Lacking Natural Simplicity

One Virgin Too Many, by Lindsey Davis. Davis's Falco novels are about a Roman informer mixing it up with low-lifes and senator's daughters, and are a little in the style of the hard-boiled private detective novels. That is slightly disconcerting, but they are very enjoyable once you've adjusted your viewpoint a little.

Ambrose Bierce & the One-Eyed Jacks, by Oakley M. Hall.