Having finished Corpus Conundrum, I immediately had to buy Eyes of Aurora, and look forward to the next book in the series, if only to see what happens to the characters next. On kindle, so I could start immediately.
I didn't find the insertion of the perspective of Aurora into the story added to it much, and hope Bell doesn't do that again.
I find it interesting that he continued this story line from Death in the Ashes, and wonder if there are upcoming stories that have been mentioned but I didn't notice the clues being dropped. ( )

This is a favorite series of mine, but this book is my least favorite in the series. That's in part because of the introduction of Aurora's point of view. It doesn't seem to me to add much to what we know about an already interesting character, and it distracts from the momentum of the story. In addition, Aurora can seem just a bit irritating, which she never does when the narrative is from Pliny's perspective. Also, the plot in this novel is complicated in the extreme, and the motivations don't seem to me as compelling as in past novels. Still, I like spending time with Pliny, and I will certainly continue with the series. ( )

Searching for the husband of a woman who has now disappeared herself, Pliny comes across the body of a woman who has been brutally raped, stabbed and decapitated.

My memory of the first two books in this series is a little vague three years later, but I don't remember them or the ones I read recently being quite this sexually and violently graphic. I don't think I'm particularly squeamish, but it is quite a departure for the author. ( )

More like a 3.5. Not quite as good as the preceding novels in this series but still worth reading. Mystery concerns a horrific murder. Pliny, his servant girl, Aurora, [an increasingly important character since her introduction into the series] and Pliny's friend Tacitus investigate; even the epigrammist Martial lends a hand. A long-buried family secret is revealed. The SATOR/ROTAS "perfect palindrome" is an important clue. I like ciphers and codes so what Bell did with it is extremely fascinating. Aurora's temporary blindness is a factor in solving the crime.

Pliny's personality is almost too good to be true, although Bell did base it on statements about himself in Pliny's real historical letters but with Bell's own enhancements. It was too easy to guess "whodunit"; I guessed the culprit halfway through the novel but it was fascinating to see the motive and how everything fit together. Both engaging characters, Aurora and Pliny begin a sweet love affair.

An aside: Pliny the Younger's Letters are worth reading in themselves:
I read them online and was very satisfied with this translation: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancien... ( )