Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence

I am again having a hard time finding the right kinds of young adult books for my 12 year old son. I want to try something different, plus we have listened to every book available by his favorite authors. There has to be enough of an interesting story, not too girly or romantic, and I’d like a new setting. This book is a bit simplistic, though there is some gruesome parts to it. This is about a girl living near Rome in 79 A.D. She is a ship captain’s daughter who tries to unravel a mystery with the help of her neighbor, a slave and an orphaned beggar. Again, my personal interest is in the historical setting – the houses, the living conditions, the daily routine (washing in the public baths), the scrolls (instead of books), the classes of people – slaves, freed slaves, born free, Jews and Christians in early Rome, etc. Not as well told as some I’ve read, but OK. I’ll have to listen to the second half again, when my son returns from Latvia.(finished listening to June 12)