IN THE SHADOW OF THE BULL

In 1440 B.C.E., a young Cretan woman swears to the Goddess that she will find her sister’s killer.

Since 15-year-old Martis’ dream is to be a bull-leaper, she secretly takes acrobatic lessons. On the day of her sister Arge’s wedding to the foreigner Saurus, her bossy oldest sister, Opis, must search for her because she's busy practicing. Martis is a free person, unlike her leatherworker father, Bais, who’s a slave, as is his unhappy daughter Nuia, Martis’ only full sister. Their mother, Nephele, is a handmaiden to the High Priestess who represents the Goddess. Arge’s sudden death at the wedding ceremony leaves Martis stricken because she’d prayed to stop the marriage and blames herself. Arge comes to Martis in a dream, telling her she was poisoned and setting Martis off on a dangerous hunt to avenge her. At first the High Priestess refuses to listen, but her consort, Tinos, a famous bull-leaper, convinces her to grant the girl an audience, and she then allows Martis to hunt for the killer. Running wild on the streets, Martis learns some unsettling things about her squabbling family. Her suspects include an Egyptian prostitute and, of course, Saurus and his friend, who are soon arrested along with Nuia, who wanted Saurus herself. Although she wants to free her sister and hopes Saurus is guilty, Martis is fair-minded enough to doubt his guilt.

This complex, character-driven mystery is loaded with fascinating historical details.