Prey on Patmos

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" [A] suspenseful trip through the rarely seen darker strata of complex, contemporary Greece." ― Publishers Weekly Saint John wrote the apocalyptic Book of Revelation over 1900 years ago in a cave on Greece's eastern Aegean island of Patmos. Today, on the pristine Aegean peninsula of Mount Athos, isolated from the rest of humanity, twenty monasteries sit protecting the secrets of Byzantium amid a way of life virtually unchanged for more than 1500 years. When a revered monk from that holy island's thousand-year-old monastery is murdered in Patmos' town square during Easter Week, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis of Greece's twenty-first century Special Crimes Division is called upon to find the killer before all hell breaks loose. Andreas' impolitic search for answers brings him face-to-face with a scandal haunting the world's oldest surviving monastic community. He finds that this ancient and sacred refuge harbors some very modern international intrigues that threaten to destroy the very heart of the Church. From Library Journal When a monk from a 1000-year-old monastery is murdered in a town square on the Aegean island of Patmos, Andreas Kaldis (Murder in Mykonos), the head of Greece’s Special Crimes Division, is sent to investigate. It is Easter week, and the monasteries (there are 20 of them on the island) are very busy and inaccessible. Kaldis, dealing with the imminent birth of his first child and the vagaries of Greek politics, must solve the crime to avert an international incident. VERDICT Using the Greek Orthodox Church as the linchpin for his story, Siger proves that Greece is fertile new ground for the mystery genre. Sure to appeal to fans of mysteries with exotic locations. From Booklist In this somewhat disappointing follow-up to Assassins of Athens (2010), an overly complicated religious plot weighs down an otherwise fast-moving investigation. In the middle of Easter week, Chief Inspector Kaldis of the Special Crimes Division is called in after a monk is murdered on the island of Patmos, site of the cave where the Book of Revelations was written and one of the holiest places in Greece. Kaldis’ investigation leads him deep into the secrets of the Greek government, the Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The trail leads to Mount Athos, home to 20 ancient monasteries and site of long-simmering religious feuds. Meanwhile, Kaldis awaits the birth of his child and wonders if his rich girlfriend might really want to marry him. Although this third Kaldis adventure is something of a misstep, the series itself remains recommended to all mystery fans interested in international crime. --Jessica Moyer