Greece, 454 BC: The sacred isle of Delos - It is a crime against the gods to die or be born on the sacred island. Thanks to the violence over the treasury, the first blasphemy has already been committed. Can Nico solve the murder and get Diotima off the island before they accidentally commit the second?
Again, a little out of my comfort zone with crime fiction set in Ancient Greece - and although this was my first read in this series (I began at book 7), I found it quite easy to follow the characters of Diotima and Nicholas. A few of the "real" characters were familiar to me through my cursory high school education in the Classical Era and the author, Gary Corby, does a great job in filling in the details.
So to the story itself - murder, of course, on a sacred island in the Aegean 545BC. Our detective duo are already in situ and are called upon to solve this mystery. However, this is not a straight-forward crime and the location itself is proving to be rather trying. Add into this mix a delicate political situation, religious tensions, a cast of questionable islanders, and you have all the makings of great cosy mystery.
The author injects humour and satire into this novel, which adds to its enjoyment. It is an easy to read novel that is not saturated in unnecessary details. Not only was my interest maintained, but the author also inspires the reader to explore more of this period in history - not only fiction but non-fiction as well. Love the author notes at the end!
see review @ goodreads
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