David Wishart Books In Order

Marcus Corvinus Books In Publication Order

  1. Ovid (1995)
  2. Germanicus (1997)
  3. Sejanus (1998)
  4. The Lydian Baker (1998)
  5. Old Bones (2000)
  6. Last Rites (2001)
  7. White Murder (2002)
  8. A Vote for Murder (2003)
  9. Parthian Shot (2004)
  10. Food for the Fishes (2005)
  11. In at the Death (2007)
  12. Illegally Dead (2008)
  13. Bodies Politic (2010)
  14. No Cause for Concern (2012)
  15. Solid Citizens (2013)
  16. Finished Business (2014)
  17. Trade Secrets (2016)
  18. Foreign Bodies (2016)
  19. Family Commitments (2017)
  20. Going Back (2018)
  21. Dead Mens Sandals (2020)

Angus Books In Publication Order

  1. Hexagon (2011)
  2. Jaeger’s Howe (2012)

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. I, Virgil (1995)
  2. Nero (1996)
  3. The Horse Coin (1999)

Non-Fiction Books In Publication Order

  1. Whisky Classified (2018)
  2. World of Whisky (2019)

Marcus Corvinus Book Covers

Angus Book Covers

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Non-Fiction Book Covers

David Wishart Books Overview

Ovid

Nobleman by birth, loutish party boy by temperment, Marcus Corvinus is a citizen of ancient Rome, but he would be as much at home in a champagne stained tux as he is in a toga. He’d like to shed that toga for the beautiful Lady Perilla, but in return for her favor she demands that Corvinus help retrieve her stepfather’s ashes for burial in Rome. The task proves more difficult than expected: Perilla’s stepfather was the famous poet Ovid, exiled years earlier and still loathsome to the Emperor Tiberius. But Corvinus’ arrogance and letch for Perilla keep him on course, even when the Emperor’s thugs try a little up close and personal persuasion. Author David Wishart, a classical scholar, knows a great deal about both ancient Rome and gilded youth. You may not approve of Corvinus, but you’ll have a tough time resisting his charm.

Germanicus

No good deed goes unpunished. Marcus Corvinus, the party boy of ancient Rome, hasn t committed many good deeds, but his most recent see Ovid was a doozy. And sure enough, here comes punishment, right on schedule. Why else would he have been summoned to see the Empress Livia, never his biggest fan? True, Livia would love to see Corvinus writhing in some interesting form of agony, but for now, she’s got a job for him. Her darling grandson, Germanicus soldier, statesman, heir presumptive to the throne has been most foully murdered, and Livia will not rest until Corvinus finds the killer. Corvinus, of course is glad to oblige, since he d like to continue breathing. But there’s a problem: Word on the Appian Way is that Livia herself ordered her grandson’s death.

Sejanus

Immediately after his father’s funeral, Marcus is approached by two senators who want him to dig up some dirt on Sejanus, emperor Tiberius’ deputy and likely successor. Despite the dangers, Marcus cannot resist the thrill of more detective work, and his investigations uncover a trail of treason, betrayal, and murder.

The Lydian Baker

In voluntary exile in Athens, Marcus Corvinus receives a letter from his antiquarian stepfather Priscus, who has learned that the 4A ft solid gold statue of a female baker, one of a large number of valuable gifts to the Delphic Oracle by the 6th century BC King Croesus of Lydia, has reappeared and is being offered for sale in Athens on the black market. Corvinus agrees to be his agent and to try and buy it. But, as a result, he finds himself caught up in the world of organised crime, as well as in a deadly struggle of interests with other, less scrupulous, collectors.

Old Bones

Marcus Corvinus is spending time in ancient Tuscany with his lovely wife Perilla when his stepfather is accused of murder. It doesn t take long for Marcus to get him off the hook, but as he pursues the real culprit, Marcus uncovers a major winemaking fraud and a tale of infidelity, treachery, and deceit.

Last Rites

It is the morning after the nocturnal rite of the good Goddess, an all-female ceremony strictly out of bounds to the male of the species, and the body of a young woman has been found, her throat cut. Suicide or murder? Hoping to avoid scandal, Senator Lucius Arruntius calls in Marcus Corvinus to do some discreet sleuthing. Marcus is helped in his investigations by a feisty flutegirl and by his clever, loyal wife Perilla even though her attention is somewhat distracted by the acquisition of a revolutionary new clock. But – inevitably – to solve the mystery, Marcus must look beyond the obvious and first untangle a complex web of treachery and deceit.

White Murder

When the great chariot racer, Pegasus, is found stabbed to death, Marcus Corvinus is already on site. The District Watch crooked to a man claims the motive was theft, but Corvinus knows better. Tracking the murderer takes him deep into the world of Roman chariot racing with all its secrets, scams, and skullduggery.

A Vote for Murder

Marcus Corvinus is spending a few days in the Alban Hills, while taking a mild interest in the forthcoming consul’s elections. Then one of the two candidates is murdered, and Corvinus is all too pleased to put his holiday on hold and help with the investigation. The obvious suspect is the rival political candidate, but needless to say, the obvious solution is not always the right one.

Parthian Shot

While conducting an investigation into an attack on the Parthian Prince Phraates, one of the Parthian delegation is murdered and a full diplomatic incident threatens. The byzantine twists and turns of the case give Corvinus a headache that rivals his customary hangover, and it takes a violent threat to his wife Perilla before he gets a grip on what’s really happening.

Food for the Fishes

When Licinius Murena, wealthy fish farm owner, is found dead, drowned in one of his eel tanks, not many tears are shed. Certainly not by Trebbio, who had just been booted out of his cottage by the landowner, and was heard drunkenly bad mouthing him in public the day before Murena’s death. Nor by his widow, a little stunner half Murena’s age, who allegedly spent an inordinate amount of time ‘under the doctor.’ Nor by his daughter nor his farm manager. With friends like these, who needs enemies? Marcus Corvinus is the man to find out. With the help, of course, of his clever wife, Perilla if she can spare the time from her newly acquired passion for gambling. As we follow the Byzantine thought processes by which our hero solves the crime, we are entertained with enriching accounts of pisciculture and ‘Twelve Lines,’ the Roman precursor to backgammon.

In at the Death

The sudden suicide of a young man prompts his family to ask veteran sleuth Marcus Corvinus to investigate. As usual, Marcus needs Perilla’s agile brain to untangle the case, which grows more complex by the minute. Eventually the pair realizes that the suicide was actually a murder with political dimensions. Corvinus finds his investigations hampered, however, by his new role as reluctant dog sitter to the misnamed Placida, a Gallic boarhound with a gargantuan appetite and minimal hygiene.

Illegally Dead

When Corvinus receives a letter from his adopted daughter, Marilla, with a tantalizing PS mentioning a possible murder, he hot foots it to Castrimoenium at once. Not everyone, however, agrees that Lucius Hostilius was murdered. Poison was apparently the means of death, but Lucius was terminally ill. It was only a matter of time. Although he hasn’t any official investigative status, Corvinus can’t resist doing a little amateur sleuthing. And he has barely begun when two other corpses turn up and he is formally on the case. Lucius had been suffering something of a personality change because of his illness, so there is no shortage of suspects among friends and family whom he had antagonized. But Corvinus goes up many a blind alley before arriving at the heart of the mystery. As we follow Marcus Corvinus, clue by clue, on his 10th case, we allow ourselves to be diverted by rumors of Meton’s love life and by an authentic recipe for fish pickle sauce.

The Horse Coin

Britain AD59: The scars of Roman conquest are still livid, the clash of two disparate cultures a source of bitterness and conflict. The Roman ruling class believe it is their duty to civilise the natives; the British tribes chafe under the conquerors’ yoke. Marcus Julius Severinus, a young cavalryman in the Roman army, respects the Britons among whom he has been brought up. Newly promoted to Commander of the ‘Foxes’, he believes there is more to be gained by co operation than by brute force. Governor Paullinus does not agree. When he attempts to cheat Boudica, queen of the Iceni, of her rightful inheritance, he underestimates the wave of rebellious fury that engulfs Roman and Briton alike. Even though the final battle is won, Marcus and his family have to pay a terrible price. Yet from the tragedy stems hope. Marcus’s marriage to the daughter of a British chieftain symbolises a new era in which the two races forge a common destiny.

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