One Last Chance by Jeffrey Siger

 

First Line: Magdalena Zaoutis knew every pebble, rut, root, and pothole on the mountain path from her ancestral cottage down to the local spring.

 

It's a sad day for Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis's assistant, Maggie. She's returning to her ancestral home on the island of Ikaria for her 104-year-old grandmother's funeral. But the sadness turns into anger when Maggie realizes that not only was her Yaya (grandmother) murdered, but other long-lived Ikariots have died recently under the same suspicious circumstances.

While Maggie conducts her own investigation on Ikaria, Kaldis and his chief detective, Yianni, pursue a smuggling and protection ring embedded in the Greek DEA that may be involved in the assassination of an undercover police officer.

Then Maggie and Yianni uncover a connection between their investigations, and they realize that there are some deadly international intrigues at work in their country.

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I must have been in the perfect mood for One Last Chance because as I began to read it felt as though I were coming home-- and I was thrilled that the book centered around one of my favorite characters, Andreas Kaldis's indispensable and indomitable assistant Maggie. Maggie was long overdue for her starring role.

Having read all of Jeffrey Siger's books in this excellent series, I have to say that I think this one may be my favorite, and part of the reason for this is its setting. I found the landscape, culture, and history of Ikaria-- "the island where people forget to die"-- absolutely fascinating. I could go on to tell you about it in detail, but I'd rather have you read about it yourself.

I found the bad guy rather easy to point out, but the real mystery was what that bad guy was up to which led to a can of worms: people trying to make their fortunes off the pandemic as well as China targeting Greece as its primary gateway to the European Union. You learn a lot about Greece, its history, and its place in Europe through reading Siger's books, so you're getting more than just an entertaining story.

This fast-paced tale leaped off to a roaring start and kept me firmly in the shotgun seat of a forty-year-old Land Rover Defender-- yikes! Watch out for that pumpkin patch! I liked how the two very different investigations came together and the way that they proved justice can come in many forms.

 

You can read One Last Chance as a standalone if you're wanting to test the waters, but don't be surprised if you find yourself looking for the rest of the books in the series. Then you, too, will know why I consider Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis and his crew part of my family.

One Last Chance by Jeffrey Siger

eISBN: 9781728252971

Sourcebooks © 2022

eBook, 304 pages

 

Police Procedural, #12 Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley