By David Wishart
All the intrigue of a modern detective, but set in Ancient Rome.
And Marcus is a kind of wise guy, cracks a lot of jokes. Writer if from the UK.
"When Marcus Corvinus is summoned by the Empress Livia he fears the worst. But Livia has a favor to ask—Marcus must investigate the death of her grandson, Germanicus, which will soon embroil Marcus in a multi-stranded web of betrayal and deceit."
320 pages, very small print trade paperback
ISBN 0340825316