Ode to Poison

Guess what? I haven’t read the first two of Lisa E. Betz’s Livia Aemilia mysteries. Guess what else? I’m going to read them now!

In An Ode to Poison, Livia Aemilia attends a poetry gathering at the behest of her sister-in-law Hortensia. She writes a poem that she really hopes will get her disinvited to future gatherings, but she is pleasantly surprised to meet two women, sisters Calida and Salvia, with whom she thinks she might could be friends. Salvia is married to Gracchus, the bitter enemy of Livia’s husband Avitus, and she offers to feed Livia information on what Gracchus is up to. But when she suddenly ends up dead, Calida beseeches Livia to help her find justice for her sister.

This is a humdinger of a good story! While trying to prove Salvia was murdered and figure out who did it, Livia is also trying to stay in Avitus’ good graces (because he fears Gracchus will do something to harm her, and he really, REALLY doesn’t like her putting herself in precarious situations), juggle ill-tempered servants, adjust to having a dog around, and generally keep her household running smoothly. No problem, right? Well, she does manage to keep things going with the help of her maid, Roxana.

Betz gives us a good picture of the Rome of antiquity, and she makes it clear which characters are likable and which aren’t (although people can change, you know). This is Christian fiction, but it isn’t a whack-you-upside-the-head-with-the-King-James-Version kind of story. Livia is growing stronger in her faith, and she has the support of a community of believers. It is her fervent prayer that Avitus come to share her faith. He doesn’t, but he isn’t going to keep her from something that is clearly important to her. She just lives her life and prays for her husband, and gradually he is drawn to the God who is so important to Livia. It’s really how we should live, not making a big deal out of being Christian, but living in such a way that others want to know why we are the way we are.

The story is plenty twisty and turny, and Betz kept me guessing as to who the guilty party was. All in all, an absolutely delightful historical mystery that has me wanting to read more stories in Livia’s world!

Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of the book provided by JustRead Publicity Tours. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.