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Thursday, 5 June 2025

The Coffee Pot Book Club Book Tour of: Death and The Poet by Fiona Forsyth




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About the Book
Book Title: Death and The Poet
Series: The Publius Ovidius Mysteries
Author: Fiona Forsyth
Publication Date: 20th March 2025
Publisher: Sharpe Books
Pages: 361
Genre: Historical mystery

Any Triggers: murder, references to slavery, domestic abuse, alcohol, cancer

14 AD.
When Dokimos the vegetable seller is found bludgeoned to death in the Black Sea town of Tomis, it’s the most exciting thing to have happened in the region for years. Now reluctantly settled into life in exile, the disgraced Roman poet Ovid helps his friend Avitius to investigate the crime, with the evidence pointing straight at a cuckolded neighbour.

But Ovid is also on edge, waiting for the most momentous death of all. Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, is nearing his end, and the future of the whole Roman world is uncertain.

Even as far away as Tomis, this political shadow creates tension as the pompous Roman legate Flaccus thinks more of his career than solving a local murder.

Avitius and Ovid become convinced that an injustice has been done in the case of the murdered vegetable seller. But Flaccus continues to turn a deaf ear.

When Ovid’s wife, Fabia, arrives unexpectedly, carrying a cryptic message from the Empress Livia, the poet becomes distracted - and another crime is committed. 

Ovid hopes for a return to Rome - only to discover that he is under threat from an enemy much closer to home.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/brx0WY 

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.



Author Bio: 

Fiona studied Classics at Oxford before teaching it for 25 years. A family move to Qatar gave her the opportunity to write about ancient Rome, and she is now back in the UK, working on her seventh novel.


Author Links:

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read an excerpt

Prologue: Rome, 14 CE

It was the night of the Ides of May, dark and raining, when they got back to Rome. Fabius decided that he needed to walk home, said a quiet farewell, then set off along the Tiber embankment with one slave accompanying. Not too long ago Augustus would have walked with him, but now the litter and entourage overtook him, the only sign of his friend a wave of a weary hand through the curtains. Augustus had always hated the rain and the cold and now went everywhere by litter. Well – he was after all seventy five years old, visibly aging after a cold winter and damp spring, and this voyage had been hard work.

Fabius walked down the glistening streets and attracted no attention from the few people darting through the rain. He strode out, skirting the sudden small streams that tumbled down any incline. Ahead of him, torches bobbed as the Emperor’s entourage called out for space. Fabius’ boots and old military cape kept off the worst, and soon he started to climb the lower slope of the Palatine Hill. The bustle of the official procession ahead of him faded and the last part of the journey was made in silence, until with thankfulness he saw the quiet door of home where warmth, dry clothes and food awaited him. He wanted Marcia. Dear Marcia. She would take over, fuss him, get him back to feeling like a decent Roman should.

The door-slave let him in immediately and he went straight to his room, leaving a noisy bustle in his wake. Marcia came in to find him already in a clean tunic though still damp. As expected she took over, scolding him and giving orders to the slaves. He relaxed.

“And you can take that ridiculous smile off your face,” she said as she began towelling his hair dry. “Ah thank you, Parmenio, I don’t know what this house would do without you. Fabius, where have you been to get into this state? Parmenio, will you take the master’s cloak and have it thoroughly cleaned? Gods above, Fabius, your cloak stinks, and is that salt on it? You’ve been sailing haven’t you, and in this weather…”

She carried on towelling and he grabbed a blanket to wrap around himself. Gods, it was supposed to be May but felt more like a miserable November.

A cup of wine spiced exactly as he liked arrived and was thrust into his hand as Marcia finished towelling. It tasted wonderful and he said so, smiling up at his wife.

“Are you hungry?” she asked. “I’ve asked the kitchen to bring forward dinner and it won’t be long. The Arval Brethren missed you at the meeting yesterday but apparently young Drusus was elected without any dissent.”

Fabius nodded, swigging some more wine.

“I heard that the Emperor was also missing from the meeting,” said Marcia brightly. “So while you eat you can tell me all about what you and the Emperor were up to that made you miss your favourite boys’ club.”

He shot a wary look at Parmenio, who murmured about seeing to dinner and vanished tactfully.

“Marcia, don’t talk about the Arval Brethren like that,” he said softly. “It’s the most prestigious priesthood in the city, I’m honoured to be part of it. And don’t talk about the Emperor either.”

Marcia laughed and poured some wine for herself.

“Not talk about Augustus? My own cousin and I can’t mention him?”

Fabius sipped his wine and tried to change the subject.

“The roads were terrible, so much mud and rain,” he tried.

“Well it has been a miserable spring, and I don’t imagine you found the sea crossing much better,” said Marcia. “How sick were you?”

“Not much,” said Fabius.

“I expect Augustus was never out of his cabin,” said Marcia. “He has always had a delicate stomach.”

Augustus had only been sick once, Fabius thought grimly.

“What is it?” Marcia read him so well – but he could not tell her.

“My dear Fabius, I do know or rather can guess where the two of you went,” she said, and put her hands on either side of his face. “It was Postumus wasn’t it? You went to see that poor boy on his horrible little island. I hope Augustus decides to pardon him.”

“Pardon him!” Fabius almost laughed at that irony. He wished – how he wished – that he had never agreed to go with Augustus, though the gods knew one did not deny the Emperor.

“What is it?” Marcia looked at him with concern and his eyes dropped at her gaze.

For a moment he saw the two men facing each other: Augustus shrunken with age, his good looks reduced to a memory one saw on statues, and Postumus young, tall and strong – and sitting on the wooden bed in his cell, rocking back and forth and babbling about fishing.

“He’s having a good day today, sir,” the centurion had told Augustus. The old man had stood and watched Postumus with no expression on his face, but once they had left the stone cell, Augustus had turned away to be sick.

Fabius had once wondered how Augustus had endured the shattering series of disasters that had robbed him of so many family hopes, and now he marvelled all over again at his friend’s strength and determination. In Marcia’s arms, Fabius had to weep for this most recent tragedy, engineered by the gods to taunt an old man.

“Fabius? Fabius, what has happened? What is wrong?”

Far too clever, his Marcia.

“It will never be about the succession,” he said. “Oh, Marcia, I had no idea how bad it was with Postumus….”

He told her because he knew he was safe with her. He always had been.




My Thoughts

It is always a pleasure to read a 'murder mystery' that is well written and well researched, with a well thought out plot and populated by interesting characters - no matter whether it is set in the past, present or future. In this case, we are transported back to the time of ancient Rome with dextrous and apparently easy ability by the author, to investigate a crime of murder with the exiled poet, Ovid.

That's not the only plot, however, for there's a lot going on in this novel, so a lot to keep the reader absorbed and interested.


Apparently the second in a series, this doesn't seem to matter as I followed the story quite well. An ideal resad for Roman buffs - or for any historical mystery enthsiast.

**** 4 stars




Follow the tour:
Twitter Handle: @for_fi @cathiedunn
Instagram Handle: @fionaforsythauthor @thecoffeepotbookclub 

Hashtags: #HistoricalMystery #RomanHistoricalFiction #AncientRome #Ovid #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub 

Tour Schedule Page: 



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THE SAXON SERIES
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Wednesday, 4 June 2025

The Coffee Pot Book Club Tour of Raven's Hill by Garth Pettersen


Welcome to my Blog!
Wander through worlds
real and fictional,
meet interesting people,
visit exciting places
and find good books
to enjoy along the way!




About the Book
Book Title: Ravens Hill        

Series: The Atheling Chronicles, Book #5

Author: Garth Pettersen

Publication Date: April 15, 2025

Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing

Pages: 308

Genre: historical mystery, historical fiction

Any Triggers: some graphic violence, discussion of molestation

When Harald, the second son of King Cnute, returns from fighting the king's enemies in Northern Wales, he expects his life to return to normal⸺farming in the Midlands, overseeing his few tenants, evening walks with his beloved Selia⸺an idyllic life, far from the power-mongering of King Cnute's court. But the king has other plans for Harald and his wife—he grants them a large landholding, a gift they cannot refuse.

On arriving at their new holding, Ravens Hill, Harald and Selia receive a tepid welcome⸺from belligerent housecarls, a conniving steward, an uncompromising abbess, bitter at not adding their estate to her abbey lands, a priest with roaming hands, and a grieving daughter of the previous landholder, who has entered the nunnery.

Harald and Selia wish to improve the lot of their tenant farmers but they face obstacles at every turn, and Harald’s generosity is seen as weakness. They also learn the lands come with an unexpected millstone—an unsolved murder.

And then the trouble begins.

 Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link:

  https://books2read.com/u/317MEw

Publisher’s Author Page with series links: 

http://www.tirpub.com/gpettersen



Author Bio:

Garth Pettersen is an award-winning Canadian writer living in the Fraser Valley near Vancouver, BC, Canada where he and his wife board horses.

Pettersen has a BA in History from the University of Victoria and is a retired teacher. His short stories have appeared in anthologies and in journals such as Blank Spaces, The Spadina Literary Review, and The Opening Line Literary 'Zine.

Garth Pettersen's historical fiction series, The Atheling Chronicles, is published by Tirgearr Publishing and is available through most online outlets. Book #4 in the series, The Sea’s Edge, received a first-place Incipere Award. Book #5, Ravens Hill, was released on April 15, 2025.

Author Links:

Website: 

http://www.garthpettersen.com/

Twitter:  

https://twitter.com/garpet011

Facebook: 

  http://www.facebook.com/writeandride/

Book Bub: 

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/garth-pettersen

Amazon Author Page: 

http://www.amazon.com/author/garthpettersen

Goodreads:

  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15059599.Garth_Pettersen


read an excerpt


Making no sound, Udele closed the door to her father’s house and stepped out into the moonlight. She scanned the collection of buildings to see if anyone was stirring—she knew her father’s housecarls slept like bearns—even when on watch—and if they rose at all, it would be just to piss onto the scattered rushes that covered the hall’s floor. The two hounds Cyning and Cwēn padded over, seeking attention. She stroked their heads but said nothing. Udele made her way to the horsefold where she bridled her favorite gelding. Bats flittered above her, catching flying insects, and though the night was warm, her body gave a shiver. 

She wore a tunic and long-sleeved under-tunic, a cæppe to cover her head, and a mantle over the shoulders. Udele scanned the broad valley, saw the shadows of clouds crossing the moon travel over the fields of wheat and barley. She remembered her purpose and hurried. He would be waiting.

Udele led her horse down the track from Ravens Hill, and only mounted when she was well away from the large steading. When she thought it safe, Udele urged the horse into a controlled canter, the road visible in the moonlight. The small hamlet of Déorfald lay but a mile distant and their meeting place was not far from there. Déorfald was a small place with mill, bakehouse, and smithy near cottages with small holdings. The place she and Aloc met secretly lay downstream on a wooded clay bank above where cliff swallows burrowed. The thought of Aloc waiting made her heartrate quicken. He was the miller’s son, tall and handsome, and though not of the thegn class like herself, he would make a fine husband. Her father would come to the same conclusion in time. Poor Aloc fretted over Thegn Wulfrun’s disapproval and sometimes he would despair of ever marrying her. But Udele knew she would have him in time.


Follow the tour:

Twitter Handles@garpet011 @cathiedunn

Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub

Hashtags: #VikingFiction #HistoricalMysteries #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: 

https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/05/blog-tour-ravens-hill-by-garth-pettersen.html


(note: Helen might not have read the featured title yet)


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scroll down to leave a comment

thank you!

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Follow Helen On:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helen.hollick

Bluesky: @HelenHollick - http://helenhollick.bsky.social/

(and I'm on Twitter @HelenHollick but for marketing only)


You might also like 
books written by Helen Hollick 

THE SAXON SERIES


*
Coming Soon:
FATE Tales of History.Mystery and Magic
an anthology of short stories by various authors 
https://mybook.to/FateAnthology (e-book available for pre-order)


*

The Jan Christopher Cosy Mysteries
set in the 1970s

*
The SEA WITCH VOYAGES
nautical adventures set during the Golden Age of Piracy


*

KING ARTHUR
The Pendragon's Banner Trilogy
 The Boy Who became a Man:
Who became a King:
Who became a Legend... 

PLUS MORE!
anthologies (which include award-winning authors)
and non-fiction


Find More Information:

*
my monthly ' essay' on an interesting topic
(plus a short newsletter)

*