Ben Pastor

Ben Pastor is the pen name of Italian-American historical mystery writer Maria Verbena Volpi. Born in Rome, she studied archaeology at Sapienza University and later taught at American universities. Her fiction combines investigation with historical settings, including the Martin Bora novels of twentieth-century Europe and the Aelius Spartianus mysteries of the late Roman Empire. The Water Thief introduces Aelius as an officer, historian, and investigator serving under Diocletian. His inquiry into Antinous, the companion of Emperor Hadrian who drowned in the Nile, expands into lethal violence and political conspiracy across Egypt and Rome. St. Martin's Minotaur published the novel in 2007, and later editions call the novel the first Aelius Spartianus mystery. Pastor's archaeological training and interest in moral conflict shape the series' mixture of documentary detail, psychological tension, and detective plotting. The Water Thief thus begins a distinct ancient-world sequence beside her wartime mysteries.