Detectives in Togas

I read books I plan to pass on to young friends before I gift them to preview the quality of the writing, the appropriateness the reading level, etc. This is a very unique detective story featuring a group of boys who attend the same school, set in the Roman empire. I found it a little difficult to get into the story just because of the uniquely Roman names and setting, but it was more about acclimating than poor writing. The story is believable and engaging and comes to a satisfying conclusion. The action makes sense while not giving away the secrets necessary to a good detective story. This one won't be for every kid, but many will enjoy it as I did!

Six boys are searching for clues that will set their friend free from prison. Rufus was captured under the suspicion of writing "Caius is a dumbbell" on the temple wall. Now, his friends are searching for clues that will prove his innocence. The question is: Who is responsible for reporting the crime and who is the vandal besides Rufus? Find out in this interesting, well written book.The story takes place in ancient Rome. The main characters are Caius, Rufus, Antonius, Mucius, Flavius, Julius, and Publius. They are the boys that attend the Xanthos School. It all begins when the boys arrive at school one morning to find that their teacher has been assaulted. They try to figure out who could have been responsible when another problem occurs. Rufus is sent to prison under suspicion of vandalism and dishonor towards the Emperor. They are convinced that Rufus was not responsible, so they set out to find who is. Their antics include a chase scene and the recollection of an exciting dinner at Tellus's house.This book by Henry Winterfeld is very well written and fun to read. It's hard to put down. In my opinion, everyone who likes mysteries should read this book.

I read this book in junior high school, and loved it then. I remembered it when Amazon offered it to me based on another purchase I made, one of those "if you bought A, you may like B" offers. So I bought it and I enjoyed it a lot now, 40+ years later. It's a wonderful book for kids, it's characters are fun, the Roman setting is interesting. I enjoyed it so much, I bought the sequel. I have really enjoyed re-discovering the books I loved when I was a teenager through Amazon. It's a wonderful service.

My daughter and I read this book alongside History material for school. It’s such a fun book. The characters are great and the storyline keeps a reader hooked!

The reason I gave 5 stars to this book was because it is in Rome, which I like, and that it has a lot of humour. I would have never guessed that it would end like... I shouldn't tell you or it will spoil the book. It is a very suspenseful book the beginning is a bit slow but besides that it is sooo fun. I hope you like this book.Autumn, age 11

This was fun and helpful for me. It did not seem to have enough historical content for me to use it as reading book for my 5th/6th grade history class. It did give a good picture of what education was like at the time as well as what life was like for the Patricians.It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed reading it. There were twists and turns, humor, and an easily understandable sequence of events. I took it to my classroom for my students to read during their silent reading time. In the future I will consider it for extra credit reading with a book report.

This book is so funny! Definitely one of our favorite books! Your family will love the book too!!

This book is one of my family's favorites. We have used it both in school when studying the Romans and as a fun read-aloud. We love the humor of the book, and some of my reluctant readers like the short chapters that end suspensefully so that they want to keep reading. Although my daughters love it, too, I think it would especially appeal to boys since it has 5 schoolboys as its main characters.