Customer Reviews

Assassins of Athens

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Book 2 of the Chief Inspector Kaldis series. Begins with the dead body of one of Athen's richest families only son being found in a dumpster. This book is very political in its horror. Murder, deceit and the underbelly of Athens figure into this plot. Kaldis even gets to return to Mykonos for a brief time. Very interesting.

When I read the first book in this series, "Murder in Mykonos," last year, I enjoyed it so much that I was eager to see what the author would do next. He doesn't disappoint! "Assassins of Athens" has chief inspector Kaldis back again, this time transferred back to Athens. The story opens with the discovery of a young man's body in a dumpster -- turns out the young man has a rather unexpected background.

Oh, how to describe how fine this plot is done without giving a spoiler??! Let's just say that it is a wonderful story of revenge, xenophobia, duplicity, and greed! And, the best recommendation of all: I was sure through most of the book that a certain surprise twist was coming, and it never happened! I wasn't able to correctly guess the outcome, yet it all made perfect sense. I love that!

I recommend this mystery 100% and look forward to more! I love Kaldis and have high hopes for future books!

In Athens, Greece, Police Chief Inspector of the Special Crimes Division Andreas Kaldis arrives at a rundown part of the city to look at a corpse found amongst garbage in a dumpster. At GADA, Andreas' secretary Maggie Sikestis sees the photos of the victim and recognizes he is Sotiris Kostopoulos who is always in the tabloids as part of a ménage a trois with the granddaughter of the Linardos clan while his family and hers are at war.

Andreas visits Sotiris' adopted parents Zanni and Ginny, who say nothing to the news or the questions asked by the CI. An affluent publisher Zanni says the only suspects he can think of are Sarantis Linardos and his family as each covets the highly regarded The Athenian newspaper. Meanwhile clues lead the detective to hooker Anna Panitz who admits to taking cash from strangers to entice the victim to go with her to an isolated locale. With pressure mounting from high officials to close the case, Andreas keeps the pressure on the feuding families and their associates.

The latest Kaldis investigation (see Murder in Mykonos) is an enjoyable Greek police procedural Noir as the CI curses out incompetent cops and roughs up crooks while taking fans on a tour of Athens not seen by the Olympics crowd. The story line is fast-paced from the opening moment when Kaldis hammers a cop for tainting a crime scene and never slows down as he stares down everyone except Maggie. Although somewhat linear with no twists, fans will enjoy this tough cop's homicide investigation.

Harriet Klausner

Fantastic mystery that keeps you in suspense for the entire book. A great read and you'll love it!

This is the second book in a series of mysteries taking place in Greece. I loved the characters and descriptions of Athens, as well as the fast-paced mystery involved. The author lives on Mykonos for part of the year. He puts a lot of time and energy into researching his material. The main characters are continued from Murder on Mykonos. I can't wait to read the 3rd book in the series, coming out next January!

The novel is a heady mix of Greek politics, ancient and modern Greek society, and distorted nationalism. A great plot, a bit of romance, and some very interesting characters. I liked the Inspector and his cohorts in the Athens police, and the description of the island of Mykonos, where some of the action takes place.

ASSASSINS OF ATHENS offers a fine Chief Inspector Kaldis novel telling of the body of a boy from one of Greece's most prominent families found in a dumpster in a terrible neighborhood, involving Andreas Kaldis in more than murder. His search for answers takes him to the seedy side of Athens nightlife and high society alike in search of answers in this gripping Greek mystery.

Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, head of the Athens Police Department is called in when a young man's body is found in a dumpster behind a gay bar. Soon he determins that the boy was the son of one of the richest men in Greece. The plot thickens quickly into one of intrigue at the highest levels of the Greek government involving ancient and recent Greek traditions, the nouveau riche and the old time wealthy, and the right wing against the left. This book will keep you reading until the last page as you watch this complex plot unwind. Along the way Inspector Kaldis finds a new love.

Exciting and fast moving mystery with a surprise ending to boot. A quick read because it is hard to put it down. It piqued my interest in Greece enough that I bought a DVD course on Ancient Greece [24 lectures] and learned a lot about historic stuff that was mentioned/discussed in the novel. Good companion to Murder in Mykonos, Siger's other smash novel set in Greece.

Jeffrey Siger's ASSASSINS OF ATHENS opens with the discovery of the body of a teenage male in a dumpster in one of the worst sections of Athens. Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis of the Greek Police's Special Crimes Division, first met in MURDER IN MYKONOS, quickly realizes that this case is bigger than most. The boy is the son of Zanni Kostopoulos, one of the most influential men in the country. Kostopoulos is nouveau riche, a description that makes him anathema to the established Greek families who dominate the peak of society. He has returned from family exile in the one of the countries that had made up the Soviet bloc and, upon his return, has made a considerable fortune in Greece. Old money fears new money and the newly wealthy have little to lose in going up against the establishment.

Zanni decides he needs to make the Kostopoulos name one to be reckoned with so he decides to gain control of The Athenian, the most prominent newspaper in the city. The Linardos family has controlled the paper for generations and Zanni does everything in his power to destroy the Linardos family to get what he wants. He begins by feeding other newspapers the Linardos family secrets and thinks he has won when a particularly graphic cell phone recording of Sarantis Linardos's granddaughter ends up on the web. Kostopoulos is determined to destroy the Linardos family so Sarantis, the patriarch, turns to friends to guarantee that it will be Kostopoulos who will be destroyed.

This is the background to a story that brings into play wealth, position, long-held grudges, jealousy, murder, and the practices of ancient Athens, seemingly lost in time. There is kidnapping, murder, exploitation, and the willingness of people to uses whatever means money can buy to destroy an enemy. There is help from Tassos Stamatos, the homicide detective readers met in MURDER IN MYKONOS. And there is a woman who is of particular interest to Kaldis.

As he investigates, Kaldis discovers that Sotiros Kostopoulos is not the first member of a prominent family to die. Other wealthy Greek families have left the country, banished as was the practice in ancient Greece. Their enemies have no respect for age so it is the young, the children, who are their target.

ASSASSINS OF ATHENS is more than an alliterative title. Athens, the cradle of democracy, is being assassinated by powerful people who want a return to oligarchy, government by the few, the wealthy and powerful, to the detriment of the many.

Jeffrey Siger's second book proves that MURDER IN MYKONOS was the product of a writer well-worth reading.