The Thieves of Ostia

The Roman Mysteries #1

De: Caroline Lawrence

Narrado por: Kim Hicks

The year is 79 A.D. The place is Ostia, the port of Rome. Flavia Gemina, a Roman sea captain's daughter, is about to embark on a thrilling adventure.

Set in a graveyard, marketplace, and courtyards of a Roman city, this fast-paced mystery paints a vivid picture of the life in ancient times.

When the dogs on Flavia's street start dying, she is determined to find out who is killing them, and why. Her investigation leads her to three extraordinary people: Jonathan, her new neighbor; Nubia, an African slave girl; and Lupus, a mute beggar boy. They become firm friends as they search for the killer, narrowly escape being kidnapped by a slave dealer, and uncover a series of burglaries.

©2001 Caroline Lawrence (P)2004 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Reseñas de la Crítica

"This historical mystery offers an intriguing glimpse into the customs, attitudes, and class systems of the Roman Empire." (Publishers Weekly)

Let's Read it Again!

This wonderful book is one that can be read over and over again! The author did a very good job in making it interesting all the way through. Then the narrator did an excellent service to all in the way all the characters were portrayed. This book reminds me of many of the books I read as a young teenager in that I can still remember almost all of them. I hope all who read this will feel the same!

Great historical novel mystery.

Story was engaging and mystery was interesting to solve. Great way to engage kids in history and make history a "living" subject.

Family Mystery

If your kids love a good mystery story this is a great one to listen to together on a long drive. Enjoyable for mom and dad too, and a great look into life in ancient Rome.

Well written, interesting for adults too

Although the mystery the children tackle in this story is at a young adult level, vivid descriptions and details make this enjoyable for adults with an interest in Roman history too. Even if your interest goes beyond beyond the amateur and you are well read in Roman history, I think you'll find listening to this story enjoyable - I did.

Static and glitches

The recording has static and glitches in the same part in chapter 2 after downloading it on 2 different devices.

Not quite believable

The story was fun, and the mystery was engaging.

Details of Roman life and food are pretty spot on, but some are very far off: the idea that a Roman girl would buy a girl at a slave market then treat her as an equal isn’t credible.

It’s also very heavy on the Christian religious references and content, with a bizarre scene in which a Jew-turned-Christian had children, including a freeborn Roman pagan, praying to the Christian god, was weird and fairly laughable.

The story felt much like a sneak attack to get kids to find Christianity appealing. While that would be fine if it were labeled as a Christian book, it’s not and feels very sneaky and disappointing.