SPQR
Books in series13
UNABRIDGED
(4.4 based on 285 ratings)
  • 1
    SPQR I: The King's Gambit | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR I: The King's Gambit
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    SPQR I: The King's Gambit

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 18 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By Simon Vance
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (108)
    Performance
    (63)
    Story
    (62)

    John Maddox Roberts takes listeners back to a Rome filled with violence and evil. Vicious gangs ruled the streets of Crassus and Pompey, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike. So the garroting of a lowly ex-slave and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Subura district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy.

    Pleasant suprise

    Too tell the truth I got this book because I'm a big Lindsey Davis fan (the Falco Mystery Series), and felt I needed a "Roman" fix!
    I really did..Show More »

    Reviewed on Dec 29 2008 by Michael (Sun City, AZ, United States)
  • 2
    SPQR II: The Catiline Conspiracy | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR II: The Catiline Conspiracy
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    SPQR II: The Catiline Conspiracy

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 10 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By Simon Vance
    Overall
    (77)
    Performance
    (44)
    Story
    (42)

    It was a summer of glorious triumph for the mighty Roman Republic. Her invincible legions had brought all foreign enemies to their knees. But in Rome there was no peace. The streets were flooded with the blood of murdered citizens, and there were rumors of more atrocities to come.

    Loved it

    Republican Rome is a favorite subject for me. This era is one of the turning points in world history. This series is light-hearted but never silly. Th..Show More »

    Reviewed on Apr 06 2009 by Wadie (Santa Ana, CA, United States)
  • 3
    The Sacrilege: SPQR III | John Maddox Roberts
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    The Sacrilege: SPQR III
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    The Sacrilege: SPQR III

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 45 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (22)
    Performance
    (19)
    Story
    (20)

    When a sacret woman's rite in the ancient city of Rome is infiltrated by a corrupt patrician dressed in female garb, it falls to Senator Decuis Caecilius Metellus the Younger, whose investigative skills have proven indispensable in the past, to unmask the perpetrators. When four brutal slayings follow, Decius enlists the help a notorious and dangerous criminal.

    Great Roman Mystery

    I am so happy to see this book on audio. For a while we only had the first two books in the series and now comes the third. I hope we will see more of..Show More »

    Reviewed on Nov 30 2012 by Judith A. Weller (LaVale, MD United States)
  • 4
    SPQR IV: The Temple of the Muses | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR IV: The Temple of the Muses

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 6 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (11)
    Performance
    (10)
    Story
    (10)

    When Roman junior senator Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger has a chance to join a diplomatic mission to Alexandria, he welcomes the opportunity to temporarily elude his enemies in the Eternal City - even though it means leaving his beloved Rome. Decius is just beginning to enjoy the outpost's many exotic pleasures when the suspicious death of an irascible philosopher occurs, coinciding with the puzzling and apocalyptic ravings of a charismatic cult leader. Intrigued, Decius requests and is given permission by the Egyptian Pharaoh to investigate the heinous crime. What he discovers is beyond shocking.

    Hard to beat the system
    Reviewed on Mar 07 2013 by Bonnie (Bellmore, NY, United States)
  • 5
    SPQR V: Saturnalia | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR V: Saturnalia

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 12 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (13)
    Performance
    (12)
    Story
    (12)

    This eagerly awaited fifth book in John Maddox Roberts's Edgar-nominated historical mystery series once again takes the reader back to the Rome of Julius Caesar and the Roman Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger. Decius has won himself a reputation as both an investigator and, most unfortunately, a bit of a playboy. Having been banished by his family for sometimes embarrassing activities to a rather leisurely lifestyle on Rhodes, he is puzzled to be suddenly and unexpectedly summoned home to assist in an investigation.

    Each story in series gets better
    Reviewed on Mar 07 2013 by Bonnie (Bellmore, NY, United States)
  • 6
    SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR VI: Nobody Loves a Centurion

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 2 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (12)
    Performance
    (10)
    Story
    (10)

    Julius Caesar, as we know, arrived in Gaul (now France) and announced "I Came, I Saw, I Conquered." But when Decius Metellus arrives from Rome, not seeking military glory but rather avoiding an enemy currently in power, he finds that although the general came and saw, so far, at least, he has far from conquered. The campaign seems at a standstill. Decius' arrival disappoints the great Caesar as well. He has been waiting for promised reinforcements from Rome, an influx of soldiers to restart his invasion. Instead he is presented with one young man ridiculously decked out in military parade finery and short on military skills.

    I do so enjoy historical novels
    Reviewed on Mar 16 2013 by Bonnie (Bellmore, NY, United States)
  • 7
    SPQR VII: The Tribune's Curse | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR VII: The Tribune's Curse
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    SPQR VII: The Tribune's Curse

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 16 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (9)
    Performance
    (8)
    Story
    (8)

    In his extensive series featuring the detecting feats of Decius Caecilius Metellus the younger, set in the Rome of 70 BC, Roberts achieves a very believable modern feeling with his well-researched description of the stories' background. This seventh episode, however, combines a familiar view of the demands office-seeking makes on a candidate with a situation that is impossibly bizarre to us today. An entire city, versed in literature, music, and the other arts, ruled democratically, for its time, is thrown into panic by an enraged man's curse.

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  • 8
    SPQR VIII: The River God's Vengeance | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR VIII: The River God's Vengeance

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 19 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (8)
    Performance
    (7)
    Story
    (6)

    Ancient Rome, in this accurate and evocative series, is just as politics driven as any major American city - possibly even more. Decius Caecilius Metellus has, through a series of rather wild adventure, and in the act of tracking down killers and other reprobates, barely escaped annhilation several times. Now, newly elected to the office of aedile, the lowest rung on the ladder of Roman authority, he must smoke out corruption and conspiracy that threaten to destroy all of Rome.

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  • 9
    SPQR IX: The Princess and the Pirates | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR IX: The Princess and the Pirates
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    SPQR IX: The Princess and the Pirates

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 31 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (7)
    Performance
    (6)
    Story
    (6)

    As I walked back through the City, my mood was moderately elevated. This appointment did not displease me nearly as much as I pretended. Like most Romans I abhorred the very thought of sea duty, but this was one of the rare occasions when I was looking forward to getting away from Rome..... For years I had complained of the disorder of the City, and now that it was gone, I found that I missed it. All the peace and quiet seemed unnatural. I did not expect it to last.- Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger in SPQR IX: The Princess and the Pirates.

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  • 10
    SPQR X: A Point of Law | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR X: A Point of Law

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 34 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (7)
    Performance
    (5)
    Story
    (5)

    Decius Caecilius Metellus is moving up in the world. He's won some money and glory fighting pirates in the Mediterranean and expects a speedy election to the office of praetor. That all changes when a man he's never seen before publicly accuses him of corruption. Decius and his powerful family of Rome's leading politicians scramble to prepare a defense. However, the day of the trial they are greeted with a strange surprise on the steps of the courthouse: the corpse of the man who made the accusation. Now Decius is up against a much more serious charge of murder.

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  • 11
    SPQR XI: Under Vesuvius | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR XI: Under Vesuvius

    • UNABRIDGED (6 hrs and 39 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (3)
    Performance
    (2)
    Story
    (2)

    Things are going well for Decius Caecilius Metellus. He is Praetor Peregrinus, which means he has to judge a case or two, but those cases are outside of the city. His cases will be those dealing with foreigners, and all of Italy is his province. His first stop is Campania, "Italy’s most popular resort district". Decius and his wife, Julia, are happy for a change of scenery. But the good times end when, in a town near Vesuvius, a priest’s daughter is murdered. Decius must find her killer and keep the mob off a young boy who everyone blames but he believes to be innocent.

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  • 12
    SPQR XII: Oracle of the Dead | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR XII: Oracle of the Dead

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 10 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (4)
    Performance
    (3)
    Story
    (3)

    Decius Caecilius Metellus, this year's magistrate for cases involving foreigners, is living the good life in southern Italy, happy to be away from Rome, a city suffering war jitters over Caesar's impending actions. He thinks he is merely visiting one of the local sights when he takes a party to visit the Oracle of the Dead, a pre-Roman cult site located at the end of a tunnel dug beneath a temple of Apollo. He quickly learns that there is a bitter rivalry between the priests of Apollo and those of Hecate, who guard the oracle.

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  • 13
    SPQR XIII: The Year of Confusion | John Maddox Roberts
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    SPQR XIII: The Year of Confusion

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 32 mins)
    • By John Maddox Roberts
    • Narrated By John Lee
    Overall
    (4)
    Performance
    (3)
    Story
    (3)

    Caius Julius Caesar, now Dictator of Rome, has decided to revise the Roman calendar, which has become out of sync with the seasons. As if this weren’t already an unpopular move, Caesar has brought in astronomers and astrologers from abroad, including Egyptians, Greeks, Indians, and Persians. Decius is appointed to oversee this project, which he knows rankles the Roman public: "To be told by a pack of Chaldeans and Egyptians how to conduct their duties towards the gods was intolerable."

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