Not Dead Yet by Jeffrey Siger

 

First Line: The media had declared him dead a week ago, yet there he was, battered, bruised, tattered-clothed, and shoeless, plodding bear-like along a rugged Mediterranean shoreline, head down and oblivious to the pain inflicted upon his naked feet by the sharp rocks.

Dimitris Onofrio is a wealthy Greek businessman known to be ruthless in many illegal enterprises, but law enforcement has never been able to put him behind prison bars. When his chartered plane goes down in the Mediterranean with no survivors, many breathe sighs of relief, but... a week later, Onofrio is found alive but catatonic on a remote beach beside the body of his beloved wife.

Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis must find out if the plane crash was an accident or sabotage-- especially since his wife and father-in-law are the company's owners that chartered the plane. Onofrio is known for extreme vengeance, so everyone in Kaldis' family has a possible death sentence hanging over them. 

The trouble is, Kaldis has been ordered not to investigate, but the wily police officer can always find a way around roadblocks. There's no way he will lose his wife, his two children, or his father-in-law, and his entire team is right by his side to help.

~

I've loved this series since the very first book. I've learned so much about Greece, its landscape, its culture, and its language. These books have been the next best thing to visiting there. (I wish!) Not Dead Yet continues Jeffrey Siger's tradition of marrying a first-rate cast of characters with blood-pumping action seemingly ripped fresh from the headlines.

The action in Not Dead Yet is set in cosmopolitan Athens and the remote rugged coastline of the Peloponnese, but even though the setting is so rich and evocative, there's so much more to this book-- and the entire series-- than its setting.

If you love multi-faceted characters who have grown together as a family and show true love and affection for each other, you'll find it in these books. If you love humor, you'll find it here. If you love scary bad guys, there's Dimitris Onofrio, a man completely capable of murdering entire families in revenge-- whether he's sure they're guilty or not. But in Siger's talented hands, Onofrio isn't your typical bad guy. (Just don't turn your back on him.) How Kaldis works against his "superior" officer's direct orders to investigate the plane crash is a work of art encompassing every member of his team and some new faces like retired aeronautical accident investigator Niko Reichardt. And if you've grown to love Kaldis and his family as much as I have, well, I knew he could pull off the impossible. It was just a matter of how.

There are many surprises in store when reading Not Dead Yet, and when I closed the book on the final page, I had a big smile of complete satisfaction on my face. Do yourself a favor. Pick up this book. I bet you'll love it-- and don't be surprised if you find yourself looking for the other books in the series. 

Not Dead Yet by Jeffrey Siger

eISBN: 9781448314966

Severn House © 2025

eBook, 240 pages

Police Procedural, #14 Inspector Kaldis

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

At Any Cost by Jeffrey Siger

 

First Line: He regarded himself as a swashbuckling pirate awash in Mediterranean adventures.

 

Expecting a political trick to shift blame onto his team, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis doesn't want anything to do with investigating a case that involves suspicious forest fires that occurred in Greece the previous year. However, he quickly begins to wonder if the forests were set on fire for profit-- and for something worth far more than the usual low-level business corruption. 

 

There are vague rumors that foreign powers may be trying to establish a secretive mega-internet presence on the island of Syros, a presence they want to use to take over the digital world. 

 

Kaldis and his team find themselves working to stop the hostile takeover of an idyllic island before it's too late.

 

~

 

I always look forward to a new Andreas Kaldis mystery from Jeffrey Siger. I can rely on him for a fast-paced thrill ride of a story steeped in the culture of ancient and present-day Greece. By the time of this, his thirteenth Kaldis novel, his characters had become part of my fictional family, and in At Any Cost, I became much better acquainted with Andreas' sister, Gavi, and her daughter, Anna.

Although the premise of building a mega-internet presence that could take over the digital world was a bit difficult for me to wrap my head around, I've come to trust this author's prescience. I just sank into the story and enjoyed the ride. While I did that, I was in for a pleasant surprise. Greek food has been mentioned here and there throughout the series, but in At Any Cost, the author took a page from Martin Walker's Bruno Chief of Police series and sat me down right in the middle of a Greek feast. Yum! 

Story... check. Food... check. But what keeps me coming back for more are the characters. As I said before, Andreas Kaldis, his family, and his team have become part of my fictional family. They make me laugh, they make me cry, they take me in and make me feel welcome among them. I feel that I know them very well-- so much so that when a member of his family was in danger, I smiled and thought, "Those bad guys aren't going to know what hit them."

Even though you can pick this book up, not having read any of the others in the series, and not feel lost, it would be a shame to miss everything that has gone before. (The first book is Murder in Mykonos.) Now I find myself in the familiar position of being forced to wait for the next book. Ah well.

At Any Cost by Jeffrey Siger

eISBN: 9781448312115

Severn House © 2024

eBook, 256 pages

 

Police Procedural, #13 Inspector Kaldis mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

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.

~

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

A Deadly Twist by Jeffrey Siger

First Lines: "The key to getting away with what I do is lacking any possible motive. Motive's the first thing cops look for."

 

When an investigative journalist doesn't check in with her editor as she'd promised, the editor panics. After all, Nikoletta Elia's explosive article on an international hacker/assassin had just been published. The editor calls the head of Greece's Special Crime Unit, Andreas Kaldis, for help.

 

At first, Kaldis doesn't rate the woman's disappearance as a priority, but he does send his right-hand man, Yianni Kouros, to Naxos to see what Yianni can dig up. When a body is found at the bottom of a cliff and a witness says he saw Elia arguing with the dead man, the investigation becomes much more serious.

 

What neither Kaldis nor any of his men realize is that they are working to uncover a deadly mystery with a very long memory indeed.

 

~

 

I've been a fan of Jeffrey Siger's Andreas Kaldis mysteries from the very first book (Murder in Mykonos), and this eleventh book certainly does not disappoint. The author lives on Mykonos for part of the year, and I've learned more about that country through reading his books than I'd care to admit. Siger gives readers insight into the workings of not only the police but also of the Greek government and the country's nefarious underworld while always weaving a bit of Greek myth and history into each book.

 

Siger has also created a top-notch cast of characters headed by Kaldis, his wife, and the members of his team. After reading all eleven books, I feel as though these characters are good friends-- especially Maggie who's in charge of Kaldis's office. Maggie's more than capable of keeping everyone and everything in line, which makes me wonder if anyone's written anything about the women who rule some of our heroes' roosts (Maggie for Andreas Kaldis, Sheriff Virgil Dalton's Rosie, and Sheriff Walt Longmire's Ruby, for example).

The settings and characters are always what the doctor ordered in Siger's mysteries, but he knows how to write action scenes that a reader can get so wrapped up in that the pages won't turn fast enough. Then add to all that a mystery in A Deadly Twist that gets deeper the further Kaldis and his men investigate, and you've got a winner.

If you enjoy mysteries with an excellent sense of place, characters that can make you laugh and cry, mysteries that keep you guessing, and high octane action, pick up one of Jeffrey Siger's Andreas Kaldis mysteries. You can read A Deadly Twist as a standalone, but don't be surprised if you find yourself looking for the other books in the series.

A Deadly Twist by Jeffrey Siger

eISBN: 9781464214271

Poisoned Pen Press © 2021

eBook, 320 pages

 

Police Procedural, #11 Andreas Kaldis mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

The Taint of Midas by Anne Zouroudi

First Line: Blind eyes bear no witness.

Gabrilis Kaloyeros is an old man with lots to do. He's a beekeeper on the beautiful Greek island of Arcadia. He grows watermelons and sells them in the market in the village, and the ruined Temple of Apollo has been under his care and protection for decades. But unscrupulous developers have taken over the island, and the prices for land have skyrocketed. Gabrilis is persuaded to sign away his interest, and hours later, he meets a violent, lonely death.

When detective Hermes Diaktoros finds his friend's battered body by the side of a dusty road, local police are quick to assume he's the prime suspect. Hermes vows to avenge his old friend and find the real murderer.

I've been going through my to-be-read shelves and finding the next books in series that I've started and unintentionally abandoned. This second book in Anne Zouroudi's Seven Deadly Sins series set in Greece certainly fits that criteria. The first book, The Messenger of Athens, introduced me to Hermes Diaktoros, who is far from being your usual detective. Someone has described him as "half Poirot, half deus ex machina," and it's true. He's a character to enjoy, from the way he investigates crimes to keeping those white shoes of his absolutely spotless to finding out the next thing he's going to pull out of his bag of tricks. Hermes also waxes philosophical at times: "He was considering the tangled threads of life; why was it sometimes so, he thought, that the righting of a wrong did not settle the scales, but created only crueler injustices?" This is something I've pondered in many of the mysteries I've read.

The mystery has two main threads: the primary one being who killed Gabrilis Kaloyeros, which is intertwined nicely with the story of two policemen, the veteran Gazis and the rookie Petridis. This cozy-with-a-twist not only gives readers an intriguing main character and a strong mystery to solve but it also gives a real feel for Greece-- the changes being made to lure the tourist dollar as well as how ancient myths can intersect with contemporary life.

This is definitely a series that I should not have neglected. I'm looking forward to following Hermes Diaktoros to his next case.

The Taint of Midas by Anne Zouroudi

ISBN: 9780316076296

Reagan Arthur Books © 2011

Hardcover, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Seven Deadly Sins mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet.

 

The Mykonos Mob by Jeffrey Siger

First Line: He never wondered about the purpose of life or how he turned out the way he had.

When a corrupt former police colonel is gunned down in front of a restaurant, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis takes notice. The dead man ran a huge protection racket on the island of Mykonos, and his death undoubtedly means crime bosses are going to be making some sort of move on all the money to be had on this international playground.

While Andreas and his righthand man Yianni look for answers, Andreas' wife Lila takes the opportunity to bring their children to Mykonos for a holiday. She soon meets an American expat named Toni, a popular piano player at a local bar who supplements her income by finding stolen goods. As the two women bond over a shared desire to mentor young island girls, they discover that their work intersects with Andreas' investigation in some very dangerous ways.

From facial expressions to food to finance (and beyond), I can't think of any other series that brings present-day Greece to life like Jeffrey Siger's Andreas Kaldis mysteries. I love these books, and The Mykonos Mob is an excellent addition.

While the setting is absolutely marvelous, that's not the only reason why I refuse to miss each new release. Siger's sense of humor can have me laughing out loud, and he can write action scenes that have me in a quandary: should I chew my nails down to the quick or turn the pages faster? (Guess which one I choose every time.)

Best of all, the author has created characters that become members of the family. Tasso is too old now for jumping into one of Siger's high-octane action scenes. Instead, he tends his garden and shares his wealth of knowledge whenever Andreas needs it. With only his righthand man Yianni with him, the cast of characters would be too small, so Siger does something I've been hoping he'd do for a long time: bring in Andreas' wife, Lila. Lila has always been a source of humor, common sense, and strength in the books, and I'm happy to say that she relishes her expanded role. With Andreas and Yianni busy, Lila needed a sidekick of her own, and American expat Toni with her blatant disregard of rules and other peoples' opinions is the perfect partner. I really hope to see more of these two in future books. The interaction between Lila, Toni, Andreas, and Yianni is great.

The pitch-perfect setting, an intriguing mystery, a humdinger of a showdown at book's end, AND some fantastic characters. Is The Mykonos Mob a winner? You'd better believe it!

The Mykonos Mob by Jeffrey Siger

eISBN: 9781464211508

Poisoned Pen Press © 2019

eBook, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #10 Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis mystery

Rating: A

Source: NetGalley


 

Deadline in Athens by Petros Markaris

First Line: Every morning at nine, we stared at each other.

When an Albanian husband and wife are found dead in their home, it seems to be an open-and-shut case for Inspector Costas Haritos, a veteran homicide detective on the Athens police force. However, when Greece's celebrity television news reporter goes on air to tell everyone that the case was closed too early, Haritos begins checking to see what he could have missed.

Moments before the reporter goes on air with a surprising break in the story, she is murdered, and Haritos is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. It won't be easy. He's saddled with a bumbling junior officer and must also contend with higher-ups under the thumbs of news executives who are more concerned with protecting their ratings than finding a killer.

I love reading mysteries written by international authors: Fred Vargas, Andrea Camilleri, Henning Mankell, Ragnar Jónasson, Karin Fossum, and Jane Harper are just a few. It goes without saying that I picked up Deadline in Athens with a great deal of anticipation.

The mystery itself is strong. There's a lot going on besides the reporter's death, and the more Haritos teases out clues, he finds that those clues lead to solving all sorts of cases. If I were the type of reader who concentrates on solving the mystery to the exclusion of all else, I would've been happy with this book. But... I'm not. I'm a character-driven reader, so those all-important fictional people mean a great deal to me. I don't have to like every character in a book. Sometimes it can be therapeutic to loathe one or two and even cheer on their demise. But sometimes what drives a character can mean a great deal to my enjoyment of a book, and those found in Deadline in Athens seem to luxuriate in being mean-spirited jerks.

Costas Haritos has two hobbies: (1) collecting and reading dictionaries, which would be interesting if he did more with them than lay across the bed, crack one open, and then (2) concoct his latest scheme to get even with his wife. According to Haritos, "The first stage of family life is the joy of living together. The second is children. The third and longest stage is getting your own back at every opportunity. When you get to that stage, you know that you're secure and nothing is going to change." At least it's a good match-- his wife sits on the couch, remote control in hand, watching soap operas and scheming how to get back at him. I won't even go into the morning ritual Haritos performs with his junior officer.

One reason why I enjoy reading mysteries written by international authors is the opportunity to learn about other countries and cultures. There's scarcely any of that to be found in Deadline in Athens. Markaris adds "authentic Greek flavor" by naming each and every street Haritos travels down, how bad the traffic is, and how long it takes him to get to his destination (usually in the pouring rain). Ho hum.

If I weren't so interested in the solution to the mystery, I would've stopped reading within the first fifty pages. In the end, I was very happy with the solution and thrilled that my time spent with the grim Costas Haritos was over. For anyone who wants to experience Greek culture, intriguing mysteries, and solid characters, you'd be well advised to read Jeffrey Siger's excellent Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series instead.

Deadline in Athens by Petros Markaris

Translated from the Greek by David Connolly.

eISBN: 9780802199171

Grove Press © 2004

eBook, 304 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Inspector Costas Haritos mystery

Rating: D+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

First Line: Few people would look kindly on my reasons for marrying Philip; neither love nor money nor his title induced me to accept his proposal.

The only reason why Emily accepted the proposal of Viscount Ashton was to escape the clutches of her overbearing mother, so when he died on safari after only six months of marriage, she felt very little grief. But during her two-year period of mourning, Emily has discovered that Philip was a very different man from the one she thought she had married.

In her desire to learn more about her husband, she finds herself in the British Museum, and it's there that she uncovers a dangerous secret about stolen artifacts. It's not long before Emily finds herself trying to juggle the attentions of two suitors while trying to solve a crime that might have caused her husband's death.

I've known about Tasha Alexander's mysteries for quite some time now, and I finally made the time to read the first one in her Lady Emily series. It added a great deal of poignancy to the story to have Emily slowly fall in love with her husband after his death, but what I enjoyed even more was how Emily fought for what was best for her despite the machinations of her mother and of Victorian society. Emily was not the first wealthy woman to realize that-- in that day and age-- it's often better to be a widow than a wife.

The mystery about stolen artifacts was an interesting one even though I did find the villain easy to identify. (But then, I've had more experience in deduction than young Lady Emily.) All in all, And Only to Deceive reminded me of the books of romantic suspense I read when I was in my teens-- books written by authors like Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and Dorothy Eden. However, even though this book is well-written and has an admirable main character, the story as a whole lacked any spark that would induce me to continue reading. Since the series now contains ten books, it's obvious that there are many readers who've had a much more positive reaction. Ah well. It happens sometimes!

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

ISBN: 9780061148446

Harper © 2006

Paperback, 321 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Lady Emily mystery

Rating: C+

Source: Paperback Swap 

An Aegean April by Jeffrey Siger

First Line: The northeastern Aegean island of Lesvos, a place of quiet beauty, storied history, and sacred shrines, had long drawn the attention of tourists, though never quite the hordes of off-islanders that descended each summer onto some of its much smaller, but far more notorious, Cycladic neighbors to the southwest.

The Greek island of Lesvos has been an agrarian paradise for centuries. Covered with wildflowers, a favorite stop for migrating birds, it's now known for human immigrants fleeing from war and terrorism. Mihalis Volandes is one of the island's most privileged citizens, and he's developed a plan he wants to put into action, a plan that will strike at the heart of the lucrative human trafficking trade. When he's found outside the door to his estate, cleaved in two with a sword, the island is in an uproar-- especially when it looks as though a refugee is his killer.

Within hours, the phone rings in the Athens office of Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis. American Dana McLaughlin, the head of SafePassage a non-government organization on Lesvos to aid refugees, is convinced Ali Sera is being framed, and she doesn't trust anyone in the local government to see justice done. In no time at all, Kaldis has his team on the move, finding the facts they need in order to catch a dangerous killer.

Jeffrey Siger can always be trusted to bring the country, the history, and the customs of Greece to life and this ninth book in his Chief Inspector Kaldis series is no exception. Kaldis and his team, along with their wives, girlfriends, and children are a true family whose bonds are every bit as strong as blood. These people have worked together for a long time, and they've learned how to work smart and take few chances with their lives. Since I'm attached to this entire group, I like seeing them use intelligence instead of brute force to get the job done.

In An Aegean April, readers get an up-close-and-personal look at the refugee crisis and the resulting plague of human traffickers that has grown up around it. There is money to be made from thousands upon thousands of desperate people, especially since the governments involved would rather look the other way than do something that would actually alleviate the situation. There is even more money to be had if leaky boats are used and defective equipment sold to what "others in the smuggling trade call...fish or cement blocks."

To this sickening situation, Kaldis and his team bring their talents and their determined focus, aided by two strong (and sometimes misguided) women, one American and one Greek. We also meet another character who's been seen in a previous book, and as soon as I saw that person, I knew it wasn't a one-scene-only appearance. I was right. This character appears at the end in a sort of deus ex machina, and although I might pick this apart in almost any other book, I have to smile. If you're going to use the deus ex machina device, it has to be in a book set in Greece, and Siger's books are so Greek, the pollen from the olive trees makes me sneeze.

If you haven't read a Chief Inspector Kaldis novel before, I suggest you begin at the beginning (Murder in Mykonos) so you can see how this group of people come together and become a family. This is one of my favorite series, and I hope it will become one of yours, too.

An Aegean April by Jeffrey Siger

eISBN: 9781464209482

Poisoned Pen Press © 2018

eBook, 280 pages

Police Procedural, #9 Inspector Kaldis mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Death on Delos by Gary Corby

First Lines: It is illegal to die on the sacred isle of Delos. It is also illegal to give birth there.

As the birthplace of the divine twins Apollo and Artemis, the sacred isle of Delos has been a pilgrimage site for centuries. It's also home to the money held by the Delian League, an alliance of city-states that defend Greece against the Persians-- a vast treasury protected by a minuscule armed guard and the priests and priestesses of the tiny island. 

When Pericles arrives with a small army (and private agent Nicolaos and Nico's very pregnant wife Diotima in tow) to take the treasury back to Athens, the priests resist. Pericles sends Nicolaos to bribe the most resistant priest, but before he can get very far in the negotiations, Nico ends up with a murder on his hands.

Thanks to the wrangling over money, the first blasphemy has been committed (someone has died on the sacred island). Can Nico solve the murder and get Diotima off Delos before they accidentally commit the second?

I love this series even though I've never been a fan of ancient Greece. (Merely an admirer from afar.) Gary Corby has the knack of combining history, humor, and untimely death in a way that's so entertaining readers may never realize that they're learning something. When a man like Corby reads that no one was allowed to die or give birth on Delos, there's only one thing he can do: tell a story in which both may-- or may not-- happen.

Since the plot of Death on Delos involves banks and boatloads of money, all sorts of skullduggery take place. All that cash is just too tempting. Nicolaos and Diotima are an excellent investigative team, but even they need a bit of time to unravel everything. However, with Diotima's due date looming ever closer, time is the one commodity they don't have.

Like all the other books in the series, Death on Delos tells a fast-moving story involving the Nick and Nora Charles of ancient Athens. I love the humor, I love the mystery, and I love the history. I also enjoy the cast of characters, the glossary, and the Author's Note that are always included in each book. You can read the book without them, but you'll be missing out on some of the delightful humor. And... if you're like me and want to know just how much of the story is actually true, that Author's Note comes in very handy.

If you haven't picked up one of Gary Corby's Athenian mysteries because you think reading about ancient Greece is too boring and stuffy for words, think again. You will be very pleasantly surprised to find out how fresh and lively those old Athenians were! You may even wind up eagerly awaiting the next book in the series-- like me!

Death on Delos by Gary Corby

ISBN: 9781616958213

Soho Crime © 2017

Hardcover, 352 pages

Historical Mystery, #7 Athenian mystery

Rating: A

Source: the publisher

Santorini Caesars by Jeffrey Siger

First Line: Santorini stands as the southernmost of Greece's Aegean Cycladic islands, one hundred forty-five miles southeast of Athens, eighty-five miles due north of Crete, and slightly smaller than the American island of Manhattan.

Athens is a hotbed of protests and demonstrators. When one of the young demonstrators is assassinated, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis is convinced that the young girl's death was meant as a message. All he and his team have to do is figure out who sent the message and to whom the message was sent. 

The search leads them to the gorgeous island of Santorini-- in legend, the lost island of Atlantis. There on the island a secret gathering of Greece's  top military leaders is looking to come up with answers to the monumental government crisis which faces their country. What are they up to? 

As suspects emerge and international intrigues evolve, Kaldis finds himself facing a situation that only he can stop. As the birth if their second child grows closer, Kaldis and his wife know that better days for their country will not be coming any time soon, and they have to wonder-- does carrying on the good fight really matter anymore?

Siger the Soothsayer has the uncanny knack of foreseeing chaos in the beautiful country that is Greece and then writing about it in such a way that readers see and hear and taste and feel that turmoil. I rely on his Chief Inspector Kaldis books to learn about Greece, its history and landscape, as well as get a true picture of its government. Now Kaldis is showing us that other countries are taking advantage of Greece's dire economic straits and its corrupt politicians. This makes for some nail-biting plots.

Fortunately Kaldis is now a family man. He has a beautiful wife and son with a second baby on the way. This has given him more important responsibilities, and I'm happy to see him less in the middle of deadly action and more in administrative mode which lets his leadership and analytical skills shine. It also has the added bonus of allowing other characters a turn in the spotlight-- and believe me, Jeffrey Siger's series is not a one-character show.

His team works together like a well-oiled machine-- well-oiled with intelligence, good food, and lots of humor. Maggie is the world's best secretary, and Kaldis' wife Lila's common sense has helped him solve more than one investigation. Then there's the courtship of Petro and Sappho, and.... but I'm not saying another word since I don't want to divulge any secrets.

Jeffrey Siger's Inspector Kaldis books have always had a profound sense of place, and if you're wondering, the Greeks themselves love his books. Combine the author's talent for holding up a mirror to a troubled, beautiful country to his plots that make you feel as though you're getting the latest news before everyone else and add an intelligent, funny, sexy cast, and what do you have? Some marvelous reading, that's what. I never miss one of Jeffrey Siger's books. Never!

     

Santorini Caesars by Jeffrey Siger

ISBN: 9781464206030

Poisoned Pen Press © 2016

Paperback, 304 pages

Police Procedural, #8 Andreas Kaldis mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley 


 

The Singer from Memphis by Gary Corby

First Line: "Master, there's a man at the door who wants to see you. He says his name is Herodotus."

Nicolaos believed helping an author with research for his book would be a pretty tame way to pay the bills. But Herodotus's research trip to Egypt isn't well timed. Egypt is in the midst of a rebellion to throw out its Persian Empire overlords. Pirates infest the sea. There are three different armies to contend with. You can't step foot in the river because of the crocodiles-- and there are hordes of secret agents on dry land. It's not long at all before Nicolaos wants to take his wife Diotima back home to Greece where he can get a decent cup of wine.

I fell for Gary Corby's grasp of history and his excellent storytelling the first time I picked up one of his Athenian mysteries. Nicolaos is the perfect sleuth, called upon to investigate all sorts of interesting situations by Athens' premier citizen, Pericles. Nico's wife Diotima (a former priestess) is quite talented at deduction herself, and even his younger brother Socrates (yes, that Socrates) can come up with a good question or two (dozen). 

Corby has created the perfect little time machine in which readers can visit ancient Greece and still feel at home. There are action sequences at sea and on dry land that will certainly keep the pages turning, and since there is no shortage of secret agents representing all the various factions in Egypt, readers will be kept guessing at the outcome. Traveling along with the world's first historian is yet another perk of reading this book.

One of the ways Corby makes readers feel so at home in this ancient world is with his use of humor. In this book, that humor begins with the title. How many of you thought of Elvis Presley when you saw "The Singer from Memphis"? I would imagine most of you did, unless you knew that Gary Corby writes mysteries set in ancient Greece and that there was a city in Egypt named-- you guessed it-- Memphis. But in this book, one of the characters is a young female who makes a living singing in a bar in Memphis, and the first time Nicolaos sees her, she's singing a song in Greek about suspicious minds. (Any Elvis fans smiling?) There's another instance of subtle humor when I was reminded of what happened when someone wore a red shirt in the original Star Trek series. Whether subtle or laugh-out-loud funny, Corby's humor brings his story to life and helps his readers make the transition to the ancient world. 

The Singer from Memphis has a wonderful setting and characters and an engrossing mystery with more than a hint of a treasure hunt to it. For those of you who are wavering because you think you'll be unable to pronounce words, know what some of the words are, or be lost in history, waver no more. Corby has included a short cast of characters complete with pronunciation, a brief historic timeline to set up the story (although you really don't need it), and a glossary to define any of the words you may not be familiar with. Rest assured that Corby does a marvelous job of placing you in the ancient world without the feeling that you're drowning in history. In addition, his Author's Note at the end should not be missed-- although he warns you not to read it first because it's full of spoilers. This section tells you what is true and what isn't in the story as well as several other fascinating facts. Is it necessary to read this series in order? No, but I can see you reading one and then going back for the others.

Gary Corby has prepared the feast, and it's sitting on the table, waiting for you. All you need to do is to sit down and begin enjoying yourself.
      

The Singer from Memphis by Gary Corby

ISBN: 9781616956684

Soho Crime © 2016

Hardcover, 352 pages

Historical Mystery, #6 Classical Athens mystery

Rating: A

Source: the publisher