Murder In Mykonos
Book 1
A Mamma Mia setting for a No Country For Old Men story.
A young woman on holiday on Mykonos, the most famous of Greece’s Aegean Cycladic islands, simply disappears off the face of the earth. And no one notices.
When politically incorrect, hotshot detective Andreas Kaldis is promoted out of Athens to serve as police chief for Greece’s island paradise of Mykonos, he’s certain his homicide days are over. Murders don’t happen in tourist heaven; at least that’s what he’s thinking as he stares at the remains of a young woman found ritually bound and buried on a pile of human bones inside a remote mountain church. Then he starts finding bodies, bones, and suspects everywhere he looks. It is Greece’s most unimaginable nightmare, one no politician wants to confront—a serial killer loose in paradise.
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 plunged into ancient myths and forgotten island places, racing against a killer intent on claiming a new victim who is herself determined to outstep him.
Full Praise
#1 Bestselling English-Language Book in Greece
#1 Fiction Bestseller (Denver)
#1 Bestseller in Kindle Free Store (2016)
#3 Hardcover Bestseller in 2009 (Mystery Lovers Bookshop)
Top Ten Bestseller (Seattle Mystery Bookshop)
“‘The Read’ for Mykonos is Murder in Mykonos by Jeffrey Siger, with the island itself as a star witness.”
—Town & Country Travel
“Read This…Murder in Mykonos, Jeffrey Siger. Big-time detective from Athens needs to prove himself fast.”
—Fodor’s Essential Europe (2014) and Fodor’s Greek Islands (2015)
“Some say that after midnight, Mykonos is all nightlife—this throbbing beat is the backdrop to Jeffrey Siger’s popular mystery, Murder in Mykonos.”
—Fodor’s Greek Islands Guide (2012)
“With ten million Greeks, half of them thinking they are writers, how come we had to wait for a foreigner to come along and write this book!”
—Esquire Magazine
“Murder in Mykonos, a whodunit that topped the Greek bestseller charts.”
—Financial Times, London
“Siger…captures the rare beauty of the Greek islands in this series debut, the first serial killer thriller published by Poisoned Pen. His sense of place recalls Donna Leon’s Venetian series, but his portrayal of rape and murder is all his own.”
—Library Journal
—Publishers Weekly
“The must-read book of the week!”
—OK Magazine
“A hugely enjoyable read.”
—The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“#1 Fiction Best Seller in Denver area!”
—The Denver Post
“The first book by this exciting new American author…I enjoyed this one very much and I look forward to reading his next books.”
—Eurocrime
“Siger’s intimate knowledge of Mykonos adds color and interest to [an] effective debut novel.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Readers will be well pleased.”
—Booklist
“Excellent first novel.”
—The Mystery Bookstore, Los Angeles
“Murder in Mykonos captivates Greece…a murder-mystery page-turner that’s appeal has spread like wildfire all across Greece.”
—The National Herald, New York
“You cannot put it down—not even for one minute—until the mystery is solved. It is brilliant.”
—Athens Evening News
“The book everybody is talking about…a powerful novel.”
—The Value, Athens
“Masterfully written…even if you are not a murder-mystery fanatic, you will adore this book…genius.”
—Mykonos Magazine
“Cleverly done…a page-turning momentum…we always want to know what happens next.”
—Athens News
“A fast-paced, page-turning murder mystery that will engross you immediately and will keep you glued until the very end…Need I say more?”
—Reader Views
“A fantastic writer with endless imagination.”
—ET2 Magazine, Athens
“A best seller in Greece.”
—Athens Voice
“Astonishes the reader. A Mykonos completely unknown to the majority of casual visitors—atmospherically dark and mysterious.”
—The National Herald, New York
“Mykonos not only is his sanctuary, it is his muse…transformed into a place of action in a story full of suspense and murder.”
—The Daily, Athens
“An insider’s view of Mykonos.”
—Athens Plus
“A racy action thriller…Cleverly done…a page-turning momentum…we always want to know what happens next.”
—Athens News
“A story filled with intrigue and suspense.”
—Deluxe Magazine, Athens
“Superb whodunit.”
—The Mystery Gazette
“This is not a typical book…a riveting story…a rich drama.”
—Lesa’s Book Critiques
“If you like mysteries and thrillers you will love Murder in Mykonos.”
—Rebecca’s Reads
“The most eloquent portrait of a great love of Mykonos.”
—L’Officiel Hommes, Greece
“Siger has done an excellent job of placing the reader right there on the islands with the characters…this is such a great book.”
—DorothyL [A+ RATING]
“A pulse pounding, suspenseful, sun drenched antidote to the gloomy winter blahs.”
—Myshelf
“Siger seems like an old hand at mystery writing…[with] pages that cannot be turned fast enough…[and] an exciting ending that is one of the better ones I’ve come upon.”
—Bookloons
“A vivid picture of the local life…a well-written nail-biter. For those who love Greece it is a must-read. And, for those who like mysteries…this is a winner.”
—Reviewing the Evidence
“Murder in Mykonos should be a required read even if you don’t plan to go to Greece any time soon.”
—I Love a Mystery
“A MEMORABLE DEBUT…[Siger’s] knowledge of the people and the terrain conveys authenticity and vividness…Siger is a writer who knows how to keep things moving.”
—Foreward Magazine
“Murder in Mykonos is a terrific read…filled with extraordinary scenery and visuals… this is a great debut of what promises to be a pretty rewarding series…it looks like a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor with this one.”
—Book Collecting Tips
“Siger has neatly captured his niche in establishing a detective and a landscape that beckon and bond.”
—Kingdom Books
“Rating: A+…I almost couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as I read Murder in Mykonos. Siger put out a banquet for me, and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss a crumb.”
—Kittling Books
“This book surprised me. I expected to be entertained, and I ended up with a special respect for the author and the way he plies his craft.”
—Joe Barone
Excerpt
She thought of the night before and how stupid she’d been. She must rid her mind of that memory…
But for now she was off to explore the shops just opening for the evening. Most didn’t close until after midnight, some not until sunup. As if following Alice down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, [she] plunged through a break in a row of seafront tavernas, and—like magic—the harbor vanished. She was back in the maze of twisting, narrow stone paths that, for her, held the essence of Mykonos’ charm; it was the labyrinth itself—not what it offered—that she loved.
Sure, Mykonos was famous for tantalizing tourists with brightly lit shops, colorful restaurants, roaring bars, and freewheeling dance clubs, but this still was a town where people raised families and shared strong traditions. Down the less traveled lanes, children played their games oblivious to the occasional tourists squeezing through their four-, five-, or maybe six-foot-wide playgrounds. Pairs of grandmothers, all in black, did duty watching the children. They’d sit on stoops in front of their houses or, if a shop occupied the street level, on brightly painted wooden balconies outside their second-floor homes; balconies with gates guarding pets, pots of geraniums, draping bougainvillea, and—if rented to tourists—clothes left to dry.
As she walked, [her] eyes drifted up from the rows of glossy green, blue, and red banisters to where the white textures of the buildings met the sky. So many whites: light white, dark white, sunlit white, shaded white, dirt-caked white, white over color, white over stone, white over wood, white over steel, white over rust, peeled white, fresh white, old white, slick white, coarse white—against so many blues: dark blue, pale blue, and all those blues in between. [She] smiled, took in a deep breath, and said softly, “I just love it here.”
© Jeffrey Siger
Interviews
A Conversation with Jeff Siger, author of the Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Series
by Bill Buschel for Graffiti on Hellenic Public Radio, WNYE, New York City, June 14, 2012
Listen →
Greek Tragedies, Jeff Siger’s Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Series
Scene of the Crime with J. Sydney Jones, March 23, 2010
Read →
Book Brahmin: Jeffrey Siger
Shelf Awareness, January 13, 2010
Read →
Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mysteries
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