(3) 4-6 Western Mysteries series. In this third rousing series entry, P.K. is going to Carson City to investigate Poker Face Jace, who Opal Blossom believes is her two-timing fiancé. P.K. must navigate twists and turns in a case involving Nevada Territory's bid for statehood. A big reveal should have readers thinking about P.K.'s art of disguise and looking at our hero in a new light.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(2) 4-6 Western Mysteries series. After The Case of the Deadly Desperados, twelve-year-old P.K. Pinkerton opens a detective agency in the untamed Nevada Territory of 1862. A client quickly appears: the young former slave Martha, who witnessed a murder and fears for her own life; P.K. must find the killer. The story unfolds quickly with numerous twists and turns propelled by cliffhangers at the end of each chapter.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2013

(2) 4-6 Western Mysteries series. P.K.'s story opens when a gang of outlaws kills his foster parents and he escapes with his "Destiny," which turns out to be a deed to a mine worth millions. P.K. has trouble showing emotion and reading people, a dual problem that keeps getting him in trouble. The strongly voiced account succeeds as a rousing adventure that promises more action in a future installment. Glos.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012

(3) 4-6 Roman Mysteries series. This latest entry in the Roman Mysteries series finds the four juvenile sleuths of 80 CE back in Rome, where they discover who is sabotaging the chariot races at the Circus Maximus. The suspenseful plot makes the most of the series' trademark cliffhangers and fast pace. Glos.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) 4-6 Roman Mysteries series. The four young detectives of ancient Rome are back. Vacationing in an island villa, they uncover the identity of a poisoner. This entry gets bogged down in several characters' love lives, but, as always, the vividly evoked ancient setting adds depth and interest. Glos.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Roman Mysteries series. This tenth Roman Mystery takes young amateur sleuth Flavia and her three companions abroad to Greece, where they seek to discover why their beloved tutor, Aristo, appears to have stabbed Flavia's "Pater." Though apparently setting up a love triangle and perhaps heading toward soap opera territory, the series nevertheless retains its trademark cliffhangers and authentic details of life in ancient times. Glos.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) 4-6 Roman Mysteries series. When amateur detective Flavia and her friends decide to find out more about a widow who wants to marry Flavia's father, they link their investigation to Hercules's twelve tasks. Readers looking for Lawrence's usual fast pacing and vivid ancient Roman setting won't be disappointed; still, the contrived structure and not-very-compelling mystery make this a weak entry in a strong series.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Roman Mysteries series. In Assassins, Jonathan goes on a secret mission to find his long-missing mother; in Dolphins, Jonathan, Flavia, and friends search for sunken treasure, in the process stumbling over the source of Lupus's muteness. As in the other Roman Mysteries series titles, these books are fast paced and compulsively readable, with heaps of atmosphere and information about life in ancient Rome. [Review covers these Roman Mysteries titles: The Assassins of Rome and The Dolphins of Laurentum.]

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Roman Mysteries series. In Assassins, Jonathan goes on a secret mission to find his long-missing mother; in Dolphins, Jonathan, Flavia, and friends search for sunken treasure, in the process stumbling over the source of Lupus's muteness. As in the other Roman Mysteries series titles, these books are fast paced and compulsively readable, with heaps of atmosphere and information about life in ancient Rome. [Review covers these Roman Mysteries titles: The Assassins of Rome and The Dolphins of Laurentum.]

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Roman Mysteries series. Flavia and her friends solve a third mystery, this time involving kidnapped children, pirates, and escaped slaves. The setting--a villa outside Pompeii, just after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius--is palpably evoked; the action is nonstop (with not so many gratuitous cliffhanger chapter endings as before); and the characters are well delineated. A light mystery that contains/disguises a wealth of detail about life in ancient Rome.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 This rip-roaring mystery set in ancient Rome and Pompeii follows the four children from The Thieves of Ostia as they try to solve a mysterious riddle and survive the eruption of Vesuvius. The book is geared to maximum readability, with historical description made palatable by the fast-moving action and each chapter ending in a (sometimes overdramatic) cliffhanger.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) 4-6 Set in 79 C.E., this mystery features a sharp-witted Roman girl, Flavia, her Jewish neighbor Jonathan, a rescued slave, Nubia, and a tongueless beggar boy named Lupus. When Jonathan's watchdog is slain, the team sets out to find the killer. Details of the setting are intriguing, and although the characters seem anachronistic, the mystery progresses swiftly to its satisfying conclusion.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam