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Caroline Lawrence is American. She won a scholarship to Cambridge to read Classical Archaeology, then did a degree in Hebrew and Jewish Studies at University College, London. She lives with her husband, a graphic designer, by the river in London and is active as a speaker in schools and at book festivals.
Flavia Gemina is the daughter of a famous Roman sea captain and is enjoying a holiday in the Bay of Naples with her uncle. But this is AD 79, and disturbing tremors underfoot have the natives muttering of harbingers of doom. Before Pompeii can be engulfed by its volcanic cataclysm, Flavia and her friends Jonathan, Lupus and Nubia are engaged in trying to solve a baffling mystery. The solution of the mystery will deliver a considerable treasure, but then Vesuvius erupts, and the children find that staying alive is their greatest priority. In accessible, uncomplicated prose, Lawrence weaves an engaging spell. Her young protagonists are nicely differentiated, and the details of day-to-day life in first-century Italy are painted vividly. This is the second of Lawrence's Roman Mysteries, and bodes well for further titles in the series. Ages 10+ (Kirkus UK)
