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A review by phaneem
The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi
2.0
The Messenger of Athens is a book we have had lying around the house for quite a few years and that my brother had read it and hadn't enjoyed it. I would like to clarify that I did not start reading this book expecting it to be bad, nor was I in any way influenced by my brother's opinions on it.
So, now that's clear, I have to day I did not enjoy this book. But it was not a bad book, per se. I remember that we bought this book because it sounded quite interesting and something we could relate to, in a way (as we live in Greece). The story does sound quite interesting, from the description on the back cover. There has been a death of a young woman on a Greek island which is dismissed as an accident. But obviously, someone suspects foul play, so a detective from Athens is sent over to investigate the case.
So, there's a death AND foul play suspected. You think that might make an interesting story. Well, it's not really. This book is so very slow in its narrative, that it made me want to read it just so that I could finish it. I really don't like leaving books unfinished (even though I have done it sometimes). Just to explain why I found it slow, by the time I reached page 150 (out of the approximately 250 pages of the whole book), the detective had only found out two things about the whole case. Which probably makes you wonder what was going on in those 150 pages.
The book was not bad in every aspect. The characters were quite well developed, but I think that's what made the book progress in such a slow way. There was also one thing I liked about the narrative. I think that the alternating chapters set in the present (when the detective was investigating) and the ones set in the past (before the death). Another thing I liked about the book is that the author actually gave Greek names to her characters. I remember reading other books, that weren't necessarily set in Greece, but they featured Greek characters, but with Anglicised versions of Greek names or even just plain English names. I'm sorry, but that's just not realistic.
This was the first book in the (quite successful) Mysteries of the Greek Detective (or Greek Detective, for short) Series, followed by The Taint of Midas, The Doctor of Thessaly and The Lady of Sorrows, all featuring the Greek detective Hermes Diaktoros. I am not sure I will be reading any of the follow-up books in the near future, but I have to admit, the covers are quite pretty. I like the fact that they are simple, consistent and look good as a full series.
So, now that's clear, I have to day I did not enjoy this book. But it was not a bad book, per se. I remember that we bought this book because it sounded quite interesting and something we could relate to, in a way (as we live in Greece). The story does sound quite interesting, from the description on the back cover. There has been a death of a young woman on a Greek island which is dismissed as an accident. But obviously, someone suspects foul play, so a detective from Athens is sent over to investigate the case.
So, there's a death AND foul play suspected. You think that might make an interesting story. Well, it's not really. This book is so very slow in its narrative, that it made me want to read it just so that I could finish it. I really don't like leaving books unfinished (even though I have done it sometimes). Just to explain why I found it slow, by the time I reached page 150 (out of the approximately 250 pages of the whole book), the detective had only found out two things about the whole case. Which probably makes you wonder what was going on in those 150 pages.
The book was not bad in every aspect. The characters were quite well developed, but I think that's what made the book progress in such a slow way. There was also one thing I liked about the narrative. I think that the alternating chapters set in the present (when the detective was investigating) and the ones set in the past (before the death). Another thing I liked about the book is that the author actually gave Greek names to her characters. I remember reading other books, that weren't necessarily set in Greece, but they featured Greek characters, but with Anglicised versions of Greek names or even just plain English names. I'm sorry, but that's just not realistic.
This was the first book in the (quite successful) Mysteries of the Greek Detective (or Greek Detective, for short) Series, followed by The Taint of Midas, The Doctor of Thessaly and The Lady of Sorrows, all featuring the Greek detective Hermes Diaktoros. I am not sure I will be reading any of the follow-up books in the near future, but I have to admit, the covers are quite pretty. I like the fact that they are simple, consistent and look good as a full series.