Reviewed by Jess

TITLE: The Left Hand of Calvus

AUTHOR: Ann Gallagher

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 213 pages

RELEASE DATE:  November 5, 2016

BLURB:

Former gladiator Saevius is certain Fortune’s smiling on him when a Pompeiian politician buys him to be his bodyguard. That is until his new master, Laurea Calvus, orders Saevius to discover the gladiator with whom his wife is having a sordid affair. In order to do that, Saevius must return to the arena, training alongside the very men on whom he’s spying. Worse, he’s now under the command of Drusus, a notoriously cruel—and yet strangely intriguing—lanista.

But Saevius’s ruse is the least of his worries. There’s more to the affair than a wife humiliating her prominent husband, and now Saevius is part of a dangerous game between dangerous men. He isn’t the only gladiator out to expose the Lady Verina’s transgressions, and her husband wants more than just the guilty man’s name.

When Saevius learns the truth about the affair, he’s left with no choice but to betray a master: one he’s come to fear, one he’s come to respect, and either of whom could have him killed without repercussion.

For the first time in his life, the most dangerous place for this gladiator isn’t the arena.

This 52,500 word novel was previously published under the pseudonym L.A. Witt, and has been lightly revised.

REVIEW:

There’s a really, really good twist in this story. It’s proving to be challenging to write a good review about it without spoiling it, but I just had to start the review by saying that the plot twist really blew me away! Days after finishing the book, I found myself wanting to re-read it and look for clues and signs. That’s how you know an author has written a carefully planned and penned mystery that keeps readers on edge right until the end.

For the first half of the book, I was enjoying this story just fine for what it was—a violent, slightly dark, forbidden romance between an enslaved gladiator and his feared lanista (owner/slaver of gladiators). I was a little wary in regards to the power imbalance, but the moral grey areas intrigued me, and I could tell Gallagher put in the research without making the story too densely historical. And once the mystery began to come together, so many more layers were added to the plot, increasing my enjoyment tenfold.

This isn’t too long of a book to begin with, but it feels very short because it’s so accessible and readable as both a romance and a mystery. The plot builds at a rapid pace and the pieces fall together neatly without being predictable. Saevius, our main character, is a bit of a blank slate—he’s tough and strong and cunning, but he spends the majority of the book quiet and hidden, watching and biding his time as Pompeii and the bloody reality of gladiator life move around him. Only when he’s alone with Drusus, his cold and calculating master, does he start to shine.

If you enjoy historical mysteries, you’ll love this one. There’s plenty of intrigue and second-guessing. There are layers of story without it becoming too tangled up in itself. The romance is pretty tame compared to the violence—nothing beyond a few kisses—but the chemistry between Saevius and Drusus burns slow and steady. This review may seem a little too vague, but this is one of those stories that is best to dive right into. So if the general plot and setting fascinates you, I suggest you jump in right away!

RATING: 

BUY LINK: 

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