Marcus Corvinu

Some of the people in the literary world may say that detective fiction is a genre that was beaten to death. There is no viable variation on a theme which has not been done yet. It refers to the characters, as well as the setting of the novel. The principle is more or less the same, with slight cosmetic changes. Nevertheless, once in a while, one may come across detective fiction that would even interest harsh critics of the genre. Consider for a moment ancient Rome. Many will think of togas, chariots, gladiators and emperors. Some may imagine sword and sandal epic spectacle. Still, there will not be many people who will think of detectives. Rome and detective seem as two terms than have nothing in common. That may be true if you have not heard of David Wishart. This Scottish author conceived the world in which the hero meets gladiators and murder mysteries just the same. The world is ancient Rome as he sees it and the hero is Marcus Corvinus, a detective.