Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Murder in Mykonos by Jeffrey Siger. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.
Murder in Mykonos by Jeffrey Siger
An Andreas Kaldis Mystery
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-581-X (159058581X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-581-8 (9781590585818)
Publication Date: January 2009
List Price: $24.95
Review: With its plethora of jewelry stores and other shopping opportunities and all-night bars and restaurants, Mykonos, one of Greece’s most famous islands, thrives on the tourist trade. But there’s a mystery afoot that if not kept from the media could jeopardize the island’s very livelihood. New Police Chief Andreas Kaldis, exiled from his beloved Athens homicide squad, has the responsibility of keeping the island’s reputation safe.
But that becomes incredibly hard when two young women disappear and police find the bones of other female victims in burial sites under many of Mykonos’s family churches. Kaldis and the local homicide chief partner to solve a crime that has haunted Mykonos for decades, a mystery with far too many suspects.
Jeffrey Siger’s debut novel, Murder in Mykonos, offers a terrific setting of the famous island of Mykonos, cloaked in legend and mystery. This novel, the first in a series, introduces readers to Andreas Kaldis, an Athens homicide detective who did his job too well, so his bosses have sent him to serve as police chief of Mykonos to get him out of Athens.
Kaldis is a solid character although a bit too much of a bully with suspects, which could stem from unhappiness with his new position. Readers also meet various restaurant, jewelry store and hotel owners; Tassos, the local homicide chief; and Kouros, one of Kaldis’s officers who I liked very much. After an embarrassing first encounter with Kaldis, he treats his chief with respect but doesn’t lose his ability to think independently. I appreciated this depth of personality in contrast to most of the members of Annika’s family who while concerned came off as one-dimensional. Also, Annika’s cousin, Demetra, comes to Mykonos to meet Annika and shows some spunk when she finds out her cousin has gone missing, but then we never hear from her again.
Siger’s plot that revolves around disappearing women, a decades-long mystery and the hunt for a killer sounds promising, but I finished the book unsatisfied. Perhaps, I missed something, but I never quite understood why the killer committed the crimes. That said, Siger did a wonderful job of inspiring suspense and terror with many of the scenes with Annika, one of the women who have disappeared and her captor.
Siger sprinkles the novel with information on Greek history, customs and legend, which show he has done his research and add authenticity to the story. Readers who enjoy gaining knowledge through their fiction will learn of the panegyria, celebrations of saints on their name days; myths of the island of Delos; and secret passages on Mykonos. He adds descriptions of churches, statues and temples, which bring the islands to life. Siger’s plot has some interesting twists and turns, and I look forward to reading the next book to see if I enjoy it more. I try never to judge an author on one book alone.
Special thanks to Katherine Petersen for contributing her review of Murder in Mykonos and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for the review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Katherine Petersen — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission
If you are interested in purchasing Murder in Mykonos from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.
Synopsis (from the publisher): A young woman on holiday to Mykonos, the most famous of Greece's Aegean Cycladic islands, simply disappears off the face of the earth. And no one notices.
That is, until a body turns up on a pile of bones under the floor of a remote mountain church. Then the island's new police chief -- the young, politically incorrect, former Athens homicide detective Andreas Kaldis -- starts finding bodies, bones, and suspects almost everywhere he looks.
Teamed with the canny, nearly-retired local homicide chief, Andreas tries to find the killer before the media can destroy the island's fabled reputation with a barrage of world-wide attention on a mystery that's haunted Mykonos undetected for decades.
Just when it seems things can't get any worse, another young woman disappears and political niceties no longer matter. With the investigation now a rescue operation, Andreas finds himself plunging into ancient myths and forgotten island places, racing against a killer intent on claiming a new victim who is herself determined to outstep him.
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