Books one, two and seven in Caroline Lawrence's internationally best-selling Roman Mysteries series.

Book one:

Flavia Gemina is a natural at solving mysteries. The daughter of a ship's captain living in Ostia, the port of Rome, in AD 79, she and her three friends, Jonathan, a Jewish boy (and secretly a Christian); Nubia, an African slave girl; and Lupus, a mute beggar boy, must work together to discover who is beheading the watchdogs that guard people's homes and why.

Book two:

It's the summer of AD 79, and Flavia Gemina and her friends, Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus, set sail for the Bay of Naples where they are going to stay with Flavia's uncle near Pompeii. Once they arrive, they are soon absorbed in a quest to solve a riddle that may lead to treasure. But then tragedy strikes: Mount Vesuvius erupts, and the friends must flee for their lives!

Book seven:

Jonathan's father, Doctor Mordecai, is summoned to Rome to help the plague victims. Flavia, Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus, the four young detectives, are wanted too, as Emperor Titus believes that they can find the mysterious enemy who seeks Rome's destruction. Can the friends prevent disaster?

A talented storyteller, Caroline Lawrence has created a delightfully accessible series that children will want to listen to time and time again.