THE GERMANICUS MOSAIC

If you like your murder trussed in a toga, you'll enjoy this mystery set in second-century Roman Britain. Ric Jerrom's upper-class British accent is well suited to the ruminations and perambulations of Libertus, a freedman and mosaicist of some repute and the Sherlock Holmes of his day. Jerrom's phrasing and tone are serious and measured without being slow or ponderous, capturing the indolence of patrician life. Libertus carefully navigates Rowe's labyrinth of murder, coming upon more than one poisoned corpse and a victim whose throat has been efficiently slit with a nocavula. Occasionally Jerrom's tempo is too fast, although his dialogues between two speakers are always easy to follow, each voice specifically defined. Jerrom skillfully presents the emotion conveyed by Rowe; however, on occasion, a hint of an Irish brogue is used to differentiate between suspects of the patrician class and the slave class. M.D.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]