Terra Incognita

I started reading Persona Non Grata, the third book in Ruth Downie's Medicus series, without realizing it was the third book. It didn't end up making much difference, as I stopped reading after 70 pages. I found Ruso's family in Gaul even more irritating than he did, and decided I really didn't care about their money problems.

Then I found Terra Incognita, the second book in the series, and read that instead. In this installment, Ruso has agreed to travel north with one of the legions to the very border of the Empire. While he's there, he gets dragged into the murder of the local unit's trumpeter. The Romans think the killer is a local, due to a recent rise in local unrest, spurred on by the mysterious Stag Man. However, the doctor for their unit is also claiming responsibility, though he seems to be mad. The Romans would prefer to convict the local, and while Ruso wouldn't object if he's guilty, he can't figure why the doctor is saying he's the murderer.

The situation between Ruso and Tilla is still a little dodgy. At the end of Medicus, Tilla had opted to stay with Ruso. Because there are certain things about Ruso she likes, even if he is a foreigner. While Ruso certainly cares for her, he also still considers her his slave. Which makes the part about them sleeping together kind of awkward. Downie tries to circumvent this by making it clear Ruso doesn't actually own Tilla, that she's there of her own choice. There's also the fact the Ruso doesn't do well as a commanding presence with her, and frequently opts to simply try to talk with her, person to person. You could make the case he doesn't truly think of her that way, but falls back into it because that's how everyone else perceives their relationship. Which still isn't a particularly admirable position, and it's one that continued into the early part of the next book. Regardless, it's kind of strange when one person believes they're there by choice, and the other thinks the first person is there because they have to be.