Detectives in Togas

In this delightful historical mystery, seven boys in Ancient Rome solve strange crimes... thanks to some help from their cranky teacher, a little bit of logic, and a lot of amusing misadventure. Yes, Rufus wrote “Caius Is a Dumbbell” on his tablet at school, but no, he did not break into the schoolroom, did not tie up his teacher, and certainly did not paint his slur about Caius on the Temple of Minerva (even if it is in Rufus's own handwriting). Rufus is doomed unless his six classmates can find out who is really responsible. Every hour seems to bring a new, confusing clue... until the boys finally stumble upon someone who is not what he appears to be.

In this delightful history-mystery, seven boys in Ancient Rome solve strange crimes... thanks to some help from their cranky teacher, a little bit of logic, and a lot of amusing misadventure. It seems the boys can get nothing right: Their teacher's fiftieth birthday is long past (they should have done their math homework); the servant they bought as a present for his birthday isn't just your run-of-the-mill Gaul slave but a courier running for his life; and, to top it all off, the message he's carrying requests the assassination of a Roman senator, the father of one of the boys.