Roman Shadows — Ron Burns

When the young Roman senator Gaius Livinius Severus marries into a fabulously wealthy family, he seems destined for a life of traditional ease and comfort. But his future is shattered when the illustrious Cicero casually asks Livinius to keep an eye on a certain prominent politician.
Soon enough, Livinius finds himself investigating a series of especially brutal and scandalous murders - and, along with it, getting a close-up look at Rome's descent from republican chaos into autocratic butchery.
The web of intrigue is so complex that even Livinius isn't sure he understands it all, until years later when the young tyrant Augustus demands to know what Cicero knew - and at last Livinius finds his own life on the line in the name of service to Rome.
In this fascinating, richly drawn follow-up to his debut novel, Roman Nights (St. Martin's Press, 1991), Ron Burns proves himself a master of the historical mystery, with an unerring sense of the drama and intricacy of ancient times.