Pastor, Ben 1950–

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Pastor, Ben 1950–

(Verbena Pastor)

PERSONAL:

Born 1950; birth name Verbena Pastor; married; husband's name Daniel; children: Alex (daughter).

ADDRESSES:

Home—VT. Office—School of Graduate Studies, Norwich University, 158 Harmon Dr., Northfield, VT 05663.

CAREER:

Norwich University, Northfield, VT, associate professor of graduate studies.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Lumen, Van Neste Books (Midlothian, VA), 1999.

Liar Moon, Van Neste Books (Richmond, VA), 2001.

The Water Thief, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor of academic articles and short fiction to periodicals, including Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Strand, Ellen Queen's Mystery Magazine, and Yellow Silk.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ben Pastor writes mystery novels with historical settings, such as World War II-era Europe under Nazi occupation in Lumen and Liar Moon, and the time of the Roman Empire in The Water Thief. The latter book, taking place in the fourth century AD and featuring many real-life figures, finds former soldier and imperial historian Aelius Spartianus commanded by Emperor Diocletian to investigate the death, 200 years earlier, of Emperor Hadrian's male lover, Antinous. Aelius and Diocletian suspect that when Antinous drowned in the Nile River, it was neither accident nor suicide but murder. Over the course of his work, Aelius discovers evidence of a conspiracy against the empire, and some of his associates lose their lives while his own is threatened.

Several reviewers praised the novel's historical background as well as its mystery plot. Pastor's narrative touches on the empire's political and religious conflicts, the lives of its gay inhabitants, and the environment in its military outposts. Her vivid portrayal of Roman times makes The Water Thief "far richer than the traditional whodunit," observed Dennis Drabelle in the Washington Post Book World. A Publishers Weekly critic noted that Pastor spreads her story across "an elaborately detailed canvas." A Kirkus Reviews contributor, however, deemed the historical detail excessive, saying Pastor "buries her interesting story and well-drawn characters under an avalanche of research," while Booklist commentator Connie Fletcher found the Roman background riveting even though she thought that "the plot meanders." The Publishers Weekly reviewer had compliments for both plot and setting, summing up the novel as a "satisfyingly convoluted historical." In a similar vein, Drabelle concluded that Pastor "persuasively evokes an ancient world" and "works shrewd variations on the known facts."