Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries Series by Ashley Gardner, Jennifer Ashley

Leonidas, freedman, once the most popular gladiator in Rome and champion of the games, now must fight for his life outside the arena. A man who owed him money was murdered, and Leonidas is a prime suspect. With the assistance of Cassia, daughter of a Greek scribe who was bestowed upon him as his slave, Leonidas fights for justice in the back lanes of Imperial Rome... moreLeonidas, freedman, once the most popular gladiator in Rome and champion of the games, now must fight for his life outside the arena. A man who owed him money was murdered, and Leonidas is a prime suspect. With the assistance of Cassia, daughter of a Greek scribe who was bestowed upon him as his slave, Leonidas fights for justice in the back lanes of Imperial Rome. Cassia has no idea how to cook and clean or mend and weave, but she is very good at finding things out and writing things down, able to work through a dozen mathematical problems by the time most people can think of a sentence. Knowing both intuitively and empirically that Leonidas is innocent of the murder, she resolves to help clear him of the crime. It’s the least she can do for a man who has proved to be far less brutal than his reputation and who protects all who come within his sphere. And if Leonidas loses, he faces a short, painful future back in the amphitheater, this time without hope of survival. A novella of the Leonidas the Gladiator mysteries. (34,000 words, 11 chapters) less

Leonidas, champion gladiator of Rome, is set free from the games by a mysterious benefactor who grants him freedom, a place to live, and a servant—Cassia, a scribe—to look after him.But the benefactor is only so generous—Leonidas must pay his own way and Cassia’s, which means hiring himself out. The sharp-witted Cassia quickly lands him a post as a bodyguard, escorting a retired senator to Ostia... moreLeonidas, champion gladiator of Rome, is set free from the games by a mysterious benefactor who grants him freedom, a place to live, and a servant—Cassia, a scribe—to look after him.But the benefactor is only so generous—Leonidas must pay his own way and Cassia’s, which means hiring himself out. The sharp-witted Cassia quickly lands him a post as a bodyguard, escorting a retired senator to Ostia.The trip soon turns deadly, as Leonidas and Cassia find themselves squarely in the middle of intrigue that reaches from the slums of the Subura to the Palatine Hill and the emperor Nero himself.Book 1 of the Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries. Events in this book take place before the novella, Blood Debts. less

AD 63Leonidas’s former trainer, Aemil, asks him to look into the disappearances of gladiators from his ludus. Leonidas and Cassia investigate, and soon uncover gruesome murders involving some of the wealthiest citizens of Rome.Leonidas pits his skills against an unknown killer who hunts gladiators from the back lanes of the Subura to prestigious villas atop Rome’s hills... moreAD 63Leonidas’s former trainer, Aemil, asks him to look into the disappearances of gladiators from his ludus. Leonidas and Cassia investigate, and soon uncover gruesome murders involving some of the wealthiest citizens of Rome.Leonidas pits his skills against an unknown killer who hunts gladiators from the back lanes of the Subura to prestigious villas atop Rome’s hills. He and Cassia must succeed in uncovering the murderer’s identity before Nero grows impatient and makes Leonidas pay for the chaos the killer has rained down upon his city. less

Leonidas, a freed gladiator in Nero's Rome, is coerced into a dice game with a stranger at his local popina–who turns out to not be such a stranger after all. The man’s presence puts all around him in danger, and Leonidas struggles to keep the man's identity secret.Leonidas has no wish to be caught up in this trouble–he’s about to begin working as a builder, his ticket out of his life as a gladiator and bodyguard... moreLeonidas, a freed gladiator in Nero's Rome, is coerced into a dice game with a stranger at his local popina–who turns out to not be such a stranger after all. The man’s presence puts all around him in danger, and Leonidas struggles to keep the man's identity secret.Leonidas has no wish to be caught up in this trouble–he’s about to begin working as a builder, his ticket out of his life as a gladiator and bodyguard.But the next morning at the building site, Leonidas almost immediately stumbles across a valuable ring buried in the mud, a ring that has the potential to change the destiny of Rome.Nero commands Leonidas and Cassia to uncover everything about this ring, including who owned it and how it had come to be where it was found. They are not allowed to fail.The ring proves to be only the tip of the troubles Leonidas uncovers, with connections from the Emporium to the Esquiline, and danger that visits Leonidas and Cassia very close to home. less