Target: Tinos
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Target: Tinos

Book 4

In an isolated olive grove on the idyllic Aegean island of Tinos, revered by pilgrims around the world as the Lourdes of Greece, the remains of two bodies charred beyond recognition are discovered chained together amid bits and pieces of an incinerated Greek flag. An enraged press screams out for justice for the unknown victims, until the dead are identified as Gypsies and the story simply falls off the face of the earth.

Is it a Gypsy clan war, a hate crime, or something else? With no one seeming to care, the government has no interest in resurrecting unwanted media attention by a search for answers to such ethnically charged questions and orders the investigation closed.

But Andreas Kaldis, feared head of Greece’s special crimes division, has other plans. He presses on in his inimitable, impolitic style to unravel a mystery that yields more dead, a modern secret society rooted in two-hundred-year-old ways, and a nagging suspicion that his answers lay in the sudden influx of non-Greeks and Gypsies to Tinos.

It is there, on Tinos, Andreas learns of priceless hoards of gold, silver, art, and precious gems quietly amassed over centuries out of the offerings of grateful pilgrims. He has found a motive for murder and an irresistible inspiration for robbery.

All that is left for Andreas to do is find the killers before more die, stop the robbery of the century, and get married in the process.

Throbs with the pulse of Greek culture… engaging series.
Booklist
A crisp style… another solid whodunit.
Kirkus Reviews
Superb…a winner.
Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

Full Praise

The New York Times 2012 “pick for the beach”
#7 Fiction Bestseller (Denver)

Target: Tinos is another of Jeffrey Siger’s thoughtful police procedurals set in picturesque but not untroubled Greek locales.”
The New York Times

“Superb…a winner.”
Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

“Fast-paced, this thriller also serves as a kind of modern travelog and mini-history lesson on Greece rolled into one…interesting and highly entertaining.”
Library Journal

“Mr. Siger is one of those rare writers whose finger is always on the pulse of modern day upheavals. He is never afraid to tackle and expose uncomfortable subjects—subjects most writers avoid…An authoritative and compelling voice, Mr. Siger is a master storyteller and Target: Tinos a mesmerizing novel.”
New York Journal of Books

“A crisp style…a complex portrait of contemporary Greece…another solid whodunit.”
Kirkus Reviews

“Throbs with the pulse of Greek culture… engaging series.”
Booklist

“The books are all … the best international police procedurals similar perhaps to those of Donna Leon.”
Eurocrime

“[Siger] knocks it out of the park once again with Target: Tinos.”
The Greek Star

“A great tale as the whodunit and the ‘Greek Lourdes’ island make for a winning combination…Action-packed fans will relish this trip to the Aegean.”
Mystery Gazette

“Jeffrey Siger’s books appeal to all sorts of readers…a multi-leveled puzzle…a mini trip to the ‘real’ Greece…a satisfying read on every level.”
Best Sellers World

“This fast-moving story set in modern Greece…is quite an upbeat book. You can almost smell the sea air and feel the bright sun of the Cyclades on your head as you read.”
New Mystery Reader

“Yet another well written, page-turning who-dun-it… Jeffrey Siger’s writing is captivating.”
Reader Views

“Siger’s books have a richness lacking in many mysteries. Target: Tinos just adds to Jeffrey Siger’s reputation as a storyteller who can bring a country, and a mystery, to life.”
—Lesa’s Book Critiques

“A definite keeper…I am a history buff and this author definitely knows his subject. This book is a gem and is an exciting read.”
The Feathered Quill

“I have enjoyed all four of these books and recommend each of them as a very good read.”
Bookloons

“I found this police procedural hard to put down…Highly recommended.”
—Mystery Maven

“Highly recommended…compelling, well-crafted police procedural…in which all of his country’s problems seemingly converge into one case.”
Mystery Scene Magazine

Target: Tinos is a thrilling, culturally-packed ride through the underbelly of Greece’s immigrant society…delivers exactly what suspense novel fans love and expect from their favorite books!”
BookFettish

“One reads Siger’s books not only to see Andreas and his sidekicks solve a crime, but also to learn about Greek history, culture, and current issues… This book is a wonderful read…terrific.”
—Read Me Deadly

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Excerpt

Revenge or Death.

That was all that the note said. It was found protected in a cylinder chained to the steering wheel of a van set on fire sometime before dawn. In the rear of the van was another surprise wrapped in chains: the remains of two bodies charred beyond recognition amid bits and pieces of an incinerated Greek flag.

“Freedom or Death” was Greece’s national motto and by noon enraged network talking heads relentlessly decried the horror as a national sacrilege, with shouts of justice for the yet unidentified victims and merciless punishment for those “unwelcome foreign elements” tearing asunder the fabric of Greek culture with “their criminal ways.” It did not matter that no one knew the truth.

***

“I’m sorry, but I can’t make it,” Andreas yelled into his cell phone over the whipping helicopter rotors.

“We must have a bad connection. I could swear I just heard you say you ‘can’t make it’ to the only meeting I asked you to attend with our wedding planner.” Lila’s voice was in decidedly frosty counterpoint to the heavy, late morning air of July’s last days.

Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, feared head of the Greek police’s Special Crimes Division, cleared his throat as he said, “I thought you’d understand.”…

“You’re a lucky guy,” said Andreas’s boss, Greece’s minister of public order. “My wife would have killed me if I’d done something like that to her less than two weeks before our wedding.” He smiled.

“There’s still time.” Andreas attempted to force a smile. Twenty minutes until they reached Tinos. “You do realize the press will be waiting for us?”

“It is their duty to report this massacre. We’re talking about mass murder on the island of the Church of Panagia Evangelistria, the Lourdes of Greece.”

Andreas could tell the minister was rehearsing his pitch for the cameras. Andreas preferred listening to the rotors…

Andreas stared at his minister. “Let’s just try not to make any promises we can’t keep.”…

By the late afternoon the facts, or rather the lack thereof, started rolling in. No identifiable footprints or other signs were found in the area, the van had been stolen that night from the port without a clue as to who did it, and forensics could not identify either victim. Neither the curious present at the scene or snitches had anything to tell. There was not a lead to be found anywhere.

With [the minister] having nothing left to feed the press, the media followed its natural instincts and began clamoring for his head.

[The minister] had no idea what to do next. His limb seemed about sawed clear through and his career toasted to just this side of charcoal when two days later relatives of the victims stepped forward and identified the bodies: tsigani—known in other languages as Gypsies or Roma.

And with that the story seemed to fall off the face of the earth.

Lucky bastard, thought Andreas.

© Jeffrey Siger

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Interviews

Target: Tinos by Jeffrey Siger
The Big Thrill, May 31, 2012
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Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mysteries