Prey On Patmos
Book 3
Modern world intrigues amid a The Name of the Rose setting.
A revered monk is brutally murdered in the middle of the town square on the Holy Island of Patmos at the beginning of Easter Week, and it’s up to Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis to find the killers before all hell breaks loose—in a manner of speaking, for Patmos is the island where John wrote the apocalyptic Book of Revelation. Andreas’ investigation takes him far away from Patmos to the isolated Aegean peninsula of Mount Athos, off the eastern coast of Greece, where twenty monasteries sit protecting the secrets of Byzantium amid a way of life virtually unchanged for 1500 years in the world’s oldest surviving monastic community. Andreas’ search for answers draws him into the Byzantine secrets of his Church, and the discovery of modern international intrigues threatening to destroy the very heart of the Church in a matter of days.
Full Praise
Top Ten Bestseller in Greece
#2 Fiction Bestseller (Denver)
“Siger proves that Greece is fertile new ground for the mystery genre. Sure to appeal to fans of mysteries with exotic locations.”
—Library Journal
“The third case for the appealing Andreas will immerse readers in a fascinating culture.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Third international police procedural that I’ve read by this very gifted American author…on a par with other American authors such as Joseph Wambaugh or Ed McBain. I look forward eagerly to reading his next one.”
—Eurocrime
“Pacy new whodunit by Jeffrey Siger…contrasts the calm of the monastery and the sanctity of Holy Week with the savage killing and the complex power play of which it seems to be a part…Attuned to the ways and concerns of everyday Greeks, Siger is an equally astute observer of the movers and shakers.”
—The International Herald Tribune/Athens Plus
“[Siger’s] thrillers—some call them murder mysteries—are more than the typical mystery, and are laden with intrigue. There’s so much going on there—underlying it all are the societal and political conditions of Greece…For a non-Greek, he’s captured this incredibly well, including the very essence of the Greek characters.”
—The Greek Star, Chicago
—Greek USA Reporter
“[A] page-turner from the beginning to the end…Siger’s writing is superb…taking the reader on a roller-coaster ride…I’m a fan of this series and highly recommend it…I know you will be wanting more.”
—Reader Views
“[B]rings deliciously tense religious fervor and international intrigue together against the lush backdrop of the Greek islands and Mediterranean Sea… Thoroughly engrossing and nerve wracking.”
—Paperback Dolls [One of its Top 5 Books of the Year—any genre.]
“[Siger’s] prose is exceptionally energetic and polished: spare and smooth as silk…The author gives us an interesting tableau of Greek life, especially Greek religious life, and this will supply exotic appeal for most readers. But where the author really strikes exotic gold is his delving into the workings and politics of the Greek Orthodox Church: its hierarchies, its influence, and its reach—one that extends well beyond Greek borders. What’s refreshing about this treatment is that it is done respectfully and from a native Greek viewpoint, something sure to be unique for most American readers.”
—Night Owl
“Jeffrey Siger’s mysteries are complicated, entrancing stories, wrapped up in politics… Prey on Patmos is a powerful mystery of pride and temptation and politics played out on the Greek stage.”
—Lesa’s Book Critiques
“Armchair detectives will enjoy the latest trip to Greece to follow the escapades of Kaldis and his team.”
—Mystery Gazette
“Siger seems to have been able to see into the future when he was writing the book…The series should not be missed….On one level, Prey on Patmos is an excellent police procedural. On another level, the book continues Jeffrey Siger’s look at some of the most profound problems faced by society…[and] succeeds in a complicated balancing act.”
—Murder By Type [“One of our favorite top 12 books”]
“Combines an unexpected plot, that keeps the attention throughout, with a background on the Greek Church, which is fascinating in itself…Prey on Patmos will accrue the same honors bestowed on Siger’s first two books—Murder in Mykonos and Assassins of Athens.”
—Bookloons
“What a delight to discover the strength, confidence, and intriguing plot of Prey on Patmos…Siger…has surged in exciting ways beyond his debut Murder in Mykonos and the action thriller Assassins of Athens, to craft a suspenseful and provocative new mystery.”
—Kingdom Books
“A fascinating read…couldn’t put it down…characters live and breathe, and you cannot help but smile at the ingenious ways they…manage to deal with political and ecclesiastical difficulties.”
—World News/Monsters and Critics
“…an excellent police procedural with engaging characters and a fascinating setting…I admire Jeffrey Siger’s writing skill. He tells a complex, setting-heavy story in a readable way.”
—Joe Barone
Excerpt
There was an unnatural cadence to the man’s walk. Maybe it was the uneven stone lane. But he’d walked this path ten thousand times, though not so soon before first light. Still, he knew it well enough. He paused, as if to listen, then moved five paces and paused again. In the shadows outside the monastery’s wall, his black monk’s rasso was long enough to conceal his body and the short, flat-topped kalimafki his hair, but neither hid his snow-white beard. Perhaps he should have been looking as carefully as he listened, but it wouldn’t have mattered. The men stood quietly at the bottom of the path, just beyond where it opened into the town square. He could not see them.
***
Andreas had told Lila he’d be home early. Forget about it. Here he was yelling over the noise of a military helicopter commandeered by his boss, the minister of public order, to get Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, head of the Greek Police’s Special Crimes Division, and his assistant, detective Yianni Kouros, out of Athens and over to a northern Dodecanese island close to Turkey “before all hell breaks loose.”
“There’s no reason for him tossing this mess in our laps. No damn reason at all.”
Kouros shrugged. “I don’t know, Chief, maybe the minister thought a monk turning up murdered the Sunday before Easter in the middle of the town square on the Holy Island of Patmos qualified as a special crime?”
Andreas ignored him. They’d worked together long enough for him to let the younger man tease him, at least when they were alone. Besides, Kouros was right. Throat cut, everything but the monk’s crosses taken. Hard to imagine anyone who’d kill a monk being considerate enough to leave them behind.
© Jeffrey Siger
Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mysteries
12
13