Detectives in Togas
Written by Henry Winterfeld
Illustrated by Charlotte Kleinert
Reviewed by Ransom T (age 10)
Detective in Togas is a book about desecrating a sacred temple. Everyone in the city thinks that it was Rufus, a 15 year old pupil at the Xanthos (zan -those) school, and he is sent to jail. The other pupils at the Xanthos school know it was not him, and so they try to rescue him. They meet many people in this story including Tellus, Vinicius, and Lukos. Read this tale of adventure and find out who the real culprit is.
This book is not like any other book I have read because it is a great adventure story and it had many twists and turns. Detectives in Togas is not part of a series, yet I wish it were because I liked the mystery of it. What I felt when I read the book was a surge of, "keep reading, keep it up!" The end of each chapter was a cliffhanger like when Mucius fell into the baths of Diana and had no way out. I have never known any one who was put in jail and had his friends get him out but I could relate to friends supporting each other and believing in each other and not allowing put-downs.
I recommend this book because of the action and adventure. You really learn about ancient Rome, the dress, the speech, the educational settings and the government of that time. What might make you read the book is the humor and the setting in Ancient Rome.