Interesting, but not particularly outstanding short stories concerning a Roman lawyer who actually lived. These fictional cases are told by his faithful [also fictional] scribe: proving the innocence of a young blind man of murder, what Caesar's ghost turns out to be, and proving the innocence of a slave of a murder. There are really no personalities to the characters but there are small touches of humor in the scribe's asides. ( )

Three short stories narrated by the somewhat annoying C. Plautus Maximilianus Aureus about murders solved by the historical Marcus Fabius Quintilianus. Sort of Sherlock Holmes light in a toga. Somewhat amusing and engaging. ( )