The Used Virgin: An Argolicus Mystery

by Zara Altair

Overview

When Argolicus, once praefect of Rome under the Ostrogoth King Theodoric, retires at 32 and returns to his home to Bruttia in the very south of Italy, he learns that his avuncular friend from youth has been accused of rape, and not just rape, rape of a virgin. In the culture of the time, this accusation is worse than murder.

Accompanied by his tutor and lifelong friend, Nikolaos, he goes straight to the governor’s villa where luxury, beautiful horses, and great wine hid an extremely cruel deception.

While author, Zara Altair, was doing research for her novel Felix Ravenna: A Mosaic she came across a letter in the Variae of Cassiodorus (iii, 46) which has puzzled scholars. Who better to solve the mystery than her hero Argolicus? When history presents a puzzle, fiction creates a solution.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940152952490
Publisher:	Zara Altair
Publication date:	03/31/2016
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	732,275
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Zara Altair combines mystery with a bit of adventure in the Argolicus mysteries. The Used Virgin is the first in a series of mysteries based in southern Italy at the time of the Ostrogoth rule of Italy under Theoderic the Great. Italians (Romans) and Goths live under one king while the Roman Empire is ruled from Constantinople. At times the cultures clash, but Argolicus uses his wit, sometimes with help from his tutor Nikolaos, to provide justice in a province far from the King’s court. Zara Altair lives in Beaverton, Oregon. She is a fiction author writing in the historical fiction genre. Her approach to writing is to present the puzzle and let Argolicus and Nikolaos find the solution encountering a bit of adventure and some humor in their search. Her stories are rich in historical detail based on years of research. The next mystery in the series, The Peach Widow, is coming soon.