The Prophet from Ephesus

The Roman Mysteries #16

by Caroline Lawrence

It is August, A.D. 81. Presumed dead by their families, Flavia and her friends feel very far from home. News of more kidnappings in Italia reaches them, and when they discover one of Miriam's twins is among the missing, the four detectives set out for Halicarnassus in the Roman province of Asia. There they find a countryside full of prophets who claim to heal the sick and cure the lame, but who may simply be tricksters and villains in disguise. Once again, the detectives' loyalties are tested as they are confronted with hopes for the future and grim legacies of the past.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical, Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical Mystery

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Caroline Lawrence won a scholarship to Cambridge to read Classical Archaeology, then did a degree in Hebrew and Jewish studies at University College London. She now lives in London with her English husband and teaches Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Art and French to children.

Series:
* Roman Mysteries
Western Mysteries

Reviews

[Emma Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!!! What an intense whirlwind of a book- this initially started off with a lot of oblique grief and embitterment and there was definitely a lot of timely existentialism in some of the POVs- needless to say the Flaccus situation was just an obstacle that my nerves didn't need in this stage of the game although I am greatly anticipating the climax that is being built up. I loved what I perceive to be the pinnacle in the character's personality growth in learning to adapt to adversity and found the resolution that the gang, bar Flavia, all became a massive Christian Union society entertaining- although I think the introduction of St John was really beautifully done and tempered with emotional poignancy- evidently all I hope for now is some progression in the Gemina family fortunes. Despite previous misgivings I also find myself really engaging in the Aristo/Nubia relationship and frequently saw their interaction as lovely moments of relief during the otherwise intense storyline. I am so excited/nervous for the next (and final!) book but considering the amount of resolution to overarching storylines so far I have high anticipations!

[Freya Nedderman · Rating 1 out of 5]

A ridiculous and frustrating book in what has so far been such an amazing series. No mystery to speak of, the whole book dedicated to the children and Aristo "finding God" 🤦 Why oh why did Lawrence have to turn this into a preachy sermon on Christianity????

[Vicki Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

After their adventures on the Nile, the young detectives are hiding out in Alexandria because they're wanted by the Emperor - why, they don't know. Fortunately, their tutor Aristo finds them, and tells them there have been more kidnappings of freeborn children, including Flavia's baby cousin Popo. Flavia's father and Flaccus have gone to Halicarnassus to find the children. They all sneak out of Egypt and get to Halicarnassus right after the kidnappers have fled, leaving the children behind. While on their trail, they encounter a Christian prophet who, people say, can heal people, including the dumb. Lupus hopes he can restore his tongue so he can talk again. Needless to say, a whole lot more happens before the end of the book. This is the penultimate book of the series, and I'm expecting many plot threads to be wound up in the final one.

[Katie Gibbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two observations:
1) Caroline Lawrence really got her final contract signed and then used her penultimate book to go FULL EVANGELICAL and baptise everyone in the Holy Spirit.

2) despite that, the weirdest creative decision she made overall was definitely just to go 'the Romans would not have thought a romance between a 13-year-old and her 22-year-old teacher was weird, and therefore neither do I'.

The result of both of these things is that I really don't know how many stars to give it because what is in my heart is definitely not objectively what it deserves.

[Mara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cover Blurb: Like with all of the Roman Mysteries book covers, I like the simplicity and color scheme, as well as how it looks like a painting. This particular cover out of the series is one of the less interesting ones.

What I Liked: As always, I like Nubia; she continues to be the most level-headed, best tempered, and most considerate of the four friends. I will always love Jonathan, but in this book his reoccurring pessimism and “oh, it’s all my fault” attitude really got on my nerves. While certainly it would take forever for someone to reconcile themselves with something as terrible as the fire in Rome, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and sigh when Jonathan brought it back up. He’s beaten that horse enough already.

What I Disliked: I liked Flavia in the first book, but I really don’t like her anymore. It’s been fifteen books and she still hasn’t matured. She seems her age - twelve - and therefore it is really hard to find anything romantic about her crush on Flaccus. It’s even harder to believe that Flaccus loves her because - hello! She’s twelve! And she is definitely not mature for her age! It’s just . . . creepy. I know, twelve was an acceptable age for the Romans, but you know what - it’s still creepy. And not at all romantic.

Believability: Caroline Lawrence does her historical research; that has always been true. She’s always managed to take her four young detectives places in a plausible fashion, and have things happen to them that the Reader could actually see happening. It’s no different in this installment. All of the research is there, the plausibility. And she even goes a step further with her believability when everyone converts to Christianity, but Flavia doesn’t. I was afraid that the Author would have her convert, and I was never convinced that Flavia would ever give up her Roman faith. She’s not that sort of person.

Writing Style: It’s nothing special. She is wonderful at historical description, and often relates historical facts and myths through the characters’ dialogue in a way that doesn’t lessen the dialogue’s believability. But her writing is very moment-by-moment, and she overworks the cliffhanger - every single chapter literally ends in one.

Content: This one had no content of which to speak.

Conclusion: This is where the story fell down. The Author did a terrific job in connecting the loose ends of The Colossus of Rhodes to this one. She had a good setup and an intriguing villain that we fans have been wonderful about ever since The Colossus of Rhodes was first released. But then suddenly everything comes crashing down around our heads. I hate, simply hate it when an Author has a good villain, and then that villain repents, turns all good, and everyone goes home happy. It destroys everything in the story; turns it sour; leaves the Reader utterly unsatisfied. And that is exactly how I felt with this book’s conclusion.

Recommended Audience: This is meant more for the middle school level, and while I am an adult, I still enjoy this series, perhaps mostly because I’ve been reading it since I was ten years old. This is both a girl and guy read.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at the start of the spread of Christianity. Characterisation becoming more complex as the children mature.

[ChroniclesofTania · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was my least favourite as it was quite religious. The band of friends are unable to go back to Italy still as there is an arrest warrant and reward for their capture for treason. Their tutor sees the posters, in Ostia, hears about their letters, realises they are alive and makes his way to Alexandria (Egypt) where the children are in hiding. Once there Flavia learns her father thinks they are dead and has rejoined forces with Magistrate Bato to locate the kidnapped children and have gone to Halicarnassus (Turkey). As the authorities don’t expect the children to go there they take a ship there. Flavia discovers Flaccus was quick to move on and is engaged and there! She is terribly regretful about her hasty rejection half a year earlier which led her and her friends to be away from home so long. She gets to meet Petronilla the jealous, perfect and beautiful fiancée. This is the highlight of the book exploring her feelings and Nubia’s maturity in supporting her. Flavia can’t bare to be patronised and be in the presence of the two of them, one guilty, the other vicious, so she goes to Ephesus with the friends and magistrate on the track of the criminal mastermind. They discover there is a prophet touring the countryside converting people to Christianity. They even meet St John, a disciple of Jesus. It was a matter of time before this aspect was in one of these books. Nubia, Lupus, Aristo all convert. Jonathan and Lupus are transformed and their mental burdens released. The criminals have repented and the mastermind given all his wealth away and got pardoned. The pardon seems unlikely to me for the harsh Romans. Aristo finally notices Nubia is becoming a woman and starts to really look at her. No mention is made in this book either about any evidence of grief over dead Uncle Gaeus in the shipwreck. Flavia seems to have forgotten about him! At least she is reunited with her father and Aristo. The descriptions of the two Turkish towns was quite scenic.

[Eleni · Rating 3 out of 5]

My god this book took me on a WHIRLWIND of emotions. Flaccus and Flavia broke my heart I was so rooting for them, and I was destroyed by their reunion in this book. I can't wait to see what happen with them in the next book (as well as Aristo and Nubia, fingers crossed)

Lupus' hope keeping him going! My god this was heart wrenching. The poor kid. I have so much love for this little boy, he deserves so much good.

I did like the portrayal of how Christianity truly might have started, but a someone who grew up religious it sort of took me out of the story a little bit.

This book did brilliantly set itself up for the next and final book, though. I am so beyond excited to continue reading and find out how all of this gets concluded once and for all.

[Jessica DeWitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series is beginning to lose me a bit. I appreciated the existential dread and inner turmoil experienced by the main characters, and I continue to applaud Lawrence for not shying away from dark material in a children's book. I also still really love Nubia. She's a wonderful character. Flavia is still annoying and immature and self-centered, but this doesn't go without other characters noting this and keeping her checked.

I very much didn't like the Mindius redemption arc or the trip they made to catch him and the baby. I get why Lawrence included the Christianity arc as well, but it fell flat for me and took up too much space. As another reviewer noted, at least Flavia didn't convert.

I guess I mainly find that the overarching narrative has become to grand and unlikely, and I'm having trouble putting my disbelief aside to get lost in the story.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, I’m loving the quest like feel to this story! The heightened stakes of trying to find Miriam’s missing twin, the fracturing of the small group of friends as they try and wrestle with their own thoughts and worries, it’s so good!

It’s also interesting to see the way in which the friends are all starting to find their callings or making more adult decisions that will affect them going forward. Nubia finding her peace with the rescued children, Jonathan and Flavia struggling to find their places in the big wide world. And Lupus coming to terms with what his uncle did to him.

This is another one that I definitely didn’t read before so I’m glad that I’ve finally managed to get to the point in the series where I am on to the new books.

[Kitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly I didn't enjoy this very much, for multiple reasons. It felt like such a change from the core of the books, Flavia and Jonathan were being so annoying the whole time and then it suddenly got really religious and a little bit preachy, in a way I didn't like, especially because this is aimed at children. The Nubia and Aristo bits were sweet, I'm growing to like them and hope they get together, but everything else just felt very odd and not at all like the characters I had grown to love.

[Kacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will there never be peace for our poor young friends? Meeting Miss Flavia Gemina is a bit like meeting a Mr Poirot, or moving to a village called Midsomer Anything... there will be trouble ahead!

I do hope the somewhat evangelical theme here isn't foreshadowing a rather limp conclusion to what has been a hugely expressive, open-minded, and diverse series.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really about tying up a lot of loose ends as the series draws to a close, with only one book to go after this one. The Prophet from Ephesus book didn’t really have its own mystery per say and therefore somewhat lacked some purpose. I also felt the book suffered as the author tried to set up for her next series. Lawrence’s plan at the time was to write a book about Jonathan’s twin nephews and their inclusion throughout the book, at times, felt a little heavy handed and was obvious as a set up for the next series rather than being an important part of the current book.

The Christian element comes to the forefront of this book, which I personally didn’t mind and Lawrence does not let all her main characters convert. As always, the book is packed with amazing facts and few can bring the ancient world to life like Lawrence. A high three stars.

[Dee Paisley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful story about the children who had way too much freedom in this series.

[Radclyffe U-Haul · Rating 2 out of 5]

the end of this book is just pretty everyone but Flavia having a religion experience and she's just like. wtf. me too, bud.

[Emily Dennehy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Hattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, they all became born again Christians - I really wasn’t expecting that.

I’m pretty sure the jargon ramped up in this one - maybe she assumes you can handle it if you’ve made it to book 16

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having following Flavia, Nubia, Jonathan and Lupus this far I am determined to finish the series. This instalment did not disappoint. It is so fast paced I read the book in one sitting. The characters are all maturing and their internal battles are becoming increasingly challenging for them. My heart aches for Jonathan and the weight he carries upon his shoulders. I can't wait to see where this goes!

[sabisteb aka callisto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieser Band schließt direkt an die Ereignisse aus Band 15 Scribes from Alexandria (Roman Mysteries) an. Die vier Detektive sind zurück in Alexandria. Seth und seine frisch Angetraute sind auf Hochzeitsreise und die Kinder sitzen im Haus fest, denn sie werden immer noch steckbrieflich gesucht. Überraschend schafft es ihr Lehrer Aristo sie aufzuspüren und hilft ihnen dabei, die Stadt zu verlassen, denn es gibt ein neues Rätsel zu lösen. Popo, einer von Miriams Zwillingen wurde entführt und Flavias Vater ist auf der Suche nach seinem Neffen. Zusammen mit Aristo gelangen die Kinder nach Ephesus, dort gelingt es ihnen mit Batos Hilfe den Zwerg aus The Colossus of Rhodes (Roman Mysteries) festzunehmen, aber der Kopf der illegalen Sklavenhändler entkommt mit Popo und seiner Amme.
Doch es wartet ein weiterer schwerer Schlag auf Flavia, Floppy, ihr geliebter Floppy, der ihr noch im März einen Heiratsantrag gemacht hatte, ist mit einer anderen Frau verlobt. Da hilft es auch nicht, dass Jonathan wieder von Stimmen geplagt wird, die ihn wegen des Brandes von Rom, welchen er ausgelöst hat (siehe The Enemies of Jupiter (Roman Mysteries)), quälen und dass Lupus einem Prediger folgt, der angeblich Stumme wieder sprechen macht.
Die Kinder nehmen die Verfolgung von Popo und seiner Amme auf, werden jedoch bald wegen Hochverrats verhaftet.

In diesem Band erfahren wir nun endlich, warum die Kinder steckbrieflich gesucht werden.
Die Beziehung zwischen Nubia und Aristo entwickelt sich weiter und ich denke die beiden werden sich im letzten Band entweder verloben oder heiraten.
Flavia ist letztendlich als letzte an die römischen Götter glaubende von ihren Freunden isoliert, die nun alle zum Christentum konvertiert sind. Vielleicht ist sie einfach zu logisch denkend für diesen neuen Glauben.
Dieser Band bringt viele Veränderungen mit sich. Die Kinder erben eine Villa in Ephesus und machen dort ein Waisenhaus auf. Werden sie je wieder nach Ostia zurückkehren? Jonathan macht wieder einmal einen Alleingang und Onkel Gaius ist noch immer verschollen. Die Stimmung ist nicht mehr so düster wie in einigen Vorgängerbänden, jedoch werden diese Kinder schon sehr schnell erwachsen, obwohl sie doch eigentlich erst 13 Jahre alt sind.
Das Buch ist wieder voller Mysterien und Prophezeiugen, die einen Ausblick auf die Zukunft geben, die möglicherweise in der Spinn Off Trilogie geklärt werden, die bereits bei amazon angekündigt ist: The Flavian Trilogy: Brother of Jackals Bk. 1 (Roman Mysteries)

S. 186 fasst die Ereignisse von Band 14-16 sehr schön zusammen
"Her refusal of Floppy's proposal in March had caused the argument with her fater, which hade made her accept the emperor's mission. And that had resulted in months away from home, facing danger and even death in strange lands. Over these past months her friends had been with her. But now Jonathan was gone, Nubia, Aristo und Lupus had converted to a strange religion, and Floppy was engaged to someone else."

Zeitraum der Geschichte:
Anfang August 81. n. Chr. - 10. September

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is about four teenage friends who live in ancient Rome. The four friends were tasked in the previous books with a mission from the Emperor to retrieve his stolen precious jewels. The team successfully found the jewels and returned them to the Emperor’s aid completing their mission. However, unknown to the four friends the Emperor’s aid kept the jewels for himself and told the Emperor that they had not be returned and had been stolen once again by the young friends. This now left them as outlaws in Rome and they will never be allowed to return home without being arrested.

This book within the series finds the four friends travelling through the country side meeting healers and prophets. They hear news that more children in their home town are being kidnapped to be sold as slaves. The four vow to rescue the kidnapped children and bring them home, which they successfully achieve. They are rewarded with a villa from a rich villain who has now found religion and repented his sins. They are allowed to live in the villa as long as it is used as a safe house to help kidnapped children.

The book gives a lot of detail about Rome and its surrounding provinces and is heavily steeped in Christian religion. There is a glossary of words at the back of the book to explain the historical terms which I found very useful.

I didn’t realise that this book was part of a series and I found it difficult to follow the story as I started half way through the series and did not know what had happened previously.

[Elizabeth Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite Roman Mysteries. I loved the bit where Lupus meets John and becomes a Christian as well as Nubia and Aristo. I always knew that those (spoilers!!!) last two that I mentioned would get married and I loved the fact that Nubia, my favourite character, married (and became) a Christian. Now 3 out of the 4 are Christians. Just waiting for Flavia. But, however, to my great disappointment, Flavia never became one, and it all ends in her becoming (spoiler of the last book!) the wife of the most uncristian man (exaggeration) in the world. I was just a bit disappointed when I realised that there was no big plot. The baddy (sorry, I had to use that word) turned out to be a goody😢. But on the whole u have loved the series and accompany Caroline Lawrence to the end...

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of the Roman Mysteries series, both in book form and TV adaption. These books take something of the concept of the Famous Five (four child detectives and a dog, tracking down criminals and solving mysteries) and sets it in the ancient Roman empire. This is a gritty and realistic ancient empire though, and as such it is highly educational, very exciting and a really good read.

In this book the children are far from home, travelling the ancient Roman province of asia minor, in pursuit of a slave dealer.

The story is first class, and brings together some threads of earlier novels.

[Phair · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the very few of this incredible series that i have not particularly enjoyed. For me it got all preachy and religious with everybody sudden;y seeing the light and getting reborn into The Way. Sheesh. I felt a bit like Flavia wondering if all her friends had taken leave of their senses- it felt like a complete rejection of everything that had gone before. This was just not a good adventure/mystery and it was far too preachy. Little was really resolved. I think I heard that the series ends with the next volume. Out with a whimper if it keeps on this way.

[Nathalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, finally...back to the Flaccus arc. It's about damned time! But wait...NO, he's engaged to...???? someone ELSE??? NOOOOOOOOO....

I've never liked the Jonathan character, and his transformation into a surly, haunted teenager in this book did not help.

Interesting introduction of Christianity into the mix and just the right characters to be affected - Nubia and Lupus. I had trouble believing that Aristo would be so easily converted though.

[Ujwals · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. I liked how the author brought back characters, and really expressed how the characters felt. I also like the unfixed setting, and the traveling. The traveling gives an opportunity for the author to describe a lot, something she does well. I wish the book was not so jumpy, and abrupt ending. I also like how each character has their own goal and story, that ends up conflicting. I am really excited for the final book of the series.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay I get really into these books and manage to accidentally read it all in one go. I mean, can you even blame me? they're really good okay
Just saying, I really ship Nubia and Aristo and now I realllyyyyyyy want the next book (but tbh I've always read them in a weird order so I'm probably not going to read the next one next)

[D Murgatroyd]

Very well done - makes you really think through the context of that time and the events going on. I have a fresh insight to that time and culture. My geography has definitely improved with reading this series - and I'm the home school Mum pre- viewing!

[Mrs. Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK! Finally back to the Flaccus arc...'bout time, but oh-so-heartbreaking.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good adventure to bring the young people together and understand each other more.

[???.???]

Awesome! I have no other words Im loving the roman mysteries read all of em up to here! Keep it up