Libraries and leisure

The Pirates of Pompeii by Caroline Lawrence

It is AD79 and the Roman world is reeling from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Volcanic ash covers the land, sunsets are blood-red and the sea gives up corpses of the dead.

At a makeshift camp south of Stabia, hundreds of refugees from the cities of Vesuvius try to come to terms with the disaster. When children begin to go missing from the camp, Flavia Gemina and her friends Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus investigate a powerful and charismatic man known as the Patron.

A dangerous trail leads them to the caves and grottoes of Sorrento where they encounter pirates, slave-dealers and death.

A twisting mystery with historical interest and action.