7^th Grade and Up

After tracking down incredible discoveries by Einstein and Darwin, Charlie is back. This time, the great ruler Cleopatra has left behind an extremely valuable and powerful treasure, its location encoded on an ancient stone tablet.
In 30 BCE, Cleopatra and her husband, Marc Antony, lost their war against Octavian for control of the Egyptian Empire. However, Cleopatra knew Octavian was really after the mysterious item that was the source of all her wealth and influence, so she hid it before committing suicide. She left a series of devious clues behind for her children to find it, but they were lost to history . . . until now.
In a breathless adventure that takes her across the globe, Charlie must fight for her life against ruthless enemies, match wits with Cleopatra, and solve the two-thousand-year-old mystery to prevent the most powerful treasure of the ancient world from falling into the wrong hands.

This one really is the ultimate treasure hunt. I recommend this series and this book, especially to fans of the National Treasure movies.

I love how so much history about Egypt, Athens, and Rome is woven into the story. It’s all described in a way that is enticing to the reader. Nothing like a dry history textbook. I especially loved learning about Cleopatra. She is much more impressive than people give her credit for. Movies and literature have depicted her as a beautiful seductress, but in reality, she was a highly intelligent leader who ruled Egypt for twenty-two years.

The only problem I had was that so many people were after Charlie that it was hard to keep them all straight.

Before reading this book, I recommend checking out the YouTube link below to learn a bit about Cleopatra. The link is to an episode of Corpse Talk, an animated show that brings the dead famous to life, that does a fantastic job portraying the real Cleopatra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP-Nt-7Z-cU

Spoiler Ahead: At the end of the story, Charlie mentions whose hidden discovery she’ll be hunting down next. I have my fingers crossed for a Marie Curie story in the future. I would also like a Charlie Thorne story featuring Leonardo da Vinci, but that would be ripping off The Da Vinci Code.