title: Murder's Immortal Mask (Ancient Rome Mysteries)
author: Paul Doherty
description: Doherty's fifth ancient Rome mystery, the first to be released in the U.S., picks up with former legionnaire Attius Enobarbus found murdered in a locked room. Emperor Constantine's mother, pious Christian Helena, dispatches her servant Claudia and the ex-gladiator Murranus to find the secret Attius held: the location of the tomb of the apostle Peter. Claudia discovers that Attius was suspected of being the Nefandus, a brutal serial killer, but the Nefandus resurfaces after Attius's death, and Claudia must discover his or her identity as well as the key to Peter's tomb. Meticulous historical detail, a carefully constructed plot and an intriguing array of prostitutes, German mercenaries and other underground Roman characters make this an engrossing and informative read, though scant backstory and references to earlier books may frustrate first-time readers. <i>(July)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  The face of evil.  
  And the face of greed...
  
  
  The video showed a nearly naked man bloodied and beaten. Even as archaeologist
  and TV presenter Annja Creed watched, the clock on his suicide vest ticked
  down, and precious seconds were lost. But this was no stranger. Garin was her
  friend. Their fates had been bound by the secrets of Joan of Arc’s sword. And
  Annja had less than twenty-four hours to save his life...
  
  
  The price for Garin’s life was the lost mask of Torquemada, rumored to have
  been cast by the Grand Inquisitor himself, five hundred years ago during the
  Spanish Inquisition. Abandoned crypts, lost palaces and a cruel and ancient
  brotherhood: all clues to the mask’s complicated and deadly mystery that
  Annja, and her mentor, Roux—using all of their considerable resources and
  cunning—must solve before Garin runs out of time.
  
  
  Annja Creed is facing her greatest trial. And not even the holy sword of Joan
  of Arc can spare her from the final judgment.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  