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AN AEGEAN APRIL
by Jeffrey Siger
Poisoned Pen Press, January 2018
310 pages
$26.95
ISBN: 1464209456


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis returns in his ninth case when he is asked to investigate the murder of a well known and respected citizen on the island of Lesvos. Lesvos is the destination for many of the refugees passing though Turkey on their way to Northern Europe, and the small island is overwhelmed by the numbers. The murder victim, Mihalis Volandes, thought he had a solution for the refugee problem; however he had been having trouble getting anyone with authority to listen. The night he was killed - slaughtered really - outside his home, a young man, Ali Sera, a refugee himself, had received a message asking him to meet with the victim at Volandes home. When he arrived, he found the victim sliced nearly in half. When the police arrived, they found a bloody Sera standing near the body.

Chief Inspector Kaldis is asked to look into the crime since, although Sera was at the scene, much of the evidence doesn't support him as the murderer.

Siger has chosen to have readers know very early on who the murderer is and tells the story from a shifting point of view. On the one hand we are with Kaldis and his team as they investigate, but we are also with the killer as he moves through the aftermath of the crime. A third voice, that of Dana McLaughlin, a worker with a non-government organization (NGO), is heard occasionally. Sera was one of her workers. This allows readers almost from the beginning to know exactly how despicable the murderer is and how savvy the Chief Inspector is. Through Dana, readers are given a composite view of how many things can go seriously wrong when idealistic people with good intentions become involved in high profile situations. Siger paints a grim picture of humanity. It is a picture of profiteers making money on the backs of the very people they are supposedly helping. Surely Dante has a special ring of hell reserved for such people.

On a brighter note, the book is set during Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter. Readers are treated to the ongoing preparations for Easter. Highlighted are some things particular to the Greek Orthodox faith, others even more particular to those living in Greece and finally, things that many Christian readers of any denomination will recognize. I read the books for the crime fiction, but the parts I personally enjoyed the most were the glimpses into Greek culture. Siger does not disappoint in this respect in AN AEGEAN APRIL.

As with the other books in this series, Siger has taken a political issue in Greece, mixed in a heavy dose of Greek culture and served up a delicious tale straight from the headlines that is almost as much travelogue as it is crime fiction. While AN AEGEAN APRIL is the ninth book in the series, each stands very much on its own merits. There is a large cast of characters who appear to varying degrees throughout the series, but sub-plots are wrapped up in each book so readers can pick up any book in the series to read without feeling lost trying to straighten out the characters.

§ Caryn St.Clair resides in University City, Missouri and is a former elementary school media specialist, President of the Parks Commission and a docent at the St.Louis Zoo.

Reviewed by Caryn St Clair, December 2017

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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