Lustrum. Robert Harris. 2009.

Rome, 63BC. Seven men are struggling for power: Cicero the consul, Caesar his ruthless rival, Pompey the republic’s greatest general, Crassus its richest man,Cato a political fanatic, Catalina a psychopath, Clodius an ambitious playboy.

The stories of these real historical figures - their alliances and betrayals, their cruelties and seductions, their brilliance and crimes - are all interleaved to form this epic novel. Its’ narrator is Tiro, confidential secretary to the wily, humane, complex Cicero. He knows all his master’s secrets - a dangerous position to be in.

From the discovery of a child’s mutilated body, through judicial execution and a scandalous trial, to the brutal unleashing of the Russian mob, Lustrum is a study in the timeless enticements and horrors of power.