“It isn’t where I thought things were going.”

For those of you who have been following this series of reviews about Caroline Lawrence’s historical novels for older children, I can tell you: this is the book.

By that, I mean, this is the book that features ‘the kiss’ that lead to the Christian school in Bangladesh, where I taught for many years, to ban the book. Thus thwarting myself, my daughter (who was a student at the same school) and all her school friends from reading any more of the series. At the time there was ‘much wailing and gnashing of teeth’ over the matter. We lived for these books (yes, me too, supposedly an adult – I thought they were great!).

Thus, from here on, all the books I’m reading from this series are new to me rather than re-reads for the purpose of nostalgia and happy memories of some of the best years of my life. And this book, as a first time read, didn’t disappoint.

I mused in the last review that I wondered how long we can keep getting back stories for a series that runs for seventeen books when there’s only four main protagonists – the four child detectives running around ancient Rome with apparent glee. This question continues as with this book we get the back story to Lupus – the mute beggar boy befriended by Jonathan, Flavia and Nubia. In this story, we find out why Lupus is so angry all the time and how he lost his tongue.

And, of course, we have a mystery to solve. Except this time there’s less of a mystery and more of a dilemma. Flavia’s sea-faring father has returned home, almost dead, and with his ship destroyed. He’s lost everything and they’re about to lose their home as the debt-collectors move in for the kill. Can the four friends do anything about it? You bet they can!

Another question I have posed in previous reviews is how much Caroline Lawrence is going to push the whole Christianity thing. The answer is increasingly clear with each book, especially this one. There is a definite, half-subtle, push for the good points of the Christian faith. The issue of forgiveness is firmly placed centre in this story.

Having had my doubts about this (there’s nothing worse than being preached to under false pretences) I am warming to how this author is using a clearly important theme for her to drive plot. There’s no faking it here. While three friends remain firmly ‘pagan’ (Jonathan being a converted Jew along with his family), the faith touches in Lupus’s life in a very real way. There was no heavy-handedness here.

There is, however, a loss of a character. Without giving too much away, this character was important enough that it rather surprised me when it happened. I expected this character to return frequently throughout the series. To die just five books in is brave to say the very least. Again, I shall be interested to see where Lawrence decides to take these books. It isn’t where I thought things were going.

And I really am in the dark from here on in. I had a vague sense of what this story entailed but I think that’s because I just about recall watching an episode based on this book on TV before the days of Bangladesh when my children were both still very young. Otherwise, this is all new to me. I’m looking forward to what happens next.

Oh, and the kiss? Perfectly fine and not at all something that ever needed banning even in a Christian school. That said, there is a second kiss that momentarily does bring a commotion…but I’ll let you read that for yourself if you so wish.

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.