He agreed, of course, that murder was most terrible. But she had not used the modern Greek word, tromeros, instead using the Ancient Greek, deinos... [p. 60]
Sergeant Michail Mikras of the Athenian police is assigned, with his partner Katerina Galanis, to the investigation of a gruesome murder with mythic undertones: the body was arranged to suggest the birth of Athena, who was freed from the head of Zeus by an axe wielded by Hephaestus. It's Mikras who finds the axe, hung from Hephaestus's temple -- a fact that fascinates the tabloids. And a group called The Awakening is claiming that Athena has arisen to cleanse the city of Athens. Michail Mikras's superior, Sofia Sampson, is unimpressed with his suggestion that they consider other Athene-related myths to 'locate' further crimes. Nevertheless, Michail and Katerina identify the next target...
Like many crime novels, this is more about the detectives than about the crimes. Michail Mikras is neurodivergent and bad at people, but familiar with mythology and Ancient Greek; Katerina is trying to separate from her husband Theo, also a police officer, because of his involvement with far-right, anti-immigrant groups; Sofia Sampson has personal history with one of the ringleaders. Two retired British classicists are also involved in the case, providing some scholarly input as well as some red herrings.
This was a quick and easy read, and I was interested by the depiction of modern Athens (a city I know better from historical novels and non-fiction set in the ancient world). The characters were likeable, if somewhat stereotyped, and the crimes were complex and unusual. I don't feel compelled to read more in the series, but I think I might revisit this author if I were to visit Athens.
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