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Last updated XV Aprilis 2008.

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Margot Arnold Kenneth Benton John Blackburn Gillian Bradshaw L. Sprague de Camp Julius Cicatrix and Martin Rowson Lindsey Davis David Drake Margaret Frazer Jonathan Gash Robert Graves Gisbert Haefs Lyn Hamilton Robert Harris John Hersey Tom Holland Thomas Holt Patrick Larkin Isabelle Lawrence Andreas Möhn Jean-Pierre Nèraudau Ellis Peters Mary Reed and Eric Mayer

Mystery novels set in the Byzantine court and era.

  1. One For Sorrow
    (New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 1999, hardcover; New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2000, paperback).
    John investigates the death of the keeper of the Imperial Plate amid a bounty of suspects including a stylite, a soothsayer, a British knight, an Egyptian brothel keeper and two ladies from Crete. First in the series. [not yet rated]

  2. Two For Joy
    (New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2000, hardcover; New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2001, paperback).
    Two years later, John investigates the spontaneous combustion of holy men sitting high atop pillars. Second in the series. [not yet rated]

  3. Three For a Letter
    (New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2001, hardcover; New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2003, paperback).
    An eight-year old hostage son of the last Ostrogoth king of Rome dies at the court of Justinian. John is ordered to investigate. Third in the series. [not yet rated]

  4. Four for a Boy
    (New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2003, hardcover; New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2004, trade paperback; Poisoned Pen Press, 2007, UK trade paperback).
    A prequel tale set in 525, during the reign of Justin. John investigates the death of a wealthy philanthropist in the Great Church and its implications for the empire's new ruler. Fourth in the series. [not yet rated]

  5. Five for Silver
    (New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2004, hardcover; New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2004, paperback).
    John investigates the death of his servant's friend during the plague year of 542. Fifth in the series. [not yet rated]

  6. Six for Gold
    (New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2005, hardcover; New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2005, large print paperback).
    Despite accusations that he murdered a senator in the Hippodrome, John's ventures to Egypt to discover why sheep are cutting their own throats. Meanwhile John's friend Anatolius is at work helping with the former problem. Sixth in the series. [not yet rated]

  7. Seven For a Secret
    (New York: Poisoned Pen Press, 2008, hardcover).
    John stays home in Constantinople only to become involved in dangerous intrigue. Seventh in the series. [not yet rated]
Steven Saylor Markus Schröder S.P. Somtow Marcus Tullius Cicero Harry Turtledove and Elaine O'Byrne John and Esther Wagner K.D. Wentworth Leslie Turner White Henry Winterfeld David Wishart
Items Not Tied to Any Particular Author
Sue Feder
Prominent mystery reviewer and publisher Sue Feder died September 9, 2005 after a long illness. Historical mysteries have lost a strong champion and especially Roman-era mysteries.

I first met Sue at Bouchercon in 1997 when it was held in Monterey, California. She was a member of a fascinating panel discussing the world of mystery reviewing, which at that point she had already been doing for a decade. Another panelist had just given a quite funny introduction and Sue was next. In her dry, matter of fact, New York way, she stated "I can't follow that." This brought down the house. She then did proceed to follow it, and then some. As a matter of fact I bought the tape from that seminar and still listen to it from time to time. (You can listen to her as well.)

Sue was a great fan of Roman-era mysteries and evidently many other historical subjects. Once she told me about how fascinated she was with with the Beatles, another with everything Titanic. I don't know what came of that, but after I found out about her historical mysteries zine, I went to considerable trouble to look up the Murder: Past Tense issue on Roman mysteries and learned a lot there, not just about books I hadn't heard about, but also about what makes a good one. Sue liked to use the expression "overusing the oil lamp" to gently chide those mystery writers who are too intent on putting all of their research on the page, to the extent that it gets in the way of story, characters and finally, verisimilitude. The fact that Sue had revived this expression from the same one that was used in ancient times was just sublime.

Sue was also the only person I ever met who had managed to track down a copy of Charles Connell's Most Delicious Poison. I tried and could only find it at the British Library who refused to let it out.

But if she was a true critic who could not be bought, she was also a champion of writers and the genre itself. At Bouchercon a lot of people talked about it, but she was the one who, in 1998, actually did finally create an award specifically for historical mysteries, the Herodotus award. She used it to bring attention to writers that she thought profoundly deserving, among them Lindsey Davis, for the Lifetime Achievement Award and Steven Saylor for his Rubicon.

Fortunately her writing still lives on at the Historical Mystery Appreciation Society, at least for now?, but in the Historical Mysteries world, Sue Feder is one extra special fan and good person who will sorely be missed.


Copyright © 1994-2008 by Richard M. Heli.
Permission granted to reprint so long as this notice is preserved in its entirety and I am informed prior to the re-use. Published since June 1994.
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