The Messenger of Athens

The first novel in The Greek Detective series is The Messenger of Athens, written by Anne Zouroudi. The story takes place on the beautiful but isolated Greek island of Thiminos, where a young woman’s bruised body is found at the base of a cliff. Dismissing her death as an accident, the local police promptly closed the case, guided more by antiquated standards of honor than by contemporary legislation.

But Hermes Diaktoros, an unexpected guest, shows in from Athens. He decides to find out the community’s hidden secrets since he won’t accept the woman’s death as accidental or the result of a suicide. Due to his unconventional research techniques and his straightforward advice to the islanders—tell the truth or suffer the consequences—Hermes gets entangled in a web of lust, corruption, and murder. This book combines forbidden romance, mythology, and dangerous outcomes.