Author Description

Product Description A jilted bride weeps on an empty beach. A local doctor is attacked in an isolated churchyard. Trouble arrives at a bad time to the backwater village of Morfi, just as the community is making headlines with a visit from a high-ranking government minister. Fortunately, where there's trouble, there's Hermes Diaktoros, the mysterious fat man whose tennis shoes are always pristine and whose investigative methods are always unorthodox. Hermes must investigate a brutal crime, thwart the petty machinations of the town's ex-mayor and his cronies, and try to settle the troubled waters of two sisters' relationship. But how can he unravel a mystery that not even the victim wants solved? Review ""In Zouroudi's third Hermes Diaktoros novel (following The Taint of Midas, 2011), the Athenian investigator's employers and origins remain undeclared, but Diaktoros still commands authority, somehow beyond the state. Waylaid by car trouble in the coastal village of Morfi, Diaktoros is present when the village's doctor is rushed into town, rescued from a vicious, blinding attack with chemicals. Although the blinding will surely end his career and may threaten his relationship with a local spinster, the doctor declines to alert authorities, and the village quickly loses interest. Diaktoros' interest is piqued, however, and he employs time-honored techniques - inquisition and observation - to dig for a motive beneath village rumors. As always, these methods provide the most honest glimpses of human nature, and his guided tour through the villagers' envy, lost loves, and hard-edged justice is as enlightening as it is entertaining. Zouroudi's straightforward style wisely allows room for the characters' relationships to provide the story's complexity. Recommended for those who would enjoy Alexander McCall Smith darkened a shade or two."" - Booklist ""Sophisticated classic mystery fans will welcome Zouroudi's third Deadly Sins mystery. Apart