Ashley Gardner
Leonidas, champion gladiator of Rome, is set free from the games by a mysterious benefactor who grants him freedom, a place to live, and a servant—Cassia, a scribe—to look after him.
But the benefactor is only so generous—Leonidas must pay his own way and Cassia's, which means hiring himself out. The sharp-witted Cassia quickly lands him a post as a bodyguard, escorting a retired senator to Ostia.
The
...AD 63
Leonidas's former trainer, Aemil, asks him to look into the disappearances of gladiators from his ludus. Leonidas and Cassia investigate, and soon uncover gruesome murders involving some of the wealthiest citizens of Rome.
Leonidas pits his skills against an unknown killer who hunts gladiators from the back lanes of the Subura to prestigious villas atop Rome's hills. He and Cassia must succeed in uncovering the murderer's identity
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