Ben Pastor, The Water Thief

The Water Thief

Ben Pastor

Dunne, February 2007, $23.95

ISBN: 0312353901

In 304 AD, Commander Aelius Spartianus travels to Egypt on behalf of Diocletian. He is to see if the Emperor's prices on food and other necessities are being followed, and to insure that the Christian trials are proper and fair. However, his prime mission is to research the deified Hadrian prior to writing his biography. Little does he know that he is to be the target of a conspiracy that has its roots back in Hadrian's time.

First, a bookseller that Aelius does business with is murdered, as is the slave he freed. In a letter written by the bookseller, he says he found a note saying there was information that was interred with Hadrian's lover Antinous concerning the safety of the empire. As he investigates, attempts are made to kill him, while people helping him are murdered. Aelius knows he must find Antinous' resting place in order to determine whether a deadly conspiracy remains viable, but homicides seem to follow him, even when he scampers back to Rome.

Ancient Egypt and Rome come alive in this fascinating historical mystery, that focuses on the rise of Christianity at a time when the empire's leaders attempt to suppress the growing influence of the new religion. Aelius is an intellectual warrior who knows that the most dangerous job in the Roman Empire is: being his friend or ally. THE WATER THIEF is filled with action, intrigue and vivid descriptions, as obviously Ben Pastor must have been there.