Mysteries set in the Ancient World

MYSTERIES OF THE ANCIENTS
by Paul Doherty

No author ranges more widely across the ancient world than the prolific Paul Doherty. From Egypt to Byzantium, in fiction and nonfiction, Doherty delves into the mysteries of the distant past.

•••••Novels
Egypt: Doherty’s novels set in ancient Egypt feature the female Pharaoh Hatusu, including The Mask of Ra, The Horus Killings, The Anubis Slayings, The Slayers of Seth, The Assassins of Isis, and The Poisoner of Ptah. Mahu, Akenhaten’s chief of police, solves crimes in An Evil Spirit Out of the West, The Season of the Hyaena, and The Year of the Cobra. Greece: Under the pen name Anna Apostolou, Doherty put Alexander the Great at the center of a mystery in A Murder in Macedon and its sequel, A Murder in Thebes; another Alexander series continues with The House of Death and The Godless Man, and The Gates of Hell. Rome: Domina takes on Agrippina, the murderous mother of Nero. Byzantium: Murder Imperial unravels intrigues in the court of Constantine the Great.

•••••Nonfiction
The Death of Alexander the Great re-examines on of history’s most tantalizing puzzles: what — or who — really killed the young conqueror of the known world? The Mysterious Death of Tutankhamun: Re-Opening the Case of Egypt’s Boy-King looks at the untimely demise of the most famous of the Pharaohs.

	MAMMOTH BOOK OF EGYPTIAN WHODUNNITS ed. by Mike Ashley 500 pages of puzzlers by Elizabeth Peters, Lynda Robinson, Lauren Haney, Paul Doherty, Michael Pearce & many more.		DOG-HEADED DEATH by Ray Faraday Nelson A murder in Alexandria calls for clever sleuthing by centurion Gaius Hesperian of the emperor Nero’s palace guards.
	CITY OF THE HORIZON by Anton Gill The first Huy the Scribe mystery of Ancient Egypt, followed by City of Dreams and City of the Dead.		DAY OF THE FALSE KING by Brad Geagley Semerket, Egypt’s clerk of investigations and secrets, goes on a mission to Babylon. A sequel to Year of the Hyenas.

	THE LIEUTENANT BAK SERIES by Lauren Haney follows the crime-solving exploits of the brilliant head of the Medjay police in the ancient Egypt of the female Pharaoh Hatshetsup. The series, in order: The Right Hand of Amon • A Face Turned Backward • A Vile Justice • A Curse of Silence • A Place of Darkness • A Cruel Deceit • Flesh of the God • A Path of Shadows
	THE LORD MEREN SERIES by Lynda S. Robinson follows the sleuthing career of Lord Meren, Eyes and Ears of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, as he negotiates the treacherous palace intrigues of ancient Egypt. The series, in order: Murder in the Place of Anubis • Murder at the God’s Gate • Murder at the Feast of Rejoicing • Eater of Souls • Drinker of Blood • Slayer of Gods • Of related interest: The Egyptian by Mika Waltari, with a foreward by Lynda S. Robinson

	THE BLOOD OF CAESAR by Albert A. Bell, Jr. Pliny the Younger (as sleuth) and the historian Tacitus (as his Watson) encounter murder in the emperor Domitian’s palace. A sequel to All Roads Lead to Murder. Also by Bell: Daughter of Lazarus.		THE FIRE WALKER by Ben Pastor In the age of Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, imperial historian Aelius Spartianus investigates the murder of a man resurrected from the dead. A sequel to The Water Thief.
	TERRA INCOGNITA by Ruth Downie A physician solves crimes in Roman Britain. “Places Downie alongside such established masters of the Roman historical as Steven Saylor and Rosemary Rowe.” (PW) A sequel to Medicus.		THIS BREATHING WORLD by José Luis de Juan A Harvard student and a scribe of ancient Rome recount parallel tales of sex and murder. “Past, present and future coalesce in a mask of perfect unity ... beautifully written.” El Pais
	THE SON OF HEAVEN by Philip Boast In the age of Nero, Septimus Severus Quistus, solver of crimes, helps a young emperor return to distant China. Murder ensues. A sequel to The Third Princess.		NEFERTITI: The Book of the Dead by Nick Drake When the queen goes missing on the eve of a festival, Pharaoh Akhenaten orders a young investigator to find her — or face death. Shortlisted for the 2006 Ellis Peters Award.
	BOUDICA AND THE LOST ROMAN by Mike Ripley A reluctant Roman spy finds himself on the wrong side when Boudica and the Iceni go on the warpath. By the author of The Legend of Hereward.		THE DETECTIVE AS HISTORIAN: History & Art in Historical Crime Fiction 25 essays include Terrance Lewis’s “John Maddox Roberts & Steven Saylor: Detecting in the Final Decades of the Roman Republic.”
	MAMMOTH BOOK OF ROMAN WHODUNNITS Blockbuster collection includes an introduction by Steven Saylor, “The Long Reach of Rome.”		MAMMOTH BOOK OF NEW HISTORICAL WHODUNITS Thirty new crime stories by favorite authors about Herodotus, Attila the Hun, the Queen of Sheba, and many more.
	THE TOWER by Valerio Massimo Manfredi A lost city in the desert holds a terrifying secret for all mankind; filmed as Tower of the Firstborn. To see Manfredi’s novels set in the ancient world, click here.		THE ORACLE by Valerio Massimo Manfredi Macabre murders in modern Greece are linked to a legendary hero of the Trojan War — a mystery man over 3000 years old. Click here to see Manfredi’s novels set in the ancient world.
	MURDER, ANCIENT & MODERN by Edward Marston Short stories by the Edgar nominee begin with the tale of Iddo the Samaritan, who finds a severed head in a barrel of fish...		MURDER THROUGH THE AGES ed. by Maxim Jakubowski 25 tales include ancient world stories by Lindsey Davis, Marilyn Todd, Amy Myers, Peter Tremayne, and Manda Scott.
	THE MOSAIC OF SHADOWS by Tom Harper There’s murder and intrigue in Byzantium, as Demetrios Askiates, unveiler of mysteries, seeks the would-be assassin of the emperor.		CHAMPION OF THE DEAD by Patrick Hatten When Athens’ finest boxer drops dead during a match with the brutish “Bull of Corinth,” his protégé Idas must uncover the identity and motives of the poisoner.

	BLIND EYE by Marilyn Todd begins a new series set in Ancient Greece. Blackmailed into spying for Sparta’s hated secret police, high priestess Iliona investigates tales of a one-eyed giant. But soon Iliona realizes that the threat to her country doesn’t come from the so-called Cyclops, or arch-enemy Athens, but from within Sparta itself. Todd’s previous novels in the “I, Claudia” series include Dream Boat, Dark Horse, Stone Cold, Sour Grapes, and Scorpion Rising.
	The SPQR Series by John Maddox Roberts features crime-solver Decius Caecilius Metellus. The series, in order: The King’s Gambit, The Catiline Conspiracy, The Sacrilege, Temple of the Muses, Saturnalia, Nobody Loves a Centurion, The Tribune’s Curse, The River God’s Vengenace, The Princess & the Pirates, A Point of Law and Under Vesuvius • By the same author: The Seven Hills, a novel of alternate history.
	THE LIBERTUS MYSTERIES by Rosemary Rowe The crime-solving exploits of Libertus, a freedman and mosaic-maker in second-century Britain, begin in The Germanicus Mosaic and continue in A Pattern of Blood, Murder in the Forum, The Chariots of Calyx, The Legatus Mystery, The Ghosts of Glevum, Enemies of the Empire, A Roman Ransom, and A Coin for the Ferryman.
	GET OUT OR DIE THE AURELIA MARCELLA MYSTERIES By Jane Finnis are set in Roman Britain and include Get Out or Die, A Bitter Chill, and Buried Too Deep.
	MYSTERIES IN RAVENNA by Albert Noyer The surgeon Getorius Asterius and his wife Arcadia investigate crime in the 5th-century Byzantine empire. In The Secundus Papyrus, the discovery of a document purported to be the Last Will and Testament of Jesus wreaks havoc. The Cybeline Conspiracy spins a tale of smuggling, coded messages, secret tunnels, murder, and the eunuch priests of Cybele. Also by Noyer: The Saint’s Day Deaths.
	THE MARCUS CORVINUS MYSTERIES by David Wishart • Patrician sleuth Marcus Corvinus navigates the treacherous political currents of the Augustan court in relentless pursuit of the truth. The series includes Ovid, Germanicus, Old Bones, Last Rites, The Lydian Baker, White Murder, A Vote for Murder, Parthian Shot, Food for the Fishes, In at the Death and Illegally Dead.
	JOHN THE EUNUCH MYSTERIES by Mary Reed & Eric Mayer Set in the intrigue-riddled Byzantium of Justinian and Theodora, with the eunuch John, Lord Chamberlain, as sleuth. The series: One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, Three for a Letter, and Four for a Boy, Five for Silver, Six for Gold, and Seven for a Secret.

	THE ATHENIAN MURDERS by Jose Carlos Somoza A text recounting murder at Plato’s Academy plays tricks with a translator’s mind. CWA Gold Dagger winner.		THE EYE OF CYBELE by Daniel Chavarria Edgar-winner Chavarria ventures to the age of Pericles with a novel that’s equal parts whodunnit, historical epic, highbrow erotica and philosophical discourse.
	MURDER AT THE PANIONIC GAMES by Michael B. Edwards When Priene hosts the Greek games in 650 B.C., the city’s best athlete is poisoned. Bias the priest takes on the task of finding the killer.		THE TRIBUNE by Patrick Larkin Sent to quell a war in Galilee, tribune Lucius Aurelius encounters intrigue and murder in King Herod’s court. “Ambitious and well plotted” (Publishers Weekly)
	DEATH COMES AS THE END by Agatha Christie In ancient Egypt, a rich man’s house is stalked by a restless ghost; the only historical novel by the Queen of Crime. Introduction by Steven Saylor		THE LABORS OF HERCULES by Agatha Christie A cross-over curiosity, as Hercule Poirot takes on 12 cases that parallel the Labors of Greek myth. An entertaining bow to the Classics by the Queen of Crime Fiction.