Blurb
Strange happenings are afoot in Rome, where a priceless and mysterious artefact – the imperishable Bauble of the ancient Emperor Tiberius – has gone missing.
Cairo Jim – that well-known archaeologist and little-known poet – and his friends, Doris the macaw and Brenda the Wonder Camel, are sent to Rome to try to get to the bottom of this act of felony. They soon discover that the Bauble has terrifying powers if it is held in the wrong hands…powers that could herald the end of civilisation as we know it!
My Perspective
Cairo Jim and the Tyrannical Bauble of Tiberius follows the trio as they head to Rome to investigate the mysterious time lapses that are occurring in the city every afternoon and to find out who stole the Bauble – two seemingly unrelated incidents that they believe are in fact linked. Will they be able to unlock the mystery before the thief discovers the power of the Bauble?
I quite enjoyed this Cairo Jim novel. I liked the fact that there was a different slant to the story and the dynamic of the usual adventures they have because Bone was in jail and therefore not their usual suspect. It added some more mystery and intrigue. I figured it all out quite early in the piece however for an older child it would probably not be as obvious.
As usual the trio were heartwarming characters and felt like your good friends. I enjoyed Pasqual, who was both charming and silly, and a great addition to the story. The villain was not very likable, especially considering their motives. There is a great “love to hate them” vibe with Bone and Desdemona, the usual villains of the story, however this person did not have that feel at all.
Again like all Cairo Jim novels, the story was funny, silly, mysterious and charming all at the same time.
I would definitely recommend this book to children of all ages however if you haven’t read any Cairo Jim novels then i probably wouldn’t start with this one as it is a later novel and there are a lot of references that would be better understood if earlier novels had been read.
Reading For The Masses 