ASSASSINS OF ATHENS, the much awaited sequel to Murder in Mykonos, is "international police procedural writing at its best" praises Booklist in a starred review, and "easily compare[s]...to The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons [with] fast-paced excitement and drama [that] is on the same level" writes Reader Views. It will be published in the US in January 2010 by Poisoned Pen Press.
As with Murder in Mykonos, Jeffrey Siger combines his unique perspective and insider-like knowledge of Greece to create a highly entertaining, yet thought provoking novel—for ASSASSINS OF ATHENS is a Greek tragedy of another sort:
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, and revolutionaries. It is a journey amidst ruthless, powerful adversaries bringing Andreas face-to-face with old grudges, new emotions, ancient Athenian practices, and modern political realities once thought unimaginable.
The Greek-language version, Mystirio Stin Athina, was released in Greece by Aikaterini Lalaouni Editions (Athens) and immediately became a top ten best seller. ASSASSINS OF ATHENS (along with Murder in Mykonos) will be published in the UK and Commonwealth by Piatkus Books/Little Brown (London).
The first crime novel from Jeffrey Siger, Murder in Mykonos, came out in January 2009 from Poisoned Pen Press. This year's title, also from Poisoned Pen, is ASSASSINS OF ATHENS. I picked it up after noting that Siger and Brazilian mystery author Leighton Gage are across-the-ocean friends. And the two authors have more in common than their writing of crime fiction: Both are silver-haired, urbane, sophisticated thinkers who've already packed one career under their belts and are enjoying the transition to writing full-time now. In Siger's case, the career was corporate law in New York City; the author's reinvention takes place on the island of Mykonos, 90 miles from Athens.
And what Gage has done for Brazilian crime, Siger now does for Greece: He explores the intimacy of social communities, the pressures around wealth and power, and the chinks in the social fabric that give operating space to psychopaths and their buddies. Most importantly, he's crafted a character worth following: Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, whose friendly management style is countered by the intensity with which he digs for criminals.
As ASSASSINS OF ATHENS opens, Andreas and his sidekick, officer Yianni Kouros, confront a corpse behind a really nasty nightclub -- the corpse of a young man, brutalized and tossed into the dumpster, then brought to police attention by an anonymous phone call. Clearly, the killer wants attention. But it's not the police attention that's critical here, but the putting the murder into the view of socially prominent and wealthy Athenians through the press and the grapevine. This isn't just a killing -- it's a message.
Meanwhile, Andreas is struggling with loneliness, susceptible to the attractions of the women crossing his path as he pursues the grim motives for the crime. A hooker, a socialite, each has a different way of penetrating his increasingly fragile defenses. And it's all confusing him, along with the stresses of what he ought to be doing:
Which was exactly why Andreas was yelling at himself in the shower. "Just how stupid are you? How could you think for a moment that a hooker could walk into his club with two gorillas, take over a table in the VIP section, and Giorgio wouldn't know exactly what was going on? What are you, Kaldis, a goddamned rookie?"
Andreas finished with a string of more expletives directed at himself and a decision to get the investigation back on track. Enough with this grand conspiracy bullshit. It was a distraction. The murder trail was getting cold. He wondered if that was intentional; the boy's death simply revenge for the Linardos girl's humiliation and Marios' performance a debt owed to the Linardos family repaid by an elegant ruse. Nothing was outside the realm of possibility. He turned off the shower. Back to rule number one: trust no one.
Siger's plotting is tight and plausible, his twists deft, and his narrative delightfully seasoned by his portrayal of modern Greek society and the roots and motives of crime. And if occasionally the writing turns a bit bashful and awkward in the love scenes, that's understandable -- the author clearly knows the strong feelings that Andreas experiences, just hasn't quite nailed how to show them yet.
Siger's third book, Prey on Patmos, is scheduled for January 2011 from Poisoned Pen Press. It's a good time to collect this fresh work and appreciate the adept way that Siger is bringing this neglected geographic region into crime fiction. A lover of Greece and its people since the 1980s, Siger shares his passion for the land where he's chosen to retire and reinvent himself. It's a pleasure.
—KINGDOM BOOKS
