We are delighted to announce that we have signed a new trilogy of Roman mysteries by Jacquie Rogers.
In Jacquie’s words:
“My new series is set in a wealthy but remote part of third-century Roman Britain.
“Otto Cornelius is a garlanded senior officer in Chester’s XXth legion. Forced to take early retirement, he returns to his hometown of Viroconium Cornoviorum (now Wroxeter Roman City in Shropshire).
“He soon discovers that the quiet life of a pensioned-off officer is no sinecure, and Viroconium is no longer the idyll of his childhood. The murder of an itinerant Greek merchant, coupled with the theft of the iconic Wroxeter silver mirror, are just the beginning. Otto is quickly embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy, one in which old friends and new enemies have much to hide. No-one is who they seem, including Otto himself.
“I am so delighted to be working with Sapere Books. Their passion for historical fiction matches my own, and I’ve had the warmest of welcomes into their supportive organisation. I know my pacy Roman thrillers have found a wonderful home.”
Congratulations to Neil Denby, whose action-packed Roman adventure, Centurion, is published today!
Centurion is the fourth book in the Quintus Roman Thrillers series.
After wintering in Germania, Julius Quintus Quirinius is commanded to gather up the remains of his cohort and meet with General Drusus, who is marching with many legions west down the Rhine from the Alps.
But treacherous enemies and the fickle gods of the weather combine to slow them down. And a new force, led by a mysterious freedom fighter, is organising the local tribes against them.
Desertion plagues them and when the cohort commander is captured, Quintus and the other centurions have decisions to make.
They need to rescue their commander and destroy the fortress where he is being held, but they also need to lead the men to the Alpen passes that point to Rome and home.
Quintus has faith in his companions and knows they respect him in return. But he doesn’t want to test their loyalty by making an unpopular decision.
Can Quintus lead his cohort to victory – and their homeland?
Or will Rome once more remain beyond their reach…?
Congratulations to
42BC
Two years on from Julius Caesar’s assassination, his successors still crave vengeance. The massed legions of the new Caesar, Octavian, and Mark Antony face off against Cassius and Brutus at Phillipi.
Leading the charge for New Rome are primus pilus Titus Villius Macer and his optio, Crispus.
Their heroics come to the attention of Octavian’s spymaster, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, who recruits them for his Viper network of spies.
Their mission: Return to Titus’s native Sicilia to gather intelligence on its current ruler, Sextus Pompey.
But when Titus and Crispus arrive in Sicilia, they find much has changed while they’ve been fighting with the Fifth Legion.
The woman Titus came home to marry has grown cold and he must face up to domestic troubles while trying to help Agrippa restore Sicilia to Roman rule.
Suspecting a plot to assassinate Rome’s new rulers, Titus will face savage sea warfare against the local pirate fleet.
Can he uncover the deadly plot? Will he save another Caesar from assassination?
And can he save his family from the ravages of war…?
Congratulations to Alistair Forrest, whose gripping Roman adventure, Sea of Flames, is out now!
33BC
On landing in Ephesus to trade, Lachares, a Greek sea merchant, is seized and unfairly executed by Mark Antony, the triumvir of Rome’s eastern provinces.
Lachares’ crew are left to deliver the news to his son, Eurycles, the governor of a Greek trading post. Horrified, Eurycles vows to take revenge on Mark Antony.
With conflict brewing between Antony and his greatest political rival, Octavian Caesar, Eurycles is invited to work against Antony’s cause by smuggling two defectors out of his camp. Eager for an opportunity to get close to his enemy, Eurycles pledges his ship and men to Caesar.
Now embroiled in the deadly machinations of spies and defectors, Eurycles must decide who he can trust.
And when Mark Antony’s legions land in Actium and begin to prepare for an all-out war, Eurycles starts to wonder whether he will survive long enough to exact his revenge…
Congratulations to Neil Denby, whose absorbing Roman adventure, Optio, is out now!
Optio is the third book in the Quintus Roman Thrillers series: action-packed, authentic historical military adventures set in Ancient Rome.
Julius Quintus Quirinius, Decanus of his contubernium, has failed in his mission to secure a bridgehead in Britannia for the emperor Augustus.
Despite their failure, they have collected valuable intelligence from the British tribes that they are keen to share with Augustus, hoping that will restore their reputation.
Together with his rescued comrades, Quintus flees the misted isle of the enemy and begins the long and treacherous journey home.
Once they locate the remnants of their cohort, Quintus is promoted to Optio and tasked with leading his men against rebel Germanic tribes.
Success could mean a fast route back to Rome and the favour of the emperor. But failure means an almost certain death.
When disaster strikes, can Quintus rescue the honour of Rome and lead the cohort to safety?
Or will the odds once more refuse to fall in their favour…?
We are delighted to announce that the first two books in Neil Denby’s action-packed military adventure series, the Quintus Roman Thrillers, will be released as audiobooks by Tantor Media.
The books follow a solider, Julius Quintus Quirinius, as he fights for survival in the brutal Roman army.
In Neil’s words:
“It has been a delight to work with the supportive publishing team at Sapere, who have helped to hone my writing to the level where Tantor Media bought the audiobook rights. I was excited to choose Matthew Lloyd Davies as an authentic voice for the first two books. Matthew is an actor and director with a long and distinguished career, including regular appearances with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
“The first book, Legionary, is the story of a common soldier and his close comrades stationed in Hispania during the first years of the Principate. Together they suffer punishments, fight battles and discover secrets that could prove useful to the Empire. Against the odds, they strive to maintain dignity and, above all, honour. The second book, Decanus, relates their further adventures with the tribes of the mysterious island of Britannia, after they are shipwrecked on its shores.
“The new deal puts Legionary and Decanus in distinguished company indeed. Matthew has narrated greats like Aldous Huxley, Robert Louis Stevenson and HG Wells, along with dozens of modern authors. The audiobooks will be released in early 2024.”
Congratulations to Neil Denby, whose Roman military adventure, Decanus, is out now!
Decanus is the second book in the Quintus Roman Thrillers series.
Julius Quintus Quirinius and his cohort sail to the mysterious land of Britannia. They have been sent on a mission to scout out the savage country and battle the local tribesman to pave the way for their emperor.
But before they can land, a violent storm scatters their ships, separating Quintus, newly promoted to Decanus, from some of his comrades. In seeking them, he encounters Britons who may be friend or foe.
Betrayal is in the air when he discovers the missing legionaries have been captured by a local tribe. And the tribesmen are not willing to release the Romans alive.
Quintus is prepared to rescue his men or die in the attempt. His oath demands it. But can the legionary training of the Roman soldiers defeat the fierce foreign tribesmen?
Or will Quintus’ first foreign mission be his last?
Congratulations to Neil Denby, whose action-packed military adventure, Legionary, is out now! Legionary is the first book in the Quintus Roman Thrillers series.
17 BC
Julius Quintus Quirinius, like many citizens in the years after Rome’s civil wars, must volunteer with the Roman army or be sold into slavery.
Keen to prove his worth, he becomes a member of the IXth Legion, but after only six months his cohort suffer a brutal defeat, the result of stupidity and cowardice.
Cowardice in a legionary carries a heavy punishment: the sentence of decimation – to live or die at the whim of the gods with the unlucky ones clubbed to death by their fellow soldiers.
Ursus, the man killed in Quintus’ group, lays a heavy charge on the youth, asking him to look after the remaining men and to take care of his family back in Rome.
Keen to fulfil Ursus’ last wishes, Quintus helps lead his cohort south to defeat the tribesmen skulking in the mountains in the hope that the IXth legion’s reputation will be restored.
But if they win the fight, their reward may not be the prize they had hoped for… And it soon seems as if returning to Rome is further out of reach than ever…
