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Murder in Absentia: A Story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic is the first book of Felix the Fox series by Assaph Mehr
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“Hardcore Historical Fantasy – Felix the Fox is Sherlock Holmes in Ancient Times”
— Jonathan Maas, author of City of Gods – Hellenica
“Mehr is a master alchemist, blending the real and surreal on a captivating flight of fantasy.”
— Cynthia Celmer
A young man is found dead in his bed, with a look of extreme agony on his face and strange tattoos all over his body. His distraught senator father suspects foul play, and knows who to call on.
Enter Felix the Fox, a professional investigator. In the business of ferreting out dark information for his clients, Felix is neither a traditional detective nor a traditional magician – but something in between. Drawing on his experience of dealing with the shady elements of society and his aborted education in the magical arts, Felix dons his toga and sets out to discover the young man’s killers.
Murder in absentia is set in a fantasy world. The city of Egretia borrows elements from a thousand years of ancient Roman culture, from the founding of Rome to the late empire, mixed with a judicious amount of magic. This is a story of a cynical, hardboiled detective dealing with anything from daily life to the old forces roaming the world.
This is a story of Togas, Daggers and Magic – it will appeal to lovers of murder mysteries, ancient Rome and fantasy.
Our Review
I really loved this book and I am very much looking forward to read the next book in the series!
As someone who enjoys reading fantasy, mysteries and books on Ancient Rome, Murder in Absentia was a real treat as it combines all of that in a seamless way. To my delight the author has also added the right amount of humor to the mix.
The story takes place in Egretia a place in a fantasy world called Nuremata with roots in our ancient classical world. There are gods, monsters, a very interesting social order(greco-romanesque in Egretia) and… magia – a raw power that has several facets, one of them so powerful and dangerous that its use and teaching is forbidden – the Nefastum scientiam. Of course we always get someone interested in forbidden things and much the more when they can potentially give you such great power over others…
The main character is Felix a professional fox who has some very useful knowledge of magia and is hired by a grieving father to investigate his young son’s untimely and strange death. Felix sees himself drawn into all sorts of adventures and dangers to unravel the mystery surrounding Caeso’s death, during the investigation he gets help from friends and he finds many clues and to understand them he visits several specialists to help him out. As we follow on Felix’s steps this interesting world with its denizens, places of power and raw magia unfolds right before our very eyes… Get the book and marvel at this gem cut by the hands of the master Assaph Mehr.
A Word from the Author
Murder In Absentia is the story I always wanted to read. I have been in love with ancient history, and in particular Rome, since I first laid eyes on Asterix. Growing up in Israel, a country steeped in millennia of human history, and playing D&D just helped cement that love.
As a kid, I was a voracious reader. I borrowed my sister’s library card when the librarian said I was too young for the Sci-Fi & Fantasy section. I grew up on all the classics, reading and rereading them as I matured. Along with sci-fi and fantasy, I loved mysteries and thrillers – Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Alistair MacLean to name just a few.
So when it came time to write, I had it all in my head – all jumbled together in my hand. I sub-titled Murder In Absentia as “a story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic”, as it draws elements of ancient Rome, Fantasy and Mystery. It’s also a bit shorter than “an historically-themed urban high-fantasy noir detective mystery (with a splash of horror)”.
If you like any two out of the three (Rome, Fantasy, and Mystery), give Murder In Absentia a shot. I trust you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Videas Lumen!
Assaph
(1st May 2016)
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