The Thieves of Ostia (Roman Mysteries)

by Caroline Lawrence
The Thieves of Ostia (Roman Mysteries)  
published May 24th 2004 by Puffin
binding Paperback
isbn 0142401471   (isbn13: 9780142401477)
pages 160
description The dogs on Flavia's street have started dying mysteriously, and she is determined to find out why. Her investigation leads her to three extraordinary...more
date added
06-04-07



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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 62)



Ben
Ben rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
10/05/07

bookshelves: booktalked, kidbooks
Read in January, 2006
Honestly, this one was not good. The history was thrown in, the plot was mediocre, and the characters not believable. Still, I wrote a booktalk.

The Thieves of Ostia, by Caroline Lawrence

The year - A.D. 79. The place - the Roman port city of Ostia. The crime - dog murder. Yes, that's right. Someone has murdered a dog and may strike again. Young Flavia Gemina, daughter of a Roman Sea Captain decides it is up to her to solve the crime. The magistrates have no interest in the crime unless i...more
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Karen
Karen rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
03/28/08

bookshelves: fiction, young-adult
recommends it for: puellis puerisque
This is the first in a series of mysteries set in and around ancient Ostia. The protagonists are four children of quite different backgrounds. As you can imagine, each one has talents that help solve the mystery.

I loved the cultural details, from the city streets to the daily meals. The author seems to have done her research, and she does well at bringing the time and place to life. Also, I quite liked the characters. The mystery won't make you fall off your seat, but it has some surprises.
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Trish
Trish rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
07/20/08

bookshelves: young-adult
Read in January, 2004
Okay, I admit it, sometimes I regress to childhood and read kid's books. The Roman Mysteries (for which Thieves of Ostia is a placeholder) is a fun series - kind of a politically correct Famous Five set in Titus's Rome. Easy to read, but usually decent mystery stories, albeit aimed for a younger audience. Quite often they also examine some aspect of Roman society so even give a basic history lesson without ramming it home.
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jen
jen rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
02/28/08

bookshelves: children-s-lit
Read in January, 2008
I thought this was a good historical fiction piece for the intended age group. There were enough clues so you could figure out the mystery without it being completely obvious. The history teacher in me enjoyed the historical references and "teaching points" that were well integrated into the story. There was a lot to learn about the period without it becoming a history lecture.
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Wea1021
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for: 4th grade and older
This is the first in the Roman Mysteries series for the older elementary school-aged set. My kids were a bit concerned by some references in the book (like the slave trade in ancient Rome) but the author handles it well. The kids' interest has been peaked about ancient Rome so it's good historical fiction for them as well.
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Kaleen
08/04/07

Read in July, 2007
Didn't love it. Set in Ostia Antica (outside of Rome), yes, in Roman times. Setting was interesting because it did help me picture what all those Roman ruins that I love so much would look like not ruined. But, the story itself was not terribly compelling.
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Molly
Molly rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
03/15/08

Remember when EVERYONE was reading this because the author (who was pretty strange, I have to say) came to our school? Good times...
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Rachel S.
Rachel rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/27/08

This book is realy vilent
but you have to read this one to read the rest
THEY ARE ALL AWESOME!!!!!!!
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Liz
Liz rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/02/07

bookshelves: children-and-young-adult
Read in April, 2007
recommends it for: kids who like Rome
Great cultural details. I wish I had written this series of books.
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KBM
KBM marked it as to-read
12/26/07

bookshelves: jack, to-read
Jack's Roman obsession
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  6 comments

Kitri
Kitri rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
10/15/07

bookshelves: adventure, audiobooks, childrenslit, historical-fiction
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for: 4th-7th Grades
Cute and entertaining.
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Karla
Karla rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
06/04/08

 

Chris
Chris rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
05/22/08

 

Rosetta
Rosetta rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
05/31/08

 

Cassia
Cassia rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
05/10/08

bookshelves: history, mysteries
 

Diane
Diane rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/15/08

bookshelves: childrens
 

Charlotte
Charlotte rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/18/08

 

Jessica
Jessica marked it as to-read
07/17/08

bookshelves: to-read
 

Ella
Ella marked it as to-read
05/31/08

bookshelves: to-read
 


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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.52 (50 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.52 (44 ratings)
number of reviews: 11






other editions

The Thieves of Ostia: The Roman Mysteries (Roman Mysteries (Audio))
The Thieves of Ostia (Paperback)
The Thieves of Ostia (Paperback)