Turning The Pages

Summary:

First in the Claudia Seferius mystery series, set in 13 B. C. and available for the first time in ebook format!

Claudia Seferius has successfully flattered her way into marriage with a wealthy Roman wine merchant. But when her secret gambling debts spiral, she hits on another resourceful way to make money - offering her “personal services” to high-ranking Roman Citizens.

Unfortunately her clients are now turning up dead - the victims of a sadistic serial killer.

When Marcus Cornelius Orbilio, the handsome investigating officer, starts digging deep for clues, Claudia realizes she must track down the murderer herself - before her husband discovers what she's been up to.Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 336 pages(Kindle)

Source: Review Copy

Publication Date: May 29th 2013 by Untreed Reads (first published 1995)

I love a good mystery, and I love a good historical novel but I love it even more when the two come together which is why I was so excited to have the opportunity to read and review I, Claudia by Marilyn Todd. Reading books set in the ancient world is one of my favourite things to do especially when they're both witty and require a bit of brain power to read.

I, Claudia is the first novel in Marilyn Todd's Claudia Seferius series of historical mysteries, and am I ever glad I got the chance to read it since it was only released in E-book format this past May. Right away I was sucked into the story that Todd wrote.

Claudia Seferius is not your cuddly housewife, she is not soft nor kind. She's actually quite bitchy, which would usually irritate the hell out of me but in this case I loved it! It was so refreshing to read about a character who wasn't all nicey-nice. I liked her fire and how riled up she would get but I mostly loved her snarky attitude. She was conniving and plotting and I thought that those were really rare qualities to come across in a main character in a mystery novel where she herself is solving the crimes.

I loved the way the novel was laid out. It was fast paced, full of cynicism, wit and intrigue and I found it completely and utterly addictive. Besides our heroine Claudia we were introduced to a wide cast of characters that had both good and bad qualities and many of them along with the murderer took some time to figure out just who was who in terms of the series of murders that Claudia and Marcus Orbilio are trying together (very reluctantly I might add).

The dynamic between Claudia and Marcus was intriguing, as Claudia is a married woman and Orbilio an officer of the law and he isn't entirely too sure about Claudia's claims of innocence or about who she says she is. Whilst Claudia isn't so sure that the crimes are the real motivation behind Orbilio's interest in her, but boy oh boy is there chemistry.

I loved the way that Todd infused the perfect amount of mystery, and intrigue into her novel while balancing it with a historical atmosphere that I thought was both rich and authentic. Finding out who the murder was in the end really caught me off guard because I didn't see it coming at all, and I loved that Todd kept me guessing right up until the very end.

Overall, I found I, Claudia to be a really great read and I'm most definitely looking forward to reading the other books in the Claudia Seferius mystery series in the near future depending on whether or not I can get my hands on them.

I would recommend I, Claudia to fans of historical mysteries with a strong female lead who isn't your average heroine, set in a time and place that is unique and well written and for those who enjoy reading mysteries that will keep them guessing the identity of the murderer right up until the very end.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

I read this book for the following reading challenges:

2013 150+ Reading Challenge

2013 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Loved It!
★★★★★

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This one is simple and just about sharing your favorite quotes and the books they come from! Hosted by the FABULOUS Anna at Herding Cats & Burning Soup

Beyond the Highland Mist (Highlander, #1)

Cover taken from Goodreads.com

“In her dreams the Hawk would be waiting for her by the sea's edge; her kilt-clad, magnificent Scottish laird. He would smile and his eyes would crinkle, then turn dark with
smoldering passion.
She would take his hand and lay it gently on her swelling abdomen, and his face would blaze with happiness and
pride. Then he would take her gently, there on the cliff's edge, in tempo with the pounding of the ocean. He would
make fierce and possessive love to her and she would hold on to him as tightly as she could. But before dawn, he would melt right through her fingers. And she would wake up, her cheeks wet with tears and her hands clutching nothing but a bit of quilt or pillow.”

What is YOUR favourite bookish quote this week?