Prey on Patmos (Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mysteries, 3)
Prey on Patmos (Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mysteries, 3) book cover

Prey on Patmos (Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mysteries, 3)

Paperback – Illustrated, June 30, 2012

by
Price
$17.47
Format
Paperback
Pages
252
Publisher
Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1590587683
Dimensions
5.5 x 0.62 x 8.5 inches
Weight
10.1 ounces

Description

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 Kirkus Reviews Who hated a venerable monk enough to kill him? Inspector Andreas Kaldis and his sidekick Yianni Kouros are dispatched from Athens to the little island of Patmos, where a local monk named Kalogeros Vassilis has been found dead in the town square, apparently murdered. Twenty such monasteries dot the mountainous landscape, making Patmos the hub of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Eager local police sergeant Mavros explains that the body has already been moved to prepare it for the funeral, laying the groundwork for the first of many wrangles between Andreas and local officials. He learns more from chatty café owner Dmitri than from either Patmos police or Abbot Christodoulos, who portrays Vassilis as a universally revered figure. Dimitri describes a complicated plot by Russians to get the island's key monasteries moved to Russia. A top-secret meeting between Andreas and a well-protected figure identified only as "Your Holiness" confirms Dmitri's gossip and identifies Vassilis as a target in the plot. The complex case comes at an inopportune time for Andreas, whose lover Lila Vardi is pregnant with their first child. In addition, he begins to have dreams about his father, a policeman framed for corruption who committed suicide when Andreas was 8. Fortunately, Andreas' bantering relationship with Kouros adds warmth and humor to his life, and he catches a break when he finds a key piece of evidence hidden inside a cross that the victim is clutching. The third case for the appealing Andreas (Assassins in Athens , 2009, etc.) will immerse readers in a fascinating culture. "Page turning suspense...Siger's murder mysteries have all the requirements of a beachside bestseller. Their comments on Greek daily life also make them precious pop culture diamonds...Siger has a keen eye...for today's Greece...pithy, spot-on descriptions of the modern Greek landscape...prophetic."--The National Herald "Exciting...very gifted American author...on a par with other American authors such as Joseph Wambaugh or Ed McBain. I look forward eagerly to reading his next one."--Eurocrime "Attuned to the ways and concerns of everyday Greeks, Siger is an equally astute observer of the movers and shakers."--Athens Plus/The International Herald Tribune Book Description When a revered monk from a thousand-year-old monastery is murdered during Easter Week in the town square of the Holy Island of Patmos, where Saint John wrote the apocalyptic Book of Revelation, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis must find the killer before all hell breaks loose…in a manner of speaking. JEFFREY SIGER is an American living on the Aegean Greek island of Mykonos. A Pittsburgh native and former Wall Street lawyer, he gave up his career to write mystery thrillers that tell more than just a fast-paced story. His novels are aimed at exploring societal issues confronting modern day Greece. Visit him at jeffreysiger.com. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • "[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.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(74)
★★★★
25%
(62)
★★★
15%
(37)
★★
7%
(17)
★
23%
(58)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Fast paced, fascinating, atmospheric

A dead monk and his crosses, mysterious photos, and Orthodox Greece in the throes of the week before Easter. A perfect set-up for this fast adventure with its suprising look at the competitive politics of the many monasteries on Mt Patmos, and their connections to the Mid-East and former USSR. All seen through the talented and off-beat ways of top Inspector Kaldis' investigation. Not to mention his appealing and intelligent associates. The fluent atmospherics will have you thinking you really know the streets and building of the various locations, from monastery to Athens high society.

This is a sophisticated, inventive tale. And with neither a lot of religious righteousness nor skepticism poured onto it. Entertaining.
5 people found this helpful
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Fun Helping Inspector Kadis Solve His ystery

[[ASIN:1590587685 Prey on Patmos (Inspector Kaldis)]]

Few writers combine insight into a culture, or in this case, a religious celebration, to the extent that Jeffrey Seger does in Prey on Patmos. Readers will be very interested in learning about the religious services leading up to the celebration of Greek Orthodox Easter as well as life in a secluded monastery. Helping Inspector Kaldis solve a crime in this hard to put down novel ends up being a bonus.
4 people found this helpful
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Convoluted Church Intrigue

I enjoyed it as much as Siger's great debut Greek mystery MURDER ON MYKONOS. In this book, the Greek Orthodox Church and its politics is the backstory to the mystery. A revered monk is found with his throat cut just before Easter - the most important festival in the church calendar - and Inspector Kaldis is brought in to try to resolve the case as quickly and quietly as possible. He immediately decides that there is much more to the case than a mugging gone wrong, and when he discovers the monk's cell ransacked, he realizes that the murderers wanted something very badly indeed. Even when he finds evidence in that direction, it is impossible to interpret - cleverly coded in two digital images. The church leaders are happy once Kaldis arrests the thugs who committed the killing, but they are ambivalent about getting to the bottom of the mystery, and so are Kaldis's bosses. He has to use a back-door approach which turns out to be very dangerous to all concerned.
The Greek Orthodox Church and the monastic lifestyle on Mount Athos is a fascinating setting to the intrigues that Kaldis has to navigate.
Absolutely first rate.
3 people found this helpful
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Falls Flat

In this third in the series, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis of Greece's Twenty-First Century Special Crimes Division is called to the holy island of Patmos to discover the killer of a beloved monk who might have been protecting the secrets of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The previous two mysteries in the series were replete with gorgeous scenery, witty dialogue and fast paced action. Unfortunately this one falls flat. The gorgeous scenery is there, but for most of the book the fast paced action is gone as it bogs down in the history of the Church. By the time the action picks up in the second half of the book I no longer cared much about its convoluted and difficult to follow plot.
2 people found this helpful
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Dull Thriller Which Just Went Crazy at the end

Interesting book set on the monastic Greek island of Patmos, but I felt the theme was weak and he novel died toward the end when the scene shifted to Mykonos and went off the rails. Siger's done better than this.
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Patmos!

I fell in love with Patmos when I visited the island several years ago. I liked to read books set in places that I have visited. I thoroughly enjoyed Siger's writing and liked the stoyline. The book took me back to my visit there and made me want to hook up on a cruise again.
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Five Stars

Easy, fun reading before a trip to Greece.
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I really enjoy this series and have recommended it to others.

Good writing, good story line and great characters. Always something new! These make me want to visit Greece sometime soon.
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Great book

Good for history of the island and area. Nice murder mystery too. I do not have another eight more words.
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Religion, monks and murder - oh, my!

This third Inspector Kaldis book does not disappoint. While there is some necessary backstory that has to be explained about the Greek Orthodox Church, there isn't too much and it helps to explain a very complicated plan by the murderer. The main characters are full of life: Siger is able to add small details about their behavior, their repartee, and their reactions to people and situations so that they really come alive in the story. All of the returning characters have some flaws, no one is perfect, but they are all understandable and build sympathy. There is perhaps a bit more suspicion of every suspect (even someone close to the church Patriarch!) than may be called for, and you'll keep wondering 'who dunnit' almost until the end. And you learn quite a bit about Greek Orthodox religious traditions, which are fascinating to outsiders like me.

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