Pinch of Pure Cunning : Troubador Publishing : 9781838595067 : 1838595066 : 28 Jul 2020 : This is a collection of mystery short stories, a variety of traditional whodunnits, all with an Ancient Roman background. The tales take us to the turbulent frontier province of Britannia, the showy luxury of  Rome itself, and right inside the glittering and dangerous court of Nero. These make dramatic settings for crime and mystery, and show us a little of life (and death) two thousand years ago. The Roman world had its share of crime, because human nature was much the same then as it is now. Greed, vengeance, and jealousy were motives for theft, fraud, and murder...and where there were crimes there were also investigators. The sleuths in these stories are not professional detectives in the modern sense. Innkeeper Aurelia Marcella, (heroine of the Aurelia Marcella series of mystery novels,) just wants to get on with running a successful business; Rufus the bodyguard becomes an investigator wh