Book picks similar to
The Return by Harry Sidebottom


historical-fiction
historical
mystery
rome

Rome: The Emperor's Spy


M.C. Scott - 2009
    I, your Emperor, order it.'The Emperor: Nero, Emperor of Rome and all her provinces, feared by his subjects for his temper and cruelty, is in possession of an ancient document predicting that Rome will burn.The Spy: Sebastos Pantera, assassin and spy for the Roman Legions, is ordered to stop the impending cataclysm. He knows that if he does not, his life - and those of thousands of others - are in terrible danger.The Chariot Boy: Math, a young charioteer, is a pawn drawn into the deadly game between the Emperor and the Spy, where death stalks the drivers - on the track and off it.From the author of the bestselling Boudica series, The Emperor's Spy begins a compelling new series of novels featuring Sebastos Pantera. Rich characterisation and spine tingling adventure combine in a vividly realised novel set amid the bloodshed and the chaos, the heroism and murderous betrayal of ancient Rome.

Mistress of Rome


Kate Quinn - 2010
    First-century Rome: A ruthless emperor watches over all--and fixes his gaze on one young woman... Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia. Now she has infuriated her mistress by capturing the attention of Rome's newest and most savage gladiator--and though his love brings Thea the first happiness of her life, their affair ends quickly when a jealous Lepida tears them apart.Remaking herself as a singer for Rome's aristocrats, Thea unwittingly attracts another admirer: the charismatic Emperor of Rome. But the passions of an all-powerful man come with a heavy price, and Thea finds herself fighting for both her soul and her sanity. Many have tried to destroy the Emperor: a vengeful gladiator, an upright senator, a tormented soldier, a Vestal Virgin. But in the end, the life of Domitian lies in the hands of one woman: the Emperor's mistress.

Echoes of Germania


H.B. Ashman - 2020
    An ancient curse. One young German holds the course of history in her hands.Engineering student Amalia Weber is only training in Olympic judo to please her overbearing father. Caught in a storm on her daily run, the screams of a drowning woman draw her to a lake deep within the mystic Teutoburg forest. But when she jumps in to attempt a rescue, she’s pulled under herself… and somehow awakens alive two thousand years in the past.Now, enslaved by Roman soldiers—including the legendary Germanic-prince-turned-Roman-officer Arminius—Amalia struggles to survive in a world where her life means nothing. And when her twenty-first-century knowledge is discovered, returning to her own time becomes the least of her worries.Caught between the merciless forces of Rome and the wild Germanic tribes who dare to defy them, can a modern woman forge history as we know it?Echoes of Germania is the first book in the riveting Tales of Ancient Worlds series. A mix between Vikings, Rome, A Games of Thrones, and Outlander, H.B. Ashman’s new novel is a stay-up-all-night nail-biter.”

The Fallen Architect: A Novel


Charles Belfoure - 2018
    The balcony of one of his beautiful music halls collapsed during a packed performance, killing dozens. Layton knows the flaw was not in his design; someone else must have caused the dreadful catastrophe. But with no proof and a hoard of furious Londoners screaming for blood, someone has to take the fall-and Layton finds himself facing a five-year prison sentence.When he is finally freed, Layton is determined to start over. With a new name and identity, he takes a job as a set painter. But as Layton begins to discover dead bodies hidden within theatre halls across London, it soon becomes clear that something darker is chasing him. When he unearths a clue that ties the bodies to the disaster that ruined him, he knows that redemption is within his reach…unless the culprit gets to him first.

The Oath Breaker


Alaric Longward - 2014
    He is the Raven, Hraban, and son of great lords. Yet, his father’s return to their burning village does not only upset plans of Rome and the scheming Germani, but those of Hraban, who finds the ancient virtues of his kin are very strained with strange morals of Maroboodus, his father.Will Hraban find a way to survive the plots of his many enemies, serve his father and keep his honour while entire nations struggle to unite against Rome and those, who would betray the Germani?The Oath Breaker is the first book in a new series of historical novels set in the dark lands east of Rhenus and fabulous, ancient Rome.

Gladiatrix


Russell Whitfield - 2008
    The Emperor Domitian's passion for novelty and variety in the arena has given rise to a very different kind of warrior - the Gladiatrix.

Judas My Brother


Frank Yerby - 1968
    He was born to wealth, power, worldliness. Yet strangely enough, his features closely resembled a youth who was his total opposite-a poverty-stricken carpenter's son from Galilee. and though Nathan chose the path of physical adventure and sensual excess, his life was intertwined with that of the man called Jesus of Nazareth- until their moment of confrontation and truth in the shadow of the cross... Frank Yerby's most magnificent novel- Judas, My brother "brings alive the great, sprawling, barbaric world of the first century...a rousing novel... a great story-teller".

Brides of Rome


Debra May Macleod - 2015
    It is the world of ancient Rome. And it is the esteemed Vestal Virgins-priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the home and hearth-who protect the Eternal Flame that protects the Eternal City.Dedicated to a thirty-year vow of chaste service, Priestess Pomponia finds herself swept up in the intrigue, violence, wars, and bedroom politics of Rome's elite-Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian and his maneuvering wife, Livia-all the while guarding the secret affection she has in her heart.But when a charge of incestum-a broken vow of chastity-is made against the Vestal order, the ultimate punishment looms: death by being buried alive in the "Evil Field."In Brides of Rome, Book One in the Vesta Shadows series, Debra May Macleod skillfully recreates the world of ancient Rome with all its brutality and brilliance, all its rich history and even richer legend. A true page-turner that is as smart as it is compelling, this must-read novel brings the Vestal order to life like never before.

The Other Alexander


Andrew Levkoff - 2011
    Given as a gift to the richest man in Rome, he soon discovers that intrigue and murder stalk the house of his master. Yet, if he solves the crime, the worst punishment may prove to be his own.Alexandros is astute, well-educated and brimming with caustic wit, but he can’t seem to remember the golden rule of slavery: keep your head down and your mouth shut. No wonder more than one person in the house of Marcus Crassus wants to see this former Greek philosophy student dead. ----------------Through accident and intervention, Alexandros manages to survive, but is he willing to take the proffered hand of the one ally he wants desperately to despise – his owner? Every boon and advancement accepted from Crassus is an acknowledgment that his former life is gone. Yet how can he resist? Crassus is a good man, for a Roman.At last, Alexandros realizes that accepting his condition is the only way to recoup the little freedom left him. He willingly opens his eyes to his new life … and immediately falls in love with Livia, a fellow servant he’s never allowed himself to see. But romance for a slave is a fragile thing, especially when tragedy befalls the Crassus household in the guise of Gaius Julius Caesar and his insatiable ambition. Alexandros has won the ear of Crassus, but can a slave keep a master of Rome from making a choice which will topple the foundations of an empire? Steve Donoghue, Managing Editor of Open Letter Monthly says, "'The Bow of Heaven' is superb: a beautifully crafted, electrifying example of just how good historical fiction can be. Don't miss it."

Curses and Smoke


Vicky Alvear Shecter - 2014
    But his warrior's heart yearns to fight in the gladiator ring himself and earn enough money to win his freedom.LUCIA is the daughter of Tag's owner, doomed by her father's greed to marry a much older Roman man. But she loves studying the natural world around her home in Pompeii, and lately she's been noticing some odd occurrences in the landscape: small lakes disappearing; a sulfurous smell in the air. . . .When the two childhood friends reconnect, each with their own longings, they fall passionately in love. But as they plot their escape from the city, a patrician fighter reveals his own plans for them -- to Lucia's father, who imprisons Tag as punishment. Then an earthquake shakes Pompeii, in the first sign of the chaos to come. Will they be able to find each other again before the volcano destroys their whole world?

Augustus


John Williams - 1972
    Surrounded by men who are jockeying for power–Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, and Mark Antony–young Octavius must work against the powerful Roman political machinations to claim his destiny as first Roman emperor. Sprung from meticulous research and the pen of a true poet, Augustus tells the story of one man’s dream to liberate a corrupt Rome from the fancy of the capriciously crooked and the wildly wealthy.

Ken Follett's Thundering Good Thrillers: Eye of the Needle / Hornet Flight / Jackdaws


Ken Follett - 2011
    Three classic historical spy thrillers from the master storyteller and bestselling author, Ken Follett.Thundering Good Thrillers is a great value eBook bundle including three heart-stopping thrillers all set during World War II; featuring female Special Operations agents going undercover behind German lines (Jackdaws), Hitler's prize secret agent going behind Allied lines (Eye of the Needle) and an 18-year-old Dane who stumbles across a top secret German installation whose discovery could change the course of the war (Hornet Flight).

Fate's Needle


Jerry Autieri - 2012
    No father. No brother. No son." When his father is murdered and his brother betrays him to steal his birthright as Jarl of Grenner, Ulfrik Ormsson finds himself adrift on a sea of vengeance and corruption. Aided only by a beautiful slave, a smiling warrior, and a group of blood-lusting berserkers, he must wrest back his homelands by force and face the most difficult decision of all to even the scales of justice and honor.