Customer Reviews

Dolphins of Laurentum (Roman Mysteries)

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This is a great book, with treasure and a couple of new cahracters that did not appear in the first few of the series. Read it now!!!

For the first time in the fifth book in Caroline Lawrence's "The Roman Mysteries" series, the focus shifts to Lupus, a young ex-beggar boy with a mysterious past. His friends Flavia (the daughter of a merchant), Jonathan (son of a Jewish doctor) and Nubia (the freed African slave of Flavia) know that Lupus doesn't like to discuss what happened to him before they met, and even if he wanted to, he couldn't - his tongue has been cut out. Respecting his privacy, the trio decided not to push him into revealing anything until he's ready. However, they know that it all has something to do with Venalicious the slave-dealer, as during a run-in with the hideous man in The Pirates of Pompeii, Lupus almost killed him.

After their adventures in Rome, as recounted in The Assassins Of Rome, the four children are relaxing in their homes in Ostia when they're disrupted by the arrival of an injured, ragged man who is soon identified as Captain Marcus Flavius Gemina: Flavia's father. Much like Antonio in "The Merchant of Venice," his ship has sunk in a storm, and all its cargo has been lost. It could not come at a worse time considering the bankers in the area are demanding repayment for Marcus's debts, and are ready to seize his house and belongings should he not raise the money in time.

Luckily, Pliny the Younger, the nephew of Admiral Pliny that the children befriended in The Secrets of Vesuvius, offers his villa to Marcus and the children whilst Marcus's twin brother tries to help out in the city. It is at Pliny's villa in Larentum that the children discover exciting news: there is a shipwreck off the coast that is rumored to have an immense treasure inside it. All four children have desperate cause to get their hands on that treasure: Flavia to save her father and home, Nubia to free her enslaved older brother, Jonathan to buy a home for his sister and fiancée, and Lupus for darker reasons: to pay for an assassin to kill Venalicious.

Gradually, light begins to unfold on Lupus's past. He reveals to the others that he is an adept sponge-diver, and that only he can sink down to the depths and search for the treasure. With call-backs from previous books (including the identity of the prisoner that Doctor Mordecai shared a cell with in The Assassins Of Rome), the other children piece together Lupus's history, and what happened to make him such an angry, intense eight-year old.

Lawrence has created a fantastic series of books, drawing on extensive research into the Roman era in order to make an historical-mystery that is populated with fascinating characters and which flows smoothly at an exciting pace. Her language is clear and descriptive, and which feature scenes that may well bring a tear to your eye: exceptionally beautiful is the moment in which the four children encounter a school of dolphins, among which Lupus finds some measure of peace.

"The Dolphins of Laurentum" is very much a story of healing, as Lupus comes to terms with his tragic past and the man responsible for it. As you may have realized judging by all the links to previous books, it is unwise to read "The Roman Mysteries" out of order. The children grow and change with each installment, and each passing book draws on the events and revelations of those that have gone before. Yet such is the quality of the over-arching story, tracking down the books in chronological order is more than worth the effort. It's impossible to come away from these books without learning something new about Roman history, or to not be moved by the experiences of the four children.