<DIV><DIV><P>Things are going well for Decius Caecilius Metellus. He is <I>praetor peregrinus,</I> which means he has to judge a case or two outside Rome. His first stop is Campania, “Italy's most popular resort district.” He and his wife, Julia, are happy for a change of scenery. But the good times end when, in a town near Vesuvius, a priest's daughter is murdered. Decius must find her killer and keep the mob off a young boy whom everyone blames but he believes to be innocent. Decius may have acquired more prestige, but he's also acquired more trouble. </P><P>With his SPQR novels, John Maddox Roberts has written a satisfying and entertaining historical mystery series. The stakes just keep getting higher in this latest atmospheric puzzle.</P></DIV></DIV>