SPQR #10)

    John Maddox Roberts

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings · published 2001

    Decius Caecilius Metellus is moving up in the world. He's won some money and glory fighting pirates in the Mediterranean and expects a speedy election to the office of praetor.That all changes when a man he's never seen before publicly accuses him of corruption. Decius and his powerful family of Rome's leading politicians scramble to prepare a defense... more

  • Oracle of the Dead (SPQR #12)
    #12

    Oracle of the Dead (SPQR #12)

    John Maddox Roberts

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings · published 2005

    Decius Caecilius Metellus, this year's magistrate for cases involving foreigners, is living the good life in southern Italy, happy to be away from Rome, a city suffering war jitters over Caesar's impending actions. He thinks he is merely visiting one of the local sights when he takes a party to visit the Oracle of the Dead, a pre-Roman cult site located at the end of a tunnel dug beneath a temple of Apollo... more

  • The Year of Confusion (SPQR #13)
    #13

    The Year of Confusion (SPQR #13)

    John Maddox Roberts

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings · published 2010

    Gaius Julius Caesar, now Dictator of Rome, has decided to revise the Roman calendar, which has become out of sync with the seasons. As if this weren’t already an unpopular move, Caesar has brought in astronomers and astrologers from abroad, including Egyptians, Greeks, Indians and Persians. Decius is appointed to oversee this project, which he knows rankles the Roman public: “To be told by a pack of Chaldeans and Egyptians how to conduct their duties towards the gods was intolerable... more

Find similar series to SPQR  ❯