Medicus: a novel of the Roman Empire, by Ruth Downie

I've been reading British history for a few years now, and in preparation for my upcoming trip to London, I thought it would be fun to read some fiction set during the period of the Roman Empire. The main character of Medicus is a doctor named Ruso attached to the Roman army stationed in Deva (modern-day Chester). He comes across a man abusing an enslaved British woman and on an impulse he decides to purchase her at a bargain rate due to her broken arm. He treats her arm and as she begins to heal, Ruso becomes aware of several dead slaves, at least one of them clearly murdered. As he is unwillingly drawn into the investigation, he experiences several accidents (or were they?), a predatory boss, skyrocketing debts, and other pressures. This is the first of nine books in this series focusing on Ruso and his slave Tilla. It's well-written with a nicely-paced plot that kept me turning the pages. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.
 

The wine lover's daughter: a memoir, by Anne Fadiman

 

I loved this charming memoir by Anne Fadiman that uses her father's love of wine and books to tell both of their stories. Clifton Fadiman was many things; after graduating from Columbia University in 1925, he embraced a career that included serving as an editor at Simon & Schuster, the emcee of the radio quiz show Information Please!, the editor of The New Yorker's book review section, and a judge for the Book of the Month Club, an activity he continued into his 90s. Fadiman was also a serious oenophile, which he tried unsuccessfully to pass on to his children. Much of this memoir centers on Anne's attempts to like wines that her father shares with her. She is highly educated about wine and all of its attributes at a very young age, but even as an adult she finds it difficult to like wine. It is only after her father has died that she learns that she may be genetically unable to appreciate wine (and some other food and drink) due to the high number of taste receptors on her tongue. With her father an important part of the literary scene and her mother working as a screenwriter and journalist, Anne grew up steeped in literature and culture which comes out in her elegant prose and wonderful storytelling. 

Sense and sensibility, by Jane Austen

 

What a blast it was re-reading Sense and sensibility after more than 30 years. Jane Austen was never an assigned author in my high school or college classes, but I picked up Pride and Prejudice at a used book sale and loved it. Following that good experience, I read through S&S, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. Somehow I missed out on Lady Susan, so I still have that to look forward to. Sense and sensibility was selected as my local book club's September pick, and the prevailing opinion was very positive with a definite desire to read at least one classic a year. Most of us had read it before and enjoyed the repeat. One of my favorite aspects of Austen's writing is the humor, which is so clever and timeless, and her observations about the human character are astute and still relevant two hundred years later.

I'll be seeing you, by Mary Higgins Clark

This is a typical thriller by Mary Higgins Clark, with a reporter investigating the stabbing death of a woman who looks exactly like her, suspecting that it's related to the disappearance or death of her father who purportedly went off a bridge during a bad storm but whose body has never been found. At the same time, the reporter is being stalked by a psycho. So many characters, so many coincidences! Entertaining, nevertheless.