The King’s Gambit cover art

The King’s Gambit

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The King’s Gambit

By: John Maddox Roberts
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

Blackmail, corruption, treachery, murder - the glory that was Rome.

In this Edgar Award-nominated mystery, John Maddox Roberts takes listeners back to a Rome filled with violence and evil. Vicious gangs ruled the streets of Crassus and Pompey, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike. So the garroting of a lowly ex-slave and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Subura district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy. But Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger, highborn commander of the local vigiles, was determined to investigate. Despite official apathy, brazen bribes, and sinister threats, Decius uncovers a world of corruption at the highest levels of his government that threatens to destroy him and the government he serves.

©2007 John Maddox Roberts (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Historical Mystery

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All stars
Most relevant
I have listened to the whole series at least 3 times, I love the stories and the characters portrayed!!!!

Brilliant

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I didn’t expect much as I don’t know the author and chose it because the reader was John Lee. It turned out quite interesting as it was my first experience of a Roman criminal investigation. I might have a look at the next books of the series.

Started slow but finished with a bang!

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I have seen these books often over the years but only recently started to read or listen to them.

The underlying plots will be familiar to Roman history buffs but will probably be accessible to any reader. Possibly more accessible to a relative newcomer as the storyline is approached quite obliquely and I struggled sometimes to mesh the storyline with my understanding of real events. The quirks of Roman law and society are well explained where necessary but not in a patronising way - just enough.

The characters are well performed and the narration is good after the first few minutes.

I am still not really clear on the basis of the personal enmity between our hero and Clodius but perhaps that’s just me.

Engaging story and lovely ending.

A good start

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I love all of these spqr books. Great characters, brings Rome to life and balances plot and action with historical context.

Roman fiction at it’s best

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Very enjoyable! John Lee is, as usual, magnificent.

My sole gripe is that the Latin is mispronounced. It could presumably have been easy to get right. A Decius person is very different to a Dekius person.

Mispronounced Roman fun!

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