Review: THE DOCTOR OF THESSALY, Anne Zouroudi

• originally published in 2009
  
• now available as an e-book, published 2012
• ISBN 9780316217859
• review copy made available from NetGalley by publisher Little Brown & Company
• #3 in the Hermes Diaktoros series: aka the Seven Deadly Sins Mystery series (Envy)

Synopsis

A jilted bride weeps on an empty beach. A local doctor is attacked in an isolated churchyard. Trouble arrives at a bad time to the backwater village of Morfi, just as the community is making headlines with a visit from a high-ranking government minister. Fortunately, where there's trouble, there's Hermes Diaktoros, the mysterious fat man whose tennis shoes are always pristine and whose investigative methods are always unorthodox.

Hermes must investigate a brutal crime, thwart the petty machinations of the town's ex-mayor and his cronies, and try to settle the troubled waters of two sisters' relationship. But how can he unravel a mystery that not even the victim wants solved?

My take

I'm still as intrigued by the character and origins of the central character in this series, Hermes Diaktoros as I was when I read the first in this series a couple of years ago. He introduces himself as coming from Athens, not a policeman, but responsible to "higher authorities". He shares characteristics with Agatha Christie's Mr Harley Quin as he seems to mysteriously appear from nowhere to see that justice is done. But he also reminds me both of Hercule Poirot of the immaculate patent leather shoes, and Shamini Flint's Inspector Singh who also wears rather incongruous white sandshoes.

It is easy to accept Hermes Diaktoros, always referred to as "the fat man", as a messenger of the gods. He arrives on Thessaly driving his cousin's immaculately kept vintage car, and he interferes willy nilly in the machinations of local politicians who want to bring the downfall of the newly elected young Mayor. The sort of justice he brings to bear would not be found acceptable by the police and yet it seems what the perpetrators deserve. His methods of investigation involve him listening and observing the locals.

If you are looking for a cosy that is just a little different this may be just the trick. It may also set you hunting for others in the series.

My rating: 4.5

About the author (from Fantastic Fiction)

Born in rural Lincolnshire in 1959, Anne moved to South Yorkshire at the age of two. Following her education at Sheffield High School for Girls, she went into the IT industry, a career which took her to both New York's Wall Street and Denver, Colorado. In America she began to take seriously her ambition to write fiction, and bought a typewriter for her first short stories.

On returning to the UK, she booked a summer holiday with her sister. The location they chose was a tiny island in southern Greece. Anne spent a number of years living in the islands; she married a Greek, and her son was born there.

Returning again to the UK, she was still writing, but the short stories had grown into novels.Anne currently lives with her son in Derbyshire's beautiful Peak District, where she's working on the next book in the Greek Detective series.

The Hermes Diaktoros series (Fantastic Fiction)
1. The Messenger of Athens (2007)
2. The Taint of Midas (2008)
3. The Doctor of Thessaly (2009)
4. The Lady of Sorrows (2010)
5. The Whispers of Nemesis (2011)
6. The Bull of Mithros (2012)
7. Feast of Artemis (2013)

I've also reviewed
4.5, THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS

Review: SHORT SENTENCE: 10 stories of dastardly deeds, Parker Bilal et al

• Kindle edition, published April 2013
• ISBN 978-1-4088-4571-4 

Synopsis (Amazon)

From Obsession and Payback to Secrets and Lies, Deception and Bad Judgement, these thrilling tales will shock and surprise you with their cunning. Short Sentence was launched in 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing, in association with the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook.

Following a short story written by one of Bloomsbury’s brilliant crime authors, competitors were challenged to take up the same theme and write of a dastardly deed using 1000 words or less.

This is Bloomsbury’s collection of the winning entries in parallel with the five brilliant authors, Parker Bilal, Conor Fitzgerald, Anne Zouroudi, Thomas Mogford and James Runcie.

My Take

This is one of those books that most people could read in an hour or so. 10 engaging short stories, most with a very unexpected twist at the end, just the thing for a coffee in front of the fire.

Apart from Bloomsbury's "five brilliant authors" Parker Bilal, Conor Fitzgerald, Anne Zouroudi, Thomas Mogford and James Runcie, the contributors were Alex Cooper, Mary Waters, Calum Macleod, Ian Snook, and Sarah Evans. Each of the contributors is thematically paired with a Bloomsbury "name".

I think the difference between the Bloomsbury authors and the "amateur" contributors is pretty clear, but nevertheless they are all very entertaining.

The idea is obviously to introduce readers to Bloomsbury authors (it has certainly given me some people to look for) and, even better,  the Kindle book is FREE.

My rating: 4.4

Review: THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS, Anne Zouroudi

• Bloomsbury Publishing 2007
• ISBN 978-0-7475-9275-4
• 274 pages
• Source: my local library
• Shortlisted for itv3 Crime Thriller Awards

Publisher's blurb:
When the battered body of a young woman is discovered on a remote Greek island, the local police are quick to dismiss her death as an accident. Then a stranger arrives, uninvited, from Athens, announcing his intention to investigate further. His methods are unorthodox, and he brings his own mystery into the web of dark secrets and lies. Who has sent him, on whose authority is he acting, and how does he know of dramas played out decades ago?

My take:

The fat man stepped over his holdall and crossed the room to stand before the overladen desk. He held out his hand. His manicured fingernails were filed square, whitened at the tips and buffed almost opaque. 'My name,' he said, 'is Hermes Diaktoros. I have been sent from Athens to help you in your investigation into the death of Irini Asimakopoulos.' .....

For a few moments the fat man hid his mouth behind his hand and looked at Nikos, assessing, considering. 'I wonder,' he said, finally. Are you the kind of man who can be trusted with another man's secrets?'

I'd seen the author Anne Zouroudi recommended a number of times and I'm only sorry I haven't got around to reading this, the first in the series, earlier. I certainly want to read more.

Although he never claims it himself, everyone, including Chief of Police Zafiridis, assumes at first that Hermes has come from the metropolitan police. In fact all he ever says is that he has been sent by a higher authority.

Everyone on the island accepts that Irini Asimakopoulos committed suicide, but the fat man points out that there should have been an autopsy, and that other questions like why she would have committed suicide also need to be answered.
So the main part of the book explores the events that led up to Irini's death.

Anne Zouroudi breaks a few rules with the structure of this book by presenting the information from a number of points of view. Sometimes the reader is not directly told who is speaking but has to work it out from what is being said and the context in which it is being said.

In the long run the fat man achieves justice for Irini, but not the sort of justice we might have expected. In addition he takes care of a few other problems that the villagers have.

In the figure of Hermes Diaktoros I was reminded strongly of Agatha Christie's Mr Harley Quin. In some places Zouroudi's style reminded me of Georges Simenon. I think the similarity mainly lies in the focus on creating atmosphere.

My rating: 4.5

Other reviews to check

• BooksPlease

Anne Zouroudi's website

The website tells us "Anne conceived The Mysteries of the Greek Detective as a series of seven novels, each based on one of the Deadly Sins. Designed to appeal to fans of well-written mysteries, the books combine highly original plots and engaging characters in vividly-drawn and atmospheric settings."

I won't tell you which of the 7 Deadly Sins I think THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS explores. You will find out that for yourself if you read it.


Hermes Diaktoros (from Fantastic Fiction)
1. The Messenger of Athens (2007)
2. The Taint of Midas (2008)
3. The Doctor of Thessaly (2009)
4. The Lady of Sorrows (2010)
5. The Whispers of Nemesis (2011)