Blackmailed into spying for Lysander, head of the hated Secret Police, High Priestess Iliona discovers that the threat to her country doesn't come from their archenemy, Athens. It comes from deep within Sparta itself.But as she investigates, the same thread keeps turning up. Of a one-eyed giant who lives in the hills. The legendary Cyclops. So who is this man who inspires such fear? A freak? A fraud? A felon? And what does his arrival have to do with the disappearance of several young women?

It just wasn't fair. When you marry a man for his money, you expect him to leave you a shining pile of gold pieces. Not a crummy old wine business. How was the new young widow Claudia going to pay off her gambling debts now?So when Eugenius Collatinus asks Claudia to chaperone his granddaughter to Sicily she jumps at the chance to escape Rome. It should be easy—Sabina Collatinus, she is told, has recently completed thirty years' service as a Vestal Virgin.Or has she...?Claudia suspects she is escorting an impostor. And then a woman's brutalized body is discovered...

The Watcher waited until she bent down to gather a handful of bilberries. The woodland floor was soft and springy. The Watcher’s feet made no sound. Claudia was just ten when her father marched off to war and never came home. Now it’s time to uncover the truth about his disappearance. Her search takes her to the dark forests of Gaul, where Druid Law rules and human sacrifice is still practiced in secret. Staying at the villa of the cold, commanding Marcia, Claudia notices that several young women have gone missing, and while suspicion falls on a mysterious character who lives in the woods, she isn’t convinced. Marcia only employs perfectionists for her projects. Nor has it escaped her notice that each victim is unblemished and in the fullness of bloom. Just like Claudia…

The demon stirred. Its sleep had been long, but in its sleep it grew restless. It had smelled the blood of its past in its dreams. Now it wanted to taste it. When Claudia is caught doping racehorses, an island in the Adriatic seems the perfect refuge. Shaded by figs and pomegranates, Leo’s villa is surrounded by plunging cliffs, sandy coves and hillsides scented by carpets of wild herbs. Then a pirate ship anchors in the bay, and almost immediately a fire breaks out, an apprentice is murdered, and sinister messages are delivered on the point of a spear. Too late, Claudia discovers that three hundred miles isn’t far enough from Rome to escape the law. Or a bloodlust that goes way beyond evil.From Publishers WeeklyAccused of doping race horses, series heroine Claudia Seferius retreats to the island haven of her patrician friend, Leo, in Marilyn Todd's (Dream Boat) eighth diverting Roman historical, Dark Horse. Instead of peace, however, Claudia finds a pirate warship anchored in the bay, arson and murder. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review"'Terrific read... thoroughly entertaining' The Bookseller 'Claudia is hard not to love: her exploits are a true guilty pleasure.' Kirkus on Dream Boat" 

The corpse in the shallow grave couldn't find rest. "You'll never get away with my murder," she cried. "They'll find you in the end. One way or another, they will find you. And then you'll have to pay."But her killer has no intentions of being caught. Joining a troupe of traveling actors (aren't all killers actors at heart?), there's no better place to hide out. Until the group is invited to spend Saturnalia with Claudia Seferius...

Five generations under the eagle. Butchers under the skin. When the King of Histria invites Claudia to visit, she assumes the contract he wants her to sign is for wine. How wrong can she be? Virtually a prisoner in a land where brutality is ingrained, she is deeply suspicious of the recent run of bad luck that has befallen the King’s family. And where is he? If the King was so desperate to meet, why will no one take her to the Palace? And why, when she witnesses a murder, does no one believe her..?

The death toll was rising...and not all the symptoms tallied with the plague... A deadly contagion may have sent many of Rome’s wealthier citizens fleeing to the country, but for Claudia Seferius a plague is the least of her worries. For she has “temporarily borrowed” 3,000 sesterces from local millionaire Sabbio Tullus. OK, so she’d had to break into his depository to get at it, but did he really need to set the army after her? Desperate to escape arrest, she seeks refuge in the beautiful spa resort of Atlantis. Once there she meets the charming Cal, and a little flirting in tranquil surroundings seems an ideal way to pass the time. Except, within hours, Cal is dead. And he’s not the only one. Pretty soon Claudia begins to wonder whether Atlantis isn’t far more dangerous than the disease-ridden streets she left behind...

"Kidnapped? What do you mean, the silly cow's been kidnapped?"Claudia didn't believe for one second that her stepdaughter had been abducted, and she was right. But when Flavia's stupid prank costs a young man his life, this was anything but funny. Frustrated and furious, Claudia turns to the one man who can help - only to find Marcus is under house arrest after a body is found walled up in his house. She eventually tracks Flavia to an Egyptian cult in the hills, whose leader bends the members' minds to his own sinister will. But worshipping the Barque of Ra is one thing. When one of the cult members starts to believe he is the incarnation of Seth, brother of Osiris, God of Chaos, the Dark Destroyer himself, the game turns very dangerous indeed.From Publishers WeeklyThe acid-tongued Roman diva Claudia Seferius, wealthy widow and heroine of 0-7278-5818-1, is seriously ticked off when her bratty teenage stepdaughter is kidnapped on the eve of a huge festival not only does it cut into her quality frolicking time, but Claudia is now broke and can't afford to pay the ransom. The ancient Roman detail clashes hilariously with the catfighting and hunk-worshipping in Marilyn Todd's latest Seferius mystery (after Virgin Territory) as Claudia chases after the mysterious kidnappers. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Review'A timeless heroine for today--you'll be hooked.' Company   'The Roman detail is deft, the pace as fast as a champion gladiator, and the heroine, Claudia, an arrogant superbitch who keeps us all on the edge where she loves to live.' Sunday Express'A wonderful fictional creation--a bawdy superbitch with a talent for sleuthing...an enormous triumph.' Ms London'An endearing adventuress who regards mortal danger as just another bawdy challenge.' She'If you're looking for a romp through the streets of Rome, this is the book to buy!' Books Magazine'Terrific read...It is written in a contemporary, fast style, and is a thoroughly entertaining mystery romp.' The Bookseller

Deep in the reed beds, the water shimmered and rippled. After three days' submersion, the gases inside gently raised the body to the surface. Setting a seventeen-year-old youth on his final journey downstream.When a wealthy horse trainer starts courting her mother-in-law, Claudia knows love has bugger-all to do with it. Especially with the number of hangers-on who've moved in. But exactly what is his game? Can it be connected to a string of local misfortunes?At first, Claudia is simply curious.Then a young man is found dead...

Five slave women have been murdered on Market Day, so it isn’t a safe time for Claudia to be chased by dogs into the darkest streets of Rome. In the back alleys of the capital city, Claudia finds an abandoned boy, Jovi, and takes him home with her. A killer is stalking the streets, his victims linked by a tattoo that marks them as the "children of Arbil." But Arbil is no loving father--he is a baby-snatcher who runs a slave-rearing empire.

The latest adventure for glamorous Roman sleuth Claudia. Blackmailed into investigating the murder of a child in south-west Gaul, Claudia is plunged into a bizarre world of nature priestesses, known as the Hundred-Handed. She soon finds there is a darker force at work; the Scorpion, master of disguise, is as cunning as he is ruthless. No one betrays this man and lives. Too late, Claudia discovers it was the Scorpion who lured her to Gaul in the first place . . .Blackmailed into investigating the murder of a child in southwest Gaul, Claudia is plunged into a bizarre world of nature priestesses, but as sinister as this is, an even darker force is at work. A master of disguise, the Scorpion is as cunning as he is ruthless. No one betrays this man and lives. Too late, Claudia discovers it was the Scorpion who lured her to Gaul in the first place. 

First in the Claudia Seferius mystery series, set in 13 B. C. and available for the first time in ebook format!Claudia Seferius has successfully flattered her way into marriage with a wealthy Roman wine merchant. But when her secret gambling debts spiral, she hits on another resourceful way to make money - offering her "personal services" to high-ranking Roman Citizens.Unfortunately her clients are now turning up dead - the victims of a sadistic serial killer.When Marcus Cornelius Orbilio, the handsome investigating officer, starts digging deep for clues, Claudia realizes she must track down the murderer herself - before her husband discovers what she's been up to.CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR I, CLAUDIA:'A timeless heroine for today—you'll be hooked.' Company'The Roman detail is deft, the pace as fast as a champion gladiator, and the heroine, Claudia, an arrogant superbitch who keeps us all on the edge where she loves to live.' Sunday Express'A wonderful...

If we're going to make a new order for Rome, a better order, I might add—sacrifices have to be made. We have set the assassination date for the Ides of July ...   What better opportunity for a beautiful young widow than to join a prestigious trade delegation bound for Gaul? There was the fanfare as the procession left Rome, the breathtaking journey through lush Alpine meadows. And let's not forget the promise of riches for delivering a certain pouch, sealed with the sign of the black salamander.   Except things are never that simple when Claudia Seferius is involved. There's a rockfall, for a start, which leaves the party stranded, as well as five men dead—and one death is not accidental.   All Claudia wants to do now is to get out of the valley they are trapped in and hand over the pouch. But there are those who will go to any lengths to stop her.   And suddenly Claudia finds herself plunged into a deadly game of high treason, in a land where warriors still hunt human heads and where wicker-man sacrifices are far from rare...