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Assassins of Athens by Jeffrey Siger — book cover

Assassins of Athens

by Jeffrey Siger
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Overview

"When the body of a boy from one of Greece's most prominent families turns up in a dumpster in one of Athens' worst neighborhoods, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis of the Greek Police's Special Crimes Division is certain there's a message in the murder. But who sent it and why?" Andreas' politically incorrect search for answers takes him deep into the sordid, criminal side of Athens nightlife and then to the glittering world of Athens society where age-old frictions between old money and new breed jealousy, murder, revenge, revolutionaries, and some very dangerous truths. It is a journey amid ruthless, powerful adversaries that brings Andreas face-to-face with old grudges, new emotions, ancient Athenian practices, and modern political realities once thought unimaginable.

Synopsis

When the body of a boy from one of Greece's most prominent families turns up in a dumpster in one of Athens' worst neighborhoods, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis of the Greek Police's Special Crimes Division is certain there's a message in the murder. But who sent it and why? Andreas' politically incorrect search for answers takes him deep into the sordid, criminal side of Athens nightlife and on to the glittering world of Athens society where age-old frictions between old money and new breed jealousy, murder, revenge, revolutionaries, and some very dangerous truths.

Publishers Weekly

Beware of Greeks bearing grudges, especially when they’re as rich, resourceful and ruthless as the killers who dog Athens Chief Insp. Andreas Kaldis in Siger’s speedboat-paced second mystery (after 2009’s Murder in Mykonos). The case detonates with a sensational discovery: the body of golden boy Sotiris Kostopoulos, the teenage son of one of Greece’s wealthiest wheeler-dealers, dumped behind a seedy gay bar. Within days his family flees the country. As bodies start dropping from Mykonos to Sardinia, Kaldis finds it increasingly difficult to dismiss hints of a colossal conspiracy—one that might stretch to the loftiest levels of Athenian society as well as way back into its bloodstained past. Readers may not totally buy the book’s audacious premise or the spontaneous combustion between the straight-arrow inspector and a wealthy socialite, but that shouldn’t spoil this suspenseful trip through the rarely seen darker strata of complex, contemporary Greece. (Jan.)\

About the Author, Jeffrey Siger

Jeffrey Siger, born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, practiced law at a major Wall Street law firm and, while there, served as Special Counsel to the citizens group responsible for reporting on New York Cityas prison conditions. He left Wall Street to establish his own New York City law firm and continued as one of its name partners. Now he lives and writes full-time in Mykonos, his adopted home of 25 years.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Beware of Greeks bearing grudges, especially when they’re as rich, resourceful and ruthless as the killers who dog Athens Chief Insp. Andreas Kaldis in Siger’s speedboat-paced second mystery (after 2009’s Murder in Mykonos). The case detonates with a sensational discovery: the body of golden boy Sotiris Kostopoulos, the teenage son of one of Greece’s wealthiest wheeler-dealers, dumped behind a seedy gay bar. Within days his family flees the country. As bodies start dropping from Mykonos to Sardinia, Kaldis finds it increasingly difficult to dismiss hints of a colossal conspiracy—one that might stretch to the loftiest levels of Athenian society as well as way back into its bloodstained past. Readers may not totally buy the book’s audacious premise or the spontaneous combustion between the straight-arrow inspector and a wealthy socialite, but that shouldn’t spoil this suspenseful trip through the rarely seen darker strata of complex, contemporary Greece. (Jan.)\

Library Journal

Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis of the Greek Police's Special Crimes Division is back in Athens (after solving his first case in Murder in Mykonos) to investigate the murder of the 17-year-old son of one of Greece's most wealthy families. Kaldis is a savvy policeman who dodges corruption and solves his case with professional aplomb. VERDICT With few mysteries set in Greece, the author, a longtime resident of Mykonos, vividly captures this unfamiliar terrain's people and culture. Mystery fans who like their police procedurals in exotic locales will welcome this one. [Also available in a large print edition, ISBN 978-1-59058-690-7.—Ed.]\

Kirkus Reviews

The intricately planned murder of a wealthy young Greek has disturbing implications. Andreas Kaldis (Murder in Mykonos, 2009), Chief Inspector of the Special Crimes Division, is called to a seedy quarter of Athens to examine a body in a dumpster. Ironically, it's Andreas' secretary Maggie who identifies the victim from police photos. Addicted, like everyone in the country but Andreas, to the tabloid press, she's spotted the victim's picture there. He's Sotiris, the adopted son of Zanni and Ginny Kostopoulos. The couple's tight-lipped reaction to the news of their only child's death puts Andreas' radar on alert. Nouveau riche publisher Zanni identifies the family of Sarantis Linardos as a nest of likely suspects-not exactly a disinterested suggestion, since Siger has already shown Zanni plotting to acquire the influential and respected daily The Athenian, crown jewel of the old-money Linardos empire. On the other side of the journalistic tracks, party boy Sotiris has been immortalized in a tabloid as part of a threesome with Sarantis' similarly wild granddaughter. Andreas' worst suspicions are confirmed by the first major break in the case. Sometime hooker Anna Panitz admits to luring Sotiris to an isolated place at the cash-fueled request of two strangers. Andreas' methodical probe stretches from Athens' tenderloin to the halls of the city's moneyed interests and all the way to the island of Sardinia. Otherwise undistinguished, but greatly enhanced by Siger's intimate knowledge of Athens. Armchair travelers take note.

Book Details

Published
January 1, 2010
Publisher
Poisoned Pen Press
Pages
286
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781590587072

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