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Overview
In an isolated olive grove on the idyllic Aegean island of Tinos, revered by pilgrims around the world as the Lourdes of Greece, the remains of two bodies charred beyond recognition are discovered chained together amid bits and pieces of an incinerated Greek flag. An enraged press screams out for justice for the unknown victims, until the dead are identified as gypsies and the story simply falls off the face of the earth.
Is it a gypsy clan war, a hate crime, or something else? With no one seeming to care, the government has no interest in resurrecting unwanted media attention by a search for answers to such ethnically charged questions and orders the investigation closed.
But Andreas Kaldis, feared head of Greece’s special crimes division, has other plans. He presses on in his inimitable, impolitic style to unravel a mystery that yields more dead, a modern secret society rooted in two-hundred-year-old ways, and a nagging suspicion that his answers lay in the sudden influx of non-Greeks and gypsies to Tinos.
It is there, on Tinos, Andreas learns of priceless hoards of gold, silver, art, and precious gems quietly amassed over centuries out of the offerings of grateful pilgrims. He has found a motive for murder and an irresistible inspiration for robbery.
All that is left for Andreas to do is find the killers before more die, stop the robbery of the century, and get married in the process.
Synopsis
"Target: Tinos [is] another of Jeffrey Siger's thoughtful police procedurals set in picturesque but not untroubled Greek locales."--New York Times
In an isolated olive grove on the Aegean island of Tinos lies the remains of two charred bodies chained together amid pieces of an incinerated Greek flag. An enraged press screams out for justice for the unknown victims, until the dead are identified as Gypsies. Then the story simply dies. Is it a Gypsy clan war, a hate crime, or something else? With no one seeming to care, the Greek government has no interest in resurrecting unwanted media attention and orders the investigation closed. But Andreas Kaldis, head of Greece's special crimes division, has other plans. He presses on to unravel a mystery that yields more dead, a modern secret society, and questions about the sudden influx of non-Greeks and Gypsies to Tinos. Now Andreas must find the killers before more die, stop the robbery of the century, and get married in the process.
Editorials
Library Journal
Andreas Kaldis, head of Greece's Special Crimes Division, is scheduled to be married—but with two charred corpses and a possible Gypsy clan war to deal with, he may not make it to the altar. Threats abound, from Andreas's politically motivated boss who wants things cleaned up neatly for the international press to a mysterious criminal force known only as the Shepherd. In his fourth series outing (after Prey on Patmos), the tough but engaging Andreas investigates a brutal plan that just may include the heist of one of Greece's most cherished religious icons, the Megalochari. Fast-paced, this thriller also serves as a kind of modern travelog and mini-history lesson on Greece rolled into one. VERDICT An interesting and highly entertaining police procedural for those who wish to read their way around the globe and especially for those inclined to move away from some of the "chilly" Scandinavian thrillers and into warmer climes. [See Prepub Alert, 3/21/12.]—Sally Harrison, Ocean Cty. Lib., Waretown, NJMarilyn Stasio
…another of Jeffrey Siger's thoughtful police procedurals set in picturesque but not untroubled Greek locales.—The New York Times Book Review