“If tales of destruction and kidnapping of children can be said to be damned good fun – then this is it!”

Continuing to work my way through this collection of novels from the brilliant Caroline Lawrence – some read many years previously – and trying to work out what I remember and what I don’t.

Having finished book III, I’m still firmly in the camp of ‘I definitely read this before’, recalling that, somewhere early on in the series, I – and all of us at the Christian school where I worked in Bangladesh – had to stop because one book featured (gasp, horror)…a kiss. The books were, as far as I can tell, either promptly banned or that book was removed from the library rendering reading others in the series pointless (if you’re like me and have to read in the correct order or not at all).

So, reading this book – which breathlessly follows on from the second book where our intrepid detectives had just survived the eruption of Vesuvius (by the skin of their teeth) – I found again that many parts of the book I recalled from the past. As per the previous books (and this may tell you more about me than the book), I couldn’t remember the key details and who, in particular, was the bad guy; so I enjoyed the mystery all over again.

The plot follows on from the disaster brilliantly told in book II, with the survivors from Pompeii living in refugee tents, trying to rebuild their lives. Almost immediately it becomes obvious that children are going missing. The fingers point to a powerful and mysterious ‘Patron’ who seems to delight in selling children into slavery. Our four young detectives set out to find out what’s going on, find the children and solve the mystery.

That’s the premise, but there’s much more under the surface. For a start off, slavery is a major topic; not just as a historic reality but the ethics therein. What does it mean to be one in Roman times? And how were slaves treated? What did Romans think to owning other human beings? Furthermore, there’s a lot of situations where characters get to find out what it is like to live ‘on the other side’ of things. Finally, the issue of prejudice and jumping to conclusions is dealt with too. All of these are managed naturally; and without even once becoming close to preachy. Lawrence really is a very good writer and knows how to touch the soul while creating a damned good page-turner that entertains.

Of course, these books are for older children and young teens, but Lawrence doesn’t shy away from dealing with uncomfortable subjects and difficult issues and this means it brings something to the table for those of us who are (ahem) less young (and more young in heart, perhaps). That makes these great books for parents and children to read together or one after the other. Funnily enough, I’m doing exactly that with my daughter, albeit that she stopped being a child several years ago! We’re both enjoying returning to these books of our/her youth, perhaps smiling gently at the innocence of it all but still enjoying really good storytelling. If tales of destruction and kidnapping of children can be said to be damned good fun – then this is it!

My Verdict:

Social Entrepreneur, educationalist, bestselling author and journalist, D K Powell is the author of the bestselling collection of literary short stories “The Old Man on the Beach“. His first book, ‘Sonali’ is a photo-memoir journal of life in Bangladesh and has been highly praised by the Bangladeshi diaspora worldwide. Students learning the Bengali language have also valued the English/Bengali translations on every page. His third book is ‘Try not to Laugh’ and is a guide to memorising, revising and passing exams for students.

Both ‘The Old Man on the Beach’ and ‘Sonali’ are available on Amazon for kindle and paperback. Published by Shopno Sriti Media. The novel,’The Pukur’, was published by Histria Books in 2022.

D K Powell is available to speak at events (see his TEDx talk here) and can be contacted at dkpowell.contact@gmail.com. Alternatively, he is available for one-to-one mentoring and runs a course on the psychology of writing. Listen to his life story in interview with the BBC here.

Ken writes for a number of publications around the world. Past reviewer for Paste magazine, The Doughnut, E2D and United Airways and Lancashire Life magazine. Currently reviews for Northern Arts Review. His reviews have been read more than 6.9 million times.