A Dead Man in Athens [Hardcover]

Michael Pearce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2006

Athens, 1913, is the capital of a country on the brink of war. The new prime minister, Venizelos, is tired of the Ottoman overlords, and has what he calls the Great Idea — a vision of a new Greece which unites all the Greek people scattered around the Mediterranean. But this is not such a great idea, in view of other countries, like Britain, which believes in letting sleeping dogs lie. And cats. This includes the one recently poisoned in Salonica and belonged to the exiled former Sultan. Unfortunately, as is the way with the Balkans, rumors start flying around; one being that this was a sighting shot for the ex-Sultan himself. This, in the Balkans, could start a war, so Britain has to sit up and take notice. Something has to be done fast. And, the diplomats have to be urged to be low-key. The lowest key of all is to send out a police officer from Scotland Yard to investigate, and, as it happens, the Foreign Office has a person in mind: Seymour, of the CID, who has had some experience of this sort of thing before.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pearce hits his stride with his third mystery (after 2005's A Dead Man in Istanbul) to chronicle the international exploits of Sandor Seymour, a polyglot Scotland Yard detective who's just as engaging as Owen Gareth, the hero of Pearce's Mamur Zapt series set in early 20th-century Egypt. In 1912, Seymour leaves London's East End for Athens to investigate the poisoning of the cat of the Sultan of Turkey, who has been exiled to Greece. Given the perpetually strained relations between the Greeks and Ottomans and the broader political turmoil on the eve of WWI, the authorities fear the cat's death may presage an attempt on the sultan himself. Sure enough, a human death follows, and Seymour's mission gathers momentum and urgency. By effectively wedding prewar intrigue to an often humorous plot, Pearce should retain the loyalty of fans and attract new readers. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Pearce continues to chronicle the unlikely adventures of Sandor Seymour. Seymour, the multilingual Scotland Yard detective introduced in A Dead Man in Trieste (2004) and further established in A Dead Man in Istanbul (2005), is dispatched to Athens in 1913 to investigate the poisoning of a cat. Of course, it is no ordinary cat but rather the exiled sultan of Turkey's cat. To avoid any incident that might incite a war in the fragile Balkans, Seymour must prove that the sultan was not the intended target of an insidious international plot. Given the delicacy of his mission and the precarious nature of the political situation, he must proceed with caution as he peels away embedded layers of domestic deceit and intrigue in the sultan's household. Another fine entry in an unfailingly amusing historical series. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (September 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786718285
• ISBN-13: 978-0786718283
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well writtten entertaining historical mystery, November 10, 2006

By 

Former world traveler "Now armchair traveler" (Boston MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Dead Man in Athens (Hardcover)

Michael Pearce's latest comedy of manners mystery reads as if he is channeling Compton Mackenzie's entertaining spy mysteries set in the Med during WWI. Recommended for anyone who enjoys learning some history while being enterained

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Author is an amateur of history, April 8, 2010

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Niko78 (Hellas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Man in Athens (A Dead Man in) (Paperback)

It is filled with historical inaccuracies. The author is an amateur of Balkan history.

Be careful reading this because you will be reading inexcusably incorrect information.

The book itself is written "just okay." A forgettable teen/young adult book at best.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun read, November 5, 2009

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Ari (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dead Man in Athens (Kindle Edition)

This is a lively, entertaining book from an author who is very knowledgeable about history and creates an authentic image of Greece in the early years of the 20th century. One thing, though--his expertise does not extend to cats. The Sultan's cat, who is a protagonist of sorts, is described as eating chocolate candy. Mr. Pearce, no self-respecting cat would ever eat a piece of chocolate, especially if it is filled with cherry liqueur! Meow.