Seven schoolboys, Caius, Mucius, Flavius, Publius, Julius, Rufus, and Antonius, lead a dull and boring life in ancient Rome, (772 by Roman years, 24 A.D. by American years). That is, until Rufus hangs a wax tablet stating in plain words, CAIUS IS A DUMBBELL, on the wall of the classroom, gets in a fight with Caius, and is expelled from school by their teacher Xantippus. But when the very same words appear on the sacred temple of Minerva, (dedicated to the very emperor, I might add), Rufus swears he didn’t do it. If not him, then who did it? In this spine-tingling mystery story, author Henry Winterfeld presents many suspects. But who really did it, and why?
I rate this book with a G, and give it the Oldberry Award of the month. It’s kinda long for some younguns (200+ pages), but it is a really good mystery, presenting a lot of information in a fun, page-turning mystery.
Yup, what I said!