Ten for Dying

"On a hot summer night in 6th century Constantinople at the Church of the Holy Apostles, an Egyptian magician tries to raise Empress Theodora from the dead and demons vanish into the darkness with one of the city's holiest relics, a fragment of the shroud of the Virgin. As if Felix, Captain of the Palace Guard, didn't have enough problems already between his gambling debts, political maneuverings, and an ambitious new mistress, Emperor Justinian orders him to find the missing relic. But before he can begin investigating the theft, he becomes suspected of murder thanks to an anonymous corpse left at his house. A former madam turned leader of a religious refuge, a wealthy and famous charioteer, a general's scheming wife, and a superstitious  man who wears so many protective charms that he jingles when he walks, all play their parts in misdirection and murder. It seems as if half the city has reason to wish to possess the relic, see Felix dead, or both. If only Felix's friend John were still in the city and could assist him. Unfortunately, the former Lord Chamberlain is being  sent into exile, sailing away the morning after the theft. It  isn't easy solving a mystery in Constantinople while aboard a ship  on its way to Greece. Felix is left to fight for survival in a situation where he can't be sure who his enemies are, or even whether they are all human."