Lenten Mystery

The season of Lent has begun and we turn our thoughts to Christ. It is a time of reflection and we take steps to renew ourselves. It is a time of the year when I think of The Case of the Empty Tomb which was published some years ago.

The Case of the Empty Tomb is a homage to the old style detective stories of Chandler and Hammett. Tribune Claudius Maximus is the detective looking into the disappearance of a recently crucified Jew who's body is missing from its resting place.

Maximus has been exiled from Rome to Jerusalem by Caesar, and Maximus believes the best way to get back into the emperor's good graces is to solve this case.

 Getting answers is not easy. The Jews aren't talking and even his own people are reluctant to give the tribune any help. The more opposition Maximus encounters the more he is determined to get answers.

Here is a recent review for The Case of the Empty Tomb.

If you like Lindsey Davis or John Maddox Roberts books, you will like this Stephen Gaspar book.
The Case of the Empty Tomb is a worthy member of the rapidly expanding Roman Mystery genre.
The book has nice pacing and unfolds evenly. What a case for our introduction to Tribune Claudius Maximus. A now very famous corpse is missing and a disgraced son of Rome must find it quickly, and perhaps he will be allowed to return home if he can solve the case and survive the political world of Tiberian Jerusalem.

I would very much like to read more adventures of Claudius Maximus.

Books by Stephen Gaspar are available on Amazon