The Pericles Commission
Camberwell
:
Penguin
,
2011
Z1777783
2011
single work
novel
crime
mystery
historical fiction
'Athens, 461BC. A dead man falls from the sky, landing at the feet of a surprised Nicolaos.
It doesn't normally rain corpses. This one is the politician Ephialtes, who only days before had turned Athens into a democracy.
The Ionia Sanction
New York (City)
:
Minotaur Books
,
2011
Z1839255
2011
single work
novel
crime
mystery
historical fiction
'ATHENS, 460 B.C. Life's tough for Nicolaos, the only investigating agent in ancient Athens. His girlfriend's left him and his boss wants to fire him. But when an Athenian official is murdered, the brilliant statesman Pericles has no choice but to put Nico on the job.
The case takes Nico, in the company of a beautiful slave girl, to the land of Ionia within the Persian Empire. The Persians will execute him on the spot if they think he's a spy. Beyond that, there are just a few minor problems. He's being chased by brigands who are only waiting for the right price before they kill him. Somehow he has to placate his girlfriend, who is very angry about that slave girl.
He must win over Themistocles, the military genius who saved Greece during the Persian Wars, and then defected to the hated enemy. And to solve the crime, Nico must uncover a secret that could not only destroy Athens, but will force him to choose between love, and ambition, and his own life.' Source: www.penguin.com.au/ (Sighted 01/02/2012).
Sacred Games
New York (City)
:
Soho Press
,
2014
7239734
2014
single work
novel
crime
historical fiction
'The third book in the critically acclaimed series set in Classical Athens, featuring the historically inspired amateur detective Nicolaos.
'It is the Olympics of 460 BC. Nico's best friend, Timodemus, is a competitor in the pankration, the deadly martial art of ancient Greece. Timo is hot favorite to win. His only serious rival is Arakos from Sparta. When Arakos is found beaten to death, it is obvious Timodemus must be the killer. Who else could have killed the second-best fighter in all Hellas but the very best? The Judges of the Games sentence Timodemus to be executed in four days' time, as soon as the Sacred Games have finished.
'Complicating everything is the fact that Athens and Sparta are already at each other's throats, in the opening stages of a power struggle for control of Hellas. If an Athenian is found to have cheated at the Games by murdering a Spartan, it will be everything the hawks in Sparta need to declare open war the moment the Sacred Truce is over. And that's a war Athens cannot hope to win.
'Nico and his partner in sleuthing, the annoyingly clever priestess Diotima, have four days to save their friend and avert a war that would tear their world apart.' (Publication summary)
