48 ratings | 34 reviews | avg rating:4.67

Ruth Downie’s Followers (755)

Ruth’s Bookshelves

to-read (11)
currently-reading (2)
read (336)

Ruth’s Friends (75)

Marcia

1,968 books | 2 friends

Joseph-Daniel Peter Paul Abondius

157,002 books | 4,901 friends

Eric_W

6,186 books | 478 friends

JoAnn J. A. Jordan

653 books | 216 friends

Bloomsbury Publishing

674 books | 996 friends

Tom

6,658 books | 33 friends

Shéa MacLeod

676 books | 371 friends

Camilla Monk

336 books | 164 friends

More friends…

Ruth Downie

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.ruthdownie.com

Twitter

ruthsdownie

Genre

Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers

Member Since

February 2009

edit data

Ruth is the author of nine mysteries* featuring Roman Army medic Gaius Petreius Ruso and his British partner Tilla. The latest is a novella, PRIMA FACIE. She lives in Devon, England. A combination of nosiness and a childish fascination with mud means she is never happier than when wielding an archaeological trowel.

She is sometimes called R.S. Downie, but she isn't the person with the same name who writes medical textbooks, and recommends that readers should never, ever take health advice from a two thousand year old man who prescribes mouse droppings.

*The first four books have all had two titles. Ruth is still wondering how this ever seemed like a good idea. Since she is unable to wind back time, British readers may find it useful to kno ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Ruth Downie questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Ruth Downie’s books

Average rating: 3.96 · 28,930 ratings · 2,898 reviews · 17 distinct works • Similar authors

	Medicus (Gaius Petreius Ruso, #1) 3.76 avg rating — 9,423 ratings — published 2006 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Terra Incognita (Gaius Petreius Ruso, #2) 3.93 avg rating — 4,215 ratings — published 2008 — 38 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Persona Non Grata (Gaius Petreius Ruso, #3) 4.03 avg rating — 3,474 ratings — published 2008 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Caveat Emptor (Gaius Petreius Ruso, #4) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2,750 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Semper Fidelis (Gaius Petreius Ruso, #5) 4.10 avg rating — 2,154 ratings — published 2013 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tabula Rasa (Gaius Petreius Ruso, #6) 4.16 avg rating — 1,824 ratings — published 2014 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vita Brevis (Gaius Petreius Ruso #7) 4.13 avg rating — 1,461 ratings — published 2016 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Year of Ravens by Ruth Downie (Goodreads Author), Kate Quinn (Goodreads Author), Stephanie Dray (Goodreads Author) 4.13 avg rating — 1,297 ratings — published 2015 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Memento Mori (Gaius Petreius Ruso #8) 4.18 avg rating — 1,267 ratings — published 2018 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prima Facie (Gaius Petreius Ruso #7.5) 4.18 avg rating — 720 ratings — published 2019 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Ruth Downie…

152 posts
Ruth Downie's Blog

Joining the 21st century

My thanks to Rob Cain of “Ancient Rome Refocused” for the chance to venture into the world of the podcast. This would have happened some years back but Rob has only now managed to wrestle the recording from the grip of a malevolent computer. I’d forgotten how interesting the conversation was, and was pleasantly surprised to find I didn’t sound as nervous as I’d felt. As an added bonus, this ep

Series by Ruth Downie

Gaius Petreius Ruso (8 books)
by

Ruth Downie (Goodreads Author)

3.95 avg rating — 27,285 ratings

Ruth is Currently Reading

Ruth Downie is currently reading

Food for Life: The New Science of Eating Well

by Tim Spector

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Aug 12, 2023 05:41AM

Ruth Downie is currently reading

Bring Them Home (Detective Karen Hart, #1)

by D.S. Butler (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Dec 30, 2021 11:59PM

rss
Ruth’s Recent Updates

Ruth Downie made a comment in the group Devon Book Club — Poetry June 2024 topic " I'm a bit clueless about poetry but we heard the late Michael Donaghy read many years ago and very much enjoyed it. Here's a link to one of my favouri ...more "
Jun 26, 2024 07:35AM
Ruth Downie is now friends with Julie
Jun 07, 2024 01:53PM · like

More of Ruth's books…

Quotes by Ruth Downie (?)

“One of the many difficult things about women was that they tended to pick the most unsuitable times to tell you something they considered to be important, and then became irrationally upset when you failed to remember it.”
― Ruth Downie, Terra Incognita

tags: kindlehighlight

16 likes

“I seem to remember sitting on a golden bench, and she started chattering about the sunset, or something. She seemed quite happy so I let her get on with it. Then she got hold of my hand and asked me what I was thinking about. So I said, "The treatment of anal fistulae".”
― Ruth Downie, Terra Incognita

tags: ruso, ruth-downie, terra-incognita

11 likes

“Back from where? you're not going out again and leaving me here are you?? Holy Hercules I sound like somebody's wife”
― Ruth Downie, Terra Incognita

tags: funny, ruth-downie, terra-incognita, valens

9 likes

See all Ruth Downie's quotes »

Polls

Who's the best writer of Roman historical-fiction?
Feel free to add your own options.

Conn Iggulden

91 votes, 7.4%

Colleen McCullough

85 votes, 7.0%

Santiago Posteguillo (write-in)

82 votes, 6.7%

T.A. Uner

74 votes, 6.1%

I'm sorry. I haven't read much if any on the subject (write-in)

73 votes, 6.0%

Simon Scarrow

48 votes, 3.9%

Steven Saylor (write-in)

46 votes, 3.8%

Lindsey Davis

44 votes, 3.6%

Robert Graves (write-in)

39 votes, 3.2%

Santiago Posteguillo (write-in)

39 votes, 3.2%

Simon Scarrow

36 votes, 2.9%

Kate Quinn (write-in)

35 votes, 2.9%

conn iggulden (write-in)

30 votes, 2.5%

Ben Kane

28 votes, 2.3%

Robert Harris

28 votes, 2.3%

Bernard Cornwell (write-in)

28 votes, 2.3%

Marc Alan Edelheit (write-in)

28 votes, 2.3%

Colleen McCullough (write-in)

26 votes, 2.1%

Simon Scarrow (write-in)

23 votes, 1.9%

Anthony Riches

20 votes, 1.6%

Steven Pressfield (write-in)

20 votes, 1.6%

Ben Kane (write-in)

19 votes, 1.6%

Harry Sidebottom

18 votes, 1.5%

S.J.A. Turney

17 votes, 1.4%

Ruth Downie (write-in)

17 votes, 1.4%

Robert Fabbri (write-in)

16 votes, 1.3%

Chuck Norris

15 votes, 1.2%

Rosemary Sutcliffe (write-in)

13 votes, 1.1%

Christian Cameron (write-in)

13 votes, 1.1%

M.C. Scott

12 votes, 1.0%

Robert Harris (write-in)

12 votes, 1.0%

Douglas Jackson

10 votes, 0.8%

C J Sansom (write-in)

10 votes, 0.8%

Robert Graves (write-in)

10 votes, 0.8%

Wallace Breem

9 votes, 0.7%

Massimo manfredi (write-in)

9 votes, 0.7%

Rick Riordan (write-in)

9 votes, 0.7%

John Maddox Roberts (write-in)

9 votes, 0.7%

R.W. Peake

8 votes, 0.7%

Paul Doherty (write-in)

8 votes, 0.7%

Robert Fabri (write-in)

8 votes, 0.7%

Ken Follett (write-in)

7 votes, 0.6%

Russell Whitfield (write-in)

6 votes, 0.5%

Jennifer A. Nielsen (write-in)

5 votes, 0.4%

James A. Michener (write-in)

5 votes, 0.4%

Harry Turtledove (write-in)

4 votes, 0.3%

Marilyn Todd (write-in)

4 votes, 0.3%

Steven Saylor (write-in)

4 votes, 0.3%

Marguerite Yourcenar (write-in)

4 votes, 0.3%

Nick Brown (write-in)

3 votes, 0.2%

Karen Cushman (write-in)

3 votes, 0.2%

Lindsey Davis (write-in)

3 votes, 0.2%

Ian James Ross (write-in)

2 votes, 0.2%

Henryk Sienkiewicz (write-in)

2 votes, 0.2%

Kate Sedley (write-in)

2 votes, 0.2%

Robert harris (write-in)

2 votes, 0.2%

Juliette Benzoni (write-in)

2 votes, 0.2%

1223 total votes

17 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Readers and Reading: July 2010 reads	30	110	Aug 21, 2010 02:49PM
Mystery/Thriller ...: july 2010 - sandi	6	37	Aug 22, 2010 08:15PM
The Mystery, Crim...: Winner Chosen: Dec 2010-Jan 2011 Group Read	45	324	Dec 02, 2010 07:40PM
The Seasonal Read...: 15.1 - The Land Down Under	26	109	Mar 28, 2011 05:19PM
The History Book ...: STEVEN'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2011	10	64	Jun 21, 2011 06:36AM
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2011 Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC!	2251	790	Nov 30, 2011 09:05PM
Challenge: 50 Books: Vicki's 2011 Books	13	61	Dec 10, 2011 06:01AM
Readers and Reading: December 2011 reads	16	18	Jan 02, 2012 02:50PM

More…

Ruth’s Quotes

“If you don't get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don't want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can't hold on to it forever. Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change. Free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. But change is law and no amount of pretending will alter that reality.”
― Socrates

1165 likes

“Running a close second [as a writing lesson] was the realization that stopping a piece of work just because it's hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, is a bad idea. Sometimes you have to go on when you don't feel like it, and sometimes you're doing good work when it feels like all you're managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position.”
― Stephen King

tags: on-writing

275 likes

Ruth Downie’s Followers (755)

Ruth’s Bookshelves

Ruth’s Friends (75)

Ruth Downie

Goodreads Author

Learn more
Ask the Author

Popular Answered Questions

Combine Editions
Ruth Downie’s books

152 posts
Ruth Downie's Blog

Joining the 21st century

Series by Ruth Downie

Ruth is Currently Reading

rss
Ruth’s Recent Updates

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Ruth’s Quotes

recent posts
Ruth’s Groups

Ruth’s Friend Comments

Ruth Downie’s Followers (755)

Ruth Downie

Goodreads Author

Popular Answered Questions

rssRuth’s Recent Updates

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

rss
Ruth’s Recent Updates