KEYNOTE A fascinating account of conflict between colonising Romans and resisting Gauls In the far removed province of Aquitania at the confines of the Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus, the newly established city of Lugdunum Convenarum is suddenly terrorised by what appear to be a series of brutal murders of young Roman noblemen. The town is living under a gathering cloud of tension between the Roman colonisers and the local Gauls. The strange habits of the new masters appear to offend the simple and austere outlook of the indigenous population. The reign of Cesar Augustus, with its promise of universal peace, seeks to avoid any potential accidents that might alienate the local population. An investigator is called in from the neighbouring Tolosa and he begins to unravel the strange happenings in this backwater of the Empire located at the foot of the Pyrenees. Translated from the French by Catherine D. Miller AUTHOR Benoit Severac is a local historian of the region around Toulouse, where most of his stories take place. He resides in Toulouse where he teaches English and writes fiction and non-fiction.

Author Biography

Benoit Severac is from Toulouse, France, where he teaches English. This is his first mystery translated from the French. He is also the author of several prize-winning thrillers, all located in the region of Toulouse, which awarded him the Grand Prize for Literature in 2008.