The Messenger of Athens (Seven Deadly Sins Mysteries)

I thoroughly enjoyed Anne Zouroudi's *The Messenger of Athens: A Novel*. Having been an avid reader for years and years, I'm constantly on the lookout for something different, something that stays with me. This book will do that. Ms. Zouroudi's descriptions of the remote Greek island of Thiminos, where the crime occurs, is breath taking. One can tell from her descriptions that she loves the locale. One can feel the air and see the people scurrying about on errands that have occurred in the same way in the same place for ages. As others have stated, Irini Asimakopoulos, a pretty young woman, is found dead at the foot of a clift. Her body has bruises and cuts which indicated a fall. The local authorities ruled her death a suicide and moved on. The fat man, wearing an expensive suit and white tennis shoes which he keeps polishing to cover any scuffs, appears carrying an attaché case. While he is identified or at least we're given his name, we are never told who sent him or why he appeared. He simply seeks the truth about Irini's death. The storyline evolves around his investigation and actions taken as a result of the truths he finds. We also get into the mind of Irini. Even though she was lonely while her fisherman husband was away on his boat, she was relatively happy with him until she meets that one person who changes her life. This isn't a typical who-done-it that follows plotting familiar to the genre. Instead it is a careful telling of a crime brought about not by the usual greed or what have you, but by the cowardice of one individual. Was the fat man an avenging angel? Someone rich seeking justice for those quickly forgotten? Whatever he was, his actions left me feeling quite satisfied with the storyline of this book. Highly recommended for those seeking a different reading experience.

Hermes Diaktoros, aka The Fat Man, is quite the quandary of a man. He is most certainly not with any branch of law enforcement nor a certified private investigator. But he assuredly is man who can take a mystery, get the silent to start talking and solve the crime while keeping his shoes nice and white. This time the case presented to him is the mysterious death of a young married woman and trying to determine whether she murdered or did she commit suicide as the police were so quick to conclude. Irini was both sweet and innocent with her one mistake in life to fall in love with one man while married to someone else. She made some poor decisions based on innocence and dreams of a better life but when she became rejected by her lover did she commit suicide or was she pushed off that cliff? Hermes thinks the police refused to investigate due to laziness and corruption and while he will tolerate some incompetency it appears the police force does not have the proper respect for the dead is not above coercion to obtain its goals and this he will not tolerate. The Fat Man has unique methods of getting people to talk and once they start talking it becomes impossible to get them to stop and when the truth comes out about what happened to sweet Irini even he is shocked and the actions he takes against those that ruined her and took her life are well deserved and quite unique. This first book in The Mysteries of the Greek Detective Series is unique and interesting and I look forward to those that will follow. The Fat Man is colorful and interesting but always maintains such a high respect for the dead that you always admire his unique gift and ability to solve the crime. The setting here is described with such detail you feel you can taste the salt on your tongue and the sharp snap of the strong coffee. Amazing! Mary Gramlich is The Reading Reviewer located at [...]

Anne Zouroudi takes us to a remote Greek island that seems barely touched by modern life. Now shake off those romantic notions. It means that the houses are crumbling from the damp and the wind blasts through the cracks. The old patriarchal notions of honor dictate quite harshly what one can and cannot do. And the very dirt holds prisoner the island residents. A young woman has been found at the bottom of a cliff, apparently a suicide. A few days later Hermes arrives, a portly gentleman in a good suit and white tennis shoes, which he polishes meticulously. He is making inquiries about the girl and what led to her death. Zouroudi consistently refers to him as the fat man. The story switches back and forth between the story of the girl's life in the village and the progress that Hermes is making in his quest. Zouroudi makes smooth transitions between these threads. I did not guess the ending and the ending was entirely plausible. Some loose threads are tied up rather neatly, but in the context of the book's reality, that's plausible, too. The strength of this book is the setting. The author takes us into the gritty claustrophobia of small island life. She made me grateful for my solid house, the grocery store with abundance and variety, the anonymity of metropolitan life, and freedom of religion. I hope to see Hermes take on another case. This is a very solidly written book.

I went into this book not really knowing what to expect, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I picked it solely based on cover. The small Greek island is set more or less in present day, but it's one of those timeless places that makes the story read more like a folk tale - which is good. When a man referred to mostly as 'the fat man' shows up to investigate the death of a local woman, he goes about his business despite the protestations of the corrupt local 2-man police force, who have declared the death a suicide. We are drawn into the story several ways. One story follows the fat man as he investigates. He follows the word on the street, but is also surprisingly knowledgeable about all things involved, and gets to the heart of the matter with each person he questions. In his satchel, he is able to pull out the perfect thing to thank each person or convince them of his intent. We are never told exactly who is he, who he works for, why he is there, or how he knows anything. When justice is done, it is fair and perfect. We also see the story through the eyes of Irini, the woman who died, Andreas her husband, and Theo her lover. Some of these asides are flashbacks that alternate with the fat man's chapter, and some happen concurrently with the fat man's investigation. The juxtaposition of these stories works very well to make you care for an understand the motivations of all the characters. I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from the author.

I've visited the Greek islands, but had no idea what life was like beneath that placid surface... This is sold as a crime novel, but don't be expecting blood and gore - it's more in the line of Morse, or Poirot. But as much as anything, read it as a piece of travel writing, or an insight into a very foreign way of life brought to life with an unmistakable touch of authenticity. Thoroughly enjoyable.