Book of the week and Bibliography - Ruth Downie, Ruso and the Demented Doctor

Bank holiday weekend, so I am one day late with my book of the week - apologies to all of my avid readers! An appropriate title this week in the circumstances, Ruso snd the Demented Doctor is the second novel in the Medicus series by Ruth Downie, following 2006's Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls, both from Michael Joseph. Gaius Petreius Ruso is a military Doctor attached to Legion XX in northern Britannia. The locals have a new hero who likes to strap antlers to his head and scare the Romans silly, while Ruso’s slave girl, Tilla, is stubbornly refusing to identify the culprit in a police line-up. But when Ruso is waylaid at the Fort of Coria, where a fellow doctor has confessed to a grisly murder, it’s a case of out of the cauldron and into the fire. With Tilla thrust outside the fort (and into the arms of a former lover), Ruso is landed not only with Doctor Thessalus’s patients but also the tricky task of getting him to retract the confession.

I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, though my signed and lined copy (securely protected in bubblewrap) will accompany me to the US this week, where it is available under another title. However, I am sure that I will enjoy it if it is anything like its predecessor - highly recommended. Ruth also keeps a blog for those who are interested.

Bibliography

Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls, Michael Joseph, 2006
Ruso and the Demented Doctor, Michael Joseph, 2008
Persona non grata, (US only, 2009)
Ruso and the Root of all Evils (Penguinm 2010, paperback only)