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Andreas Kaldis #9
An Aegean April
The beautiful Greek island of Lesvos, birthplace of the poet Sappho, and for centuries an agrarian paradise famed for anise-flavored ouzo and tasty sardines, sees its serenity turn into chaos as the world watches boatloads of refugees daily flee onto its shores from Turkey across the narrow Mytilini Strait.
Mihalis Volandes is one of Lesvos' elite, the patriarch of a storied shipping clan. He's weathered many changes in his long life, and when a government policy accelerates the surge of refugees onto his island, he rises to prominence in relief efforts he sees as growing increasingly ineffectual.
One evening, after working to stir up support for his breakthrough plan to strike at the heart of the lucrative refugee trafficking trade, he returns to his mansion in darkness - only to fall victim in his own garden to a swishing sword.
A refugee-turned-local-aid-worker is found at the scene, splattered with Volandes' blood, and swiftly arrested by island police. Case closed - or would be, if young Ali Sera were not working with SafePassage, an NGO (non-government organization), headed on Lesvos by American Dana McLaughlin. McLaughlin is having none of Ali's arrest. Within hours the phone rings in the Athens office of Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, and she's requesting that Kaldis take over the investigation.
Volandes was a prominent citizen and the crime particularly gruesome. Could it be terrorism or something else? But whether Ali is guilty or framed, Andreas can't ignore a powerful motive for the murder. Volandes' daring plan, if implemented, would soon shut down the cash-generating refugee-trafficking pipeline between Turkey and Lesvos.
And so, we're off on a nail-biting ride with Kaldis and his team through Byzantine island politics, deteriorating diplomatic relations, and a world on fire with intrigues and more brutal deaths.
This ninth Andreas Kaldis thriller once again links modern Greece to its ancient past, the powerful grip of myths upon its people, and cutting edge issues of societal change affecting our world at large.
507 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 2, 2018
46 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Jeffrey Siger
22 books152 followersI am an American living on the Aegean Greek island of Mykonos. A Pittsburgh native and former Wall Street lawyer, I gave up my career as a name partner in my own New York City law firm to write mystery thrillers that tell more than just a fast-paced story. My novels are aimed at exploring serious societal issues confronting modern day Greece in a tell-it-like-it-is style while touching upon the country's ancient roots.
Some Mykonian friends told me if I started sprinkling murders with a message across my adopted country's tourist paradises, I'd likely be banished, if not hung. No one was more amazed than I when my debut novel, Murder in Mykonos (a sort of Mamma Mia setting for a No Country for Old Men story), became Greece's #1 best selling English-language novel (and a best-seller in Greek, as well).
As of September 2016 I have eight Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis novels out there and receive no more than the customary number of death threats. I'm diligently trying to improve my percentage in that regard with posts about Greece each Saturday on the Murder is Everywhere blogsite I share with nine renowned mystery writers from around the world.
It's been a remarkable journey, punctuated most notably by The New York Times selecting the fourth in my Andreas Kaldis series (Target: Tinos) as one of its five "picks for the beach" while calling the entire series, "thoughtful police procedurals set in picturesque but not untroubled Greek locales;" Left Coast Crime's nomination of the fifth in the series (Mykonos After Midnight) in 2014 as Best Mystery in a Foreign Setting; a 2016 Barry Award Best Novel Nomination for my seventh in the series (Devil of Delphi); starred reviews and official government citations; and this quote from Fodor's Greek Islands Travel Guide under a section titled "Mykonos After Dark," which colleagues say I should consider the equivalent of winning an Oscar: "Some say that after midnight, Mykonos is all nightlife—this throbbing beat is the backdrop to Jeffrey Siger's popular mystery, Murder in Mykonos."
My work is published in the US, UK, Germany (German), and Greece (Greek and English), and I'm honored to have served as Chair of the National Board of Bouchercon, the world's largest mystery convention, and as Adjunct Professor of English at Washington & Jefferson College, teaching mystery writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
July 13, 2019
Spotlight on Refugees...in some respects akin to news reporting rather than a typical crime novel. I have never been to Greece (yet) so I enjoyed many landmark descriptions that made it into the story. The characters are pretty much machismo, heavy handedly so for me. Time will tell as I brought home the latest book, #10 to read next.
I don't recall having come upon a sword wielding criminal before but this book has one in spades. Say the wrong thing, and slash - off with your head. Heads rolling all over the place.
So...the criminal aspect examined within this book revolves around the money that can be made by exploiting desperate refugees trying to get away from something unbearable toward the promise of a new life until they have nothing more to give but their lives.
There were glimpses into Greek island life as the Easter holiday was prepared for and celebrated with family.
3.5 stars for me
Library Loan
I don't recall having come upon a sword wielding criminal before but this book has one in spades. Say the wrong thing, and slash - off with your head. Heads rolling all over the place.
So...the criminal aspect examined within this book revolves around the money that can be made by exploiting desperate refugees trying to get away from something unbearable toward the promise of a new life until they have nothing more to give but their lives.
There were glimpses into Greek island life as the Easter holiday was prepared for and celebrated with family.
3.5 stars for me
Library Loan
December 17, 2017
“An Aegean April” by Jeffrey Siger is number nine in the Andreas Kaldis series, but do not worry if you have not read all of the earlier ones, you will be able follow along with life in the Greek Isles without any difficulty.
This is a compelling Greek police procedure set within the current refugee crisis and efforts to help the exiles. The book focuses on the search for accountability. The characters are complex and fascinating; their alternating narratives drive the story. The “bad guys” are identified early on, but the tale is compelling, and there is still plenty of ambiguity and deceit to uncover along the way.
Along the way, readers get a look at life and culture in modern Greece, including details of Greek life, politics, corruption, and holiday customs. The refugees and their impact on Greece are described with the clarity seldom found even in current news reports. Readers may well rethink the situation in Europe.
I received a copy of “An Aegean April” from Jeffrey Siger, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley. I have read several of Seiger’s previous books, and this is one of the best. I enjoyed reading it and learning about Greek life and culture. I recommend this as well as the others in the series.
This is a compelling Greek police procedure set within the current refugee crisis and efforts to help the exiles. The book focuses on the search for accountability. The characters are complex and fascinating; their alternating narratives drive the story. The “bad guys” are identified early on, but the tale is compelling, and there is still plenty of ambiguity and deceit to uncover along the way.
Along the way, readers get a look at life and culture in modern Greece, including details of Greek life, politics, corruption, and holiday customs. The refugees and their impact on Greece are described with the clarity seldom found even in current news reports. Readers may well rethink the situation in Europe.
I received a copy of “An Aegean April” from Jeffrey Siger, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley. I have read several of Seiger’s previous books, and this is one of the best. I enjoyed reading it and learning about Greek life and culture. I recommend this as well as the others in the series.
April 22, 2018
How does the first world wrap its head around third-world problems, let alone crises like the outpouring of refugees (millions of people) looking for sanctuary and a new home, a fresh start? How do we begin to imagine the day-to-day suffering and the complicated global politics that manipulate and control the exodus? How do we begin to comprehend around the various entities that exploit the families, drain them of their last bit of money and what’s left of their dignity?
Fiction helps.
Published earlier this year, the fourth entry in Ausma Zehanat Khan’s Esa Khattak/Rachel Getty series, "A Dangerous Crossing," tackled the complexities of the refugee crisis and focused on the fate of a young Canadian volunteer named Audrey Clare. Audrey disappears from the island of Lesvos and is implicated in a double murder. One victim is a French Interpol agent and the other a Syrian refugee. "A Dangerous Crossing" is loaded with issues, both Esa Khattak’s internal challenges with his Muslim faith and Esa and Rachel’s efforts to understand how politics and money collude to manipulate families making desperate crossings to unknown lands.
Lesvos is also the setting for the ninth entry in Jeffrey Siger’s Andreas Kaldis series, "An Aegaen April." Please ignore the bucolic evocation of the title, and its pleasant alliteration, and prepare yourself for an equally complex and nuanced mystery that uses the plight of the refugees as a flashpoint for trouble and, quite naturally, mystery.
Khan’s series started with two Toronto-centric mysteries before flying far afield for the third, Among the Ruins, set largely in Iran. So the shift to the Greek islands (and various settings from The Netherlands to Belgium) didn’t seem that much of a stretch for Esa Khattak or Rachel Getty.
But for Andreas Kaldis, who is Chief Inspector for the Greek National Police Force’s Special Crimes Division and by job necessity an island hopper (Murder on Mykonos, Prey on Patmos, etc.), an unusual murder on Lesvos is a natural lure. And Siger, who spends half his time in Greece, brings a local’s sharp eye to the details, the politics, and the criminal justice bureaucracy.
The victim at the outset of "An Aegean April" is an influential guy named Mihalis Volandes. He’s a seventy-year-old Greek shipping tycoon. His death is, well, both vivid and shocking. He’s been sliced in half. Vertically. “Neck to crotch.” One swipe of a sword.
When Kaldis is informed over the telephone of the murderer’s methods, Kaldis says, wrly, “Run that by me again.” Kaldis often says out loud what we’re all thinking. He’s jaded, weary, and not given to histrionics. He lives in a zone that is free of melodrama.
Dana McLaughlin is in charge of refugee operators on Lesvos for an organization called SafePassage and, over the phone, tells Chief Inspector Kaldis that one of her refugee workers has been arrested for Volandes’ murder. The worker is a ‘native refugee worker,’ someone who wanted to help his fellow countrymen. His name is Ali Sera. He’s been found spattered with blood.
At first, Kaldis opts to call the shots remotely and sends his longtime sidekick, the “bull-like man” Yianni, to do the initial investigation. Some of An Aegean April unfolds through Yianni’s eyes (and other characters, including our vicious bad guy; Dana; and even Ali, who has spent much of his life “looking up from the bottom of the refugee barrel”).
Despite the brutality of the killer and the rough conditions for refugees who make it to Lesvos, there is a healthy dollop of appealing Greek island scenery, You will want to dive into the water, smell the air, and reach for a bottle of ouzo while you savor the atmosphere. But Siger sees the warts, too—the overpopulation, the graffiti, the “uninspired concrete apartment buildings with their ubiquitous slab-sided balconies that plagued all of modern Greece, no matter how well-off the neighborhood.”
Well, how could the world address the refugee crisis in a more human manner? It turns out that Mihalis Volandes had a plan and it’s in laying out that plan, half way through the story, that Siger shows his hand and seems to be floating (ahem) a suggestion. The plan envisions ferryboat-size ships with medical, social, and immigration services processing refugees in a way that gives traffickers no chance to prey on the weak and desperate. Volandes’ plan to inject decency and humanity in the middle of mayhem is what gets him killed. You don’t interrupt someone else’s evil, lucrative business without consequences.
Nobody’s whistle clean. The media are jabbed and so are interloping do-gooders who only stay long enough so they can say they were there. It’s Dana who sums up the “sad reality” of the competing interests. “Crisis brings media attention,” she says. “Media attention brings openhearted people who translate into money. Along with money come profiteers who don’t give a serious shit about the people in crisis. They’re only interested in their own image and fundraising. Slick PR and sound bites draw in the donations, and for them, that’s all that matters.”
"An Aegean April" takes us to Turkey (the sword-wielding assassin makes an impression at a key meeting) and doesn’t stop until it reveals the wide variety of pressures that bear down on what was once a placid, quiet island. Our killer has gone rogue, he’s turned the tables on his employers, and developed an idea for a brutal bit of theatrics. But he’s not the only one staging a movie-ready, tense showdown.
Want to learn a little something about the massive, ongoing exodus from Syria (now in its eighth year)? Yes, read the newspaper or watch videos on the web. (And don’t be caught flat-footed when somebody mentions a city named Aleppo.) Or read "An Aegean April."
Fiction helps.
Published earlier this year, the fourth entry in Ausma Zehanat Khan’s Esa Khattak/Rachel Getty series, "A Dangerous Crossing," tackled the complexities of the refugee crisis and focused on the fate of a young Canadian volunteer named Audrey Clare. Audrey disappears from the island of Lesvos and is implicated in a double murder. One victim is a French Interpol agent and the other a Syrian refugee. "A Dangerous Crossing" is loaded with issues, both Esa Khattak’s internal challenges with his Muslim faith and Esa and Rachel’s efforts to understand how politics and money collude to manipulate families making desperate crossings to unknown lands.
Lesvos is also the setting for the ninth entry in Jeffrey Siger’s Andreas Kaldis series, "An Aegaen April." Please ignore the bucolic evocation of the title, and its pleasant alliteration, and prepare yourself for an equally complex and nuanced mystery that uses the plight of the refugees as a flashpoint for trouble and, quite naturally, mystery.
Khan’s series started with two Toronto-centric mysteries before flying far afield for the third, Among the Ruins, set largely in Iran. So the shift to the Greek islands (and various settings from The Netherlands to Belgium) didn’t seem that much of a stretch for Esa Khattak or Rachel Getty.
But for Andreas Kaldis, who is Chief Inspector for the Greek National Police Force’s Special Crimes Division and by job necessity an island hopper (Murder on Mykonos, Prey on Patmos, etc.), an unusual murder on Lesvos is a natural lure. And Siger, who spends half his time in Greece, brings a local’s sharp eye to the details, the politics, and the criminal justice bureaucracy.
The victim at the outset of "An Aegean April" is an influential guy named Mihalis Volandes. He’s a seventy-year-old Greek shipping tycoon. His death is, well, both vivid and shocking. He’s been sliced in half. Vertically. “Neck to crotch.” One swipe of a sword.
When Kaldis is informed over the telephone of the murderer’s methods, Kaldis says, wrly, “Run that by me again.” Kaldis often says out loud what we’re all thinking. He’s jaded, weary, and not given to histrionics. He lives in a zone that is free of melodrama.
Dana McLaughlin is in charge of refugee operators on Lesvos for an organization called SafePassage and, over the phone, tells Chief Inspector Kaldis that one of her refugee workers has been arrested for Volandes’ murder. The worker is a ‘native refugee worker,’ someone who wanted to help his fellow countrymen. His name is Ali Sera. He’s been found spattered with blood.
At first, Kaldis opts to call the shots remotely and sends his longtime sidekick, the “bull-like man” Yianni, to do the initial investigation. Some of An Aegean April unfolds through Yianni’s eyes (and other characters, including our vicious bad guy; Dana; and even Ali, who has spent much of his life “looking up from the bottom of the refugee barrel”).
Despite the brutality of the killer and the rough conditions for refugees who make it to Lesvos, there is a healthy dollop of appealing Greek island scenery, You will want to dive into the water, smell the air, and reach for a bottle of ouzo while you savor the atmosphere. But Siger sees the warts, too—the overpopulation, the graffiti, the “uninspired concrete apartment buildings with their ubiquitous slab-sided balconies that plagued all of modern Greece, no matter how well-off the neighborhood.”
Well, how could the world address the refugee crisis in a more human manner? It turns out that Mihalis Volandes had a plan and it’s in laying out that plan, half way through the story, that Siger shows his hand and seems to be floating (ahem) a suggestion. The plan envisions ferryboat-size ships with medical, social, and immigration services processing refugees in a way that gives traffickers no chance to prey on the weak and desperate. Volandes’ plan to inject decency and humanity in the middle of mayhem is what gets him killed. You don’t interrupt someone else’s evil, lucrative business without consequences.
Nobody’s whistle clean. The media are jabbed and so are interloping do-gooders who only stay long enough so they can say they were there. It’s Dana who sums up the “sad reality” of the competing interests. “Crisis brings media attention,” she says. “Media attention brings openhearted people who translate into money. Along with money come profiteers who don’t give a serious shit about the people in crisis. They’re only interested in their own image and fundraising. Slick PR and sound bites draw in the donations, and for them, that’s all that matters.”
"An Aegean April" takes us to Turkey (the sword-wielding assassin makes an impression at a key meeting) and doesn’t stop until it reveals the wide variety of pressures that bear down on what was once a placid, quiet island. Our killer has gone rogue, he’s turned the tables on his employers, and developed an idea for a brutal bit of theatrics. But he’s not the only one staging a movie-ready, tense showdown.
Want to learn a little something about the massive, ongoing exodus from Syria (now in its eighth year)? Yes, read the newspaper or watch videos on the web. (And don’t be caught flat-footed when somebody mentions a city named Aleppo.) Or read "An Aegean April."
July 6, 2020
Exciting police procedural involving refugees streaming into Lesvos. A refugee is falsely accused of the vicious killing of a rich shipowner aiding an NGO. Kaldis sets out to prove the man's innocence and catch the perpetrator. There are scenes in both Greece and Turkey. The novel did give me some insight into the plight of the refugees and the evil of the human traffickers who prey upon them.
May 5, 2018
A great series.
December 31, 2017
Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis returns in his ninth case when he is asked to investigate the murder of a well known and respected citizen on the island of Lesvos. Lesvos is the destination for many of the refugees passing though Turkey on their way to Northern Europe, and the small island is overwhelmed with the numbers. The murder victim, Mihalis Volandes, thought he had a solution for the refugee problem, however he was having trouble getting anyone with authority to listen. The night he was killed-slaughtered really outside his home, a young man, Ali Sera, a refugee himself, had received a message asking him to meet with the victim at Volandes home. When he arrived, he found the victim sliced nearly in half. When the police arrived, they found a bloody Sera standing near the body.Chief Inspector Kaldis is asked to look into the crime since while Sera was at the scene, much of the evidence doesn’t support him as the murderer.
Siger has chosen to have readers know very early on who the murderer is and tells the story from a shifting point of view. On one hand we are with Kaldis and his team as they investigate, but we are also with the killer as he moves through the aftermath of the crime. A third voice, that of Dana McLaughlin a worker with a non-government organization (NGO) is heard occasionally. Sera was one of her workers. This allows readers from almost the beginning know exactly how despicable the murderer is and how savvy the Chief Inspector is. Through Dana, readers are given a composite shot of how many things can go seriously wrong when idealistic people with good intentions become involved in high profile situations. Siger paints a grim picture of humanity. It is a picture of profiteers making money on the backs of the very people they are supposedly helping. Surely Dante has a special ring of hell reserved for such people.
On a brighter note, the book is set during Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter. Readers are treated to the ongoing preparations for Easter. Highlighted are some things unique to the Greek Orthodox faith, others even more unique to those living in Greece and finally, things that many Christian readers of any denomination will recognize. I read the books for the crime fiction, but the parts I personally enjoy the most are the glimpses into Greek culture. Siger does not disappoint in this part in An Aegean April.
As with the other books in this series, Siger has taken a political issue in Greece, mixed in a heavy dose of Greek Culture and served up a delicious tale straight from the headlines that is almost as much travelogue as it is crime fiction. While An Aegean April is the ninth book in the series, each stands very much on its own merits. There is a large cast of characters who appear to varying degrees throughout the series, but sub plots are wrapped up in each book so readers can pick up any book in the series to read without feeling lost trying to straighten out the characters.
Siger has chosen to have readers know very early on who the murderer is and tells the story from a shifting point of view. On one hand we are with Kaldis and his team as they investigate, but we are also with the killer as he moves through the aftermath of the crime. A third voice, that of Dana McLaughlin a worker with a non-government organization (NGO) is heard occasionally. Sera was one of her workers. This allows readers from almost the beginning know exactly how despicable the murderer is and how savvy the Chief Inspector is. Through Dana, readers are given a composite shot of how many things can go seriously wrong when idealistic people with good intentions become involved in high profile situations. Siger paints a grim picture of humanity. It is a picture of profiteers making money on the backs of the very people they are supposedly helping. Surely Dante has a special ring of hell reserved for such people.
On a brighter note, the book is set during Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter. Readers are treated to the ongoing preparations for Easter. Highlighted are some things unique to the Greek Orthodox faith, others even more unique to those living in Greece and finally, things that many Christian readers of any denomination will recognize. I read the books for the crime fiction, but the parts I personally enjoy the most are the glimpses into Greek culture. Siger does not disappoint in this part in An Aegean April.
As with the other books in this series, Siger has taken a political issue in Greece, mixed in a heavy dose of Greek Culture and served up a delicious tale straight from the headlines that is almost as much travelogue as it is crime fiction. While An Aegean April is the ninth book in the series, each stands very much on its own merits. There is a large cast of characters who appear to varying degrees throughout the series, but sub plots are wrapped up in each book so readers can pick up any book in the series to read without feeling lost trying to straighten out the characters.
January 7, 2018
An Aegean April is the ninth book in Jeffrey Siger’s series featuring Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis. I have missed a few in the series, but was happy to find him happy and enjoying his hard-earned success–a long way from his exile in Murder in Mykonos. He still has his nose for murder and his determination to seek out the truth even though, or perhaps because, it may reveal government corruption.
An Aegean April takes us to Lesvos, an island very much in the news lately as it’s where the boatloads of Syrian refugees come ashore seeking escape from the war at home. The people of Lesvos have been amazing in their welcome and generosity, particularly considering the difficulty Greece is suffering economically. And just purely as an aside, it would not hurt to remember that Greece forgave Germany’s debt in 1953.
This story, then, is “ripped from the headlines” and it begins with a gruesome assassination, using a sword, no less. A local community leader, someone proposing a solution to some of the refugee crisis is slain, gruesomely. A warning from the traffickers. Dana, an NGO leader, calls Kaldis for help as her employee, a refugee, has wrongfully been arrested. Kaldis looks into it, agrees and gets his team involved. Meanwhile, the murderer is wreaking havoc in Turkey among the traffickers. He, too, has a solution for the refugee crisis. One that involves him taking a leading role in the the industry.
Jeffery Siger uses his characters to convey his support for humane and generous acceptance and treatment of the refugees. I agree with him completely. I think he wrote this book as a means to voice his position and persuade more people to be welcoming and accepting. Unfortunately, that changes the book quite a bit and it makes the characters a bit preachy. The book would have been better without the agenda and, to be honest, the agenda would have been better served. Trust people to draw their own conclusions, and they may surprise you.
There were a few things that made this a less satisfying book than it could be. We are too much in the killer’s head and it’s an unpleasant place. Siger has a tendency to create almost superhuman villains, this one is not very credible. On the other hand, he creates a magnificent sense of place. You can almost feel the angle of light as he writes about the island. It’s beautiful. I want to go there and he makes me want to go there more.
I should add, I was reading this book and writing this review in the hospital under the influence of morphine. I don’t think it made me a harsher reader, but my reading has been frequently interrupted, breaking up the story over and over again.
I received an e-gally of An Aegean April from the publisher through NetGalley.
An Aegean April at Poisoned Pen Press
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
An Aegean April takes us to Lesvos, an island very much in the news lately as it’s where the boatloads of Syrian refugees come ashore seeking escape from the war at home. The people of Lesvos have been amazing in their welcome and generosity, particularly considering the difficulty Greece is suffering economically. And just purely as an aside, it would not hurt to remember that Greece forgave Germany’s debt in 1953.
This story, then, is “ripped from the headlines” and it begins with a gruesome assassination, using a sword, no less. A local community leader, someone proposing a solution to some of the refugee crisis is slain, gruesomely. A warning from the traffickers. Dana, an NGO leader, calls Kaldis for help as her employee, a refugee, has wrongfully been arrested. Kaldis looks into it, agrees and gets his team involved. Meanwhile, the murderer is wreaking havoc in Turkey among the traffickers. He, too, has a solution for the refugee crisis. One that involves him taking a leading role in the the industry.
Jeffery Siger uses his characters to convey his support for humane and generous acceptance and treatment of the refugees. I agree with him completely. I think he wrote this book as a means to voice his position and persuade more people to be welcoming and accepting. Unfortunately, that changes the book quite a bit and it makes the characters a bit preachy. The book would have been better without the agenda and, to be honest, the agenda would have been better served. Trust people to draw their own conclusions, and they may surprise you.
There were a few things that made this a less satisfying book than it could be. We are too much in the killer’s head and it’s an unpleasant place. Siger has a tendency to create almost superhuman villains, this one is not very credible. On the other hand, he creates a magnificent sense of place. You can almost feel the angle of light as he writes about the island. It’s beautiful. I want to go there and he makes me want to go there more.
I should add, I was reading this book and writing this review in the hospital under the influence of morphine. I don’t think it made me a harsher reader, but my reading has been frequently interrupted, breaking up the story over and over again.
I received an e-gally of An Aegean April from the publisher through NetGalley.
An Aegean April at Poisoned Pen Press
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
October 12, 2017
I would like to thank Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance copy of An Aegean April, the 9th novel in the Chief Inspector Kaldis series of Greek police procedurals.
Mihalis Volandes has devised an alternative solution to the plight of refugees on the island of Lesvos but before he can act on it he is brutally murdered and the local police immediately arrest Ali Sera, a refugee found beside the body. Kaldis gets involved when Dana McLaughlin, head of Safepassage, an NGO based in Lesbos, and a colleague of both men calls him asking him to investigate.
I thoroughly enjoyed An Aegean April which is an interesting read with a good plot. The actual murderer is no secret to the reader as the narrative alternates between his and Kaldis's points of view. Normally I'm not a big fan of this approach but, by choosing to concentrate on his actions rather than his history (frankly, who cares what turned him into a murdering psychopath?), it revs up the tension and produces a multifaceted if extremely violent read. I can't say I enjoyed his exploits but he is a magnificent baddy.
By chance the refugee crisis on Lesvos has been on my mind as one of my friends is flying out on Monday to do his bit. Before I knew of this I had thought the crisis was over as it has slipped from view but sadly not, it's just that the press have compassion fatigue or something "better" to report on. The novel is good on the politics and inaction of the refugee/migrant, legally the two terms are different, situation and explains the hurdles facing everyone involved. It also explains the renewed tension between Greece and Turkey on this issue.
On a less serious note the novel brings Lesvos and the Greek way of living to life with vivid descriptions of Easter celebrations and its history. It is very informative.
I like Chief Inspector Kaldis, he is smart, authoritative and a family man. He doesn't come across as the ruthless operator he must be to hold and retain such a senior post as head of Special Crimes. I'm less sure about Dana McLaughlin who seems like an out of control neurotic rather than the head of a very successful NGO.
An Aegean April is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
Mihalis Volandes has devised an alternative solution to the plight of refugees on the island of Lesvos but before he can act on it he is brutally murdered and the local police immediately arrest Ali Sera, a refugee found beside the body. Kaldis gets involved when Dana McLaughlin, head of Safepassage, an NGO based in Lesbos, and a colleague of both men calls him asking him to investigate.
I thoroughly enjoyed An Aegean April which is an interesting read with a good plot. The actual murderer is no secret to the reader as the narrative alternates between his and Kaldis's points of view. Normally I'm not a big fan of this approach but, by choosing to concentrate on his actions rather than his history (frankly, who cares what turned him into a murdering psychopath?), it revs up the tension and produces a multifaceted if extremely violent read. I can't say I enjoyed his exploits but he is a magnificent baddy.
By chance the refugee crisis on Lesvos has been on my mind as one of my friends is flying out on Monday to do his bit. Before I knew of this I had thought the crisis was over as it has slipped from view but sadly not, it's just that the press have compassion fatigue or something "better" to report on. The novel is good on the politics and inaction of the refugee/migrant, legally the two terms are different, situation and explains the hurdles facing everyone involved. It also explains the renewed tension between Greece and Turkey on this issue.
On a less serious note the novel brings Lesvos and the Greek way of living to life with vivid descriptions of Easter celebrations and its history. It is very informative.
I like Chief Inspector Kaldis, he is smart, authoritative and a family man. He doesn't come across as the ruthless operator he must be to hold and retain such a senior post as head of Special Crimes. I'm less sure about Dana McLaughlin who seems like an out of control neurotic rather than the head of a very successful NGO.
An Aegean April is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.
December 31, 2017
Jeffrey Siger can always be trusted to bring the country, the history, and the customs of Greece to life and this ninth book in his Chief Inspector Kaldis series is no exception. Kaldis and his team, along with their wives, girlfriends, and children are a true family whose bonds are every bit as strong as blood. These people have worked together for a long time, and they've learned how to work smart and take few chances with their lives. Since I'm attached to this entire group, I like seeing them use intelligence instead of brute force to get the job done.
In An Aegean April, readers get an up-close-and-personal look at the refugee crisis and the resulting plague of human traffickers that has grown up around it. There is money to be made from thousands upon thousands of desperate people, especially since the governments involved would rather look the other way than do something that would actually alleviate the situation. There is even more money to be had if leaky boats are used and defective equipment sold to what "others in the smuggling trade call...fish or cement blocks."
To this sickening situation, Kaldis and his team bring their talents and their determined focus, aided by two strong (and sometimes misguided) women, one American and one Greek. We also meet another character who's been seen in a previous book, and as soon as I saw that person, I knew it wasn't a one-scene-only appearance. I was right. This character appears at the end in a sort of deus ex machina, and although I might pick this apart in almost any other book, I have to smile. If you're going to use the deus ex machina device, it has to be in a book set in Greece, and Siger's books are so Greek, the pollen from the olive trees makes me sneeze.
If you haven't read a Chief Inspector Kaldis novel before, I suggest you begin at the beginning (Murder in Mykonos) so you can see how this group of people come together and become a family. This is one of my favorite series, and I hope it will become one of yours, too.
In An Aegean April, readers get an up-close-and-personal look at the refugee crisis and the resulting plague of human traffickers that has grown up around it. There is money to be made from thousands upon thousands of desperate people, especially since the governments involved would rather look the other way than do something that would actually alleviate the situation. There is even more money to be had if leaky boats are used and defective equipment sold to what "others in the smuggling trade call...fish or cement blocks."
To this sickening situation, Kaldis and his team bring their talents and their determined focus, aided by two strong (and sometimes misguided) women, one American and one Greek. We also meet another character who's been seen in a previous book, and as soon as I saw that person, I knew it wasn't a one-scene-only appearance. I was right. This character appears at the end in a sort of deus ex machina, and although I might pick this apart in almost any other book, I have to smile. If you're going to use the deus ex machina device, it has to be in a book set in Greece, and Siger's books are so Greek, the pollen from the olive trees makes me sneeze.
If you haven't read a Chief Inspector Kaldis novel before, I suggest you begin at the beginning (Murder in Mykonos) so you can see how this group of people come together and become a family. This is one of my favorite series, and I hope it will become one of yours, too.
November 22, 2017
A very good read which blends a procedural with an extremely informative look at modern Greece and the impact of the refuge crisis. You know who the bad guy is (and he's really rotten) even if the players do not so Inspector Kaldis' investigation is aimed at both identifying and nailing him. Along the way, there are some fascinating characters, not the least of whom is Kaldis himself. Dana McLaughlin, who ropes Kaldis into this, is somewhat scattered for someone responsible for so much but at the same time, murder isn't her focus. Ali Sera, who has been accused of the crime, will make you think about the situation in Europe. I hadn't read the earlier books in this series and obviously I've missed a good one. The descriptions of life on Lesvos, Greek politics and customs, and the impact of refuges as well as the refugees themselves are terrific. There's a fair amount of ambiguity as well as corruption here. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier ones- try this for a different take on island life.
May 18, 2021
An Agean April – A Chief Inspector Kaldis Mystery – 2018 - **** - Siger’s Inspector Kaldis series is a fun read. It is enjoyable to get the flavor of another country that I have always wondered about. Hopefully Siger’s insights into Greek lives and traditions is fairly accurate so the reader isn’t getting a misinformed view of Greece. In this book, Kaldis is really involved more in a thriller then a mystery solving effort. All the same, the settings, characters and flow are top notch. It is easy to cheer for Kaldis, Maggie, Yianni and Tassos and hope the abundance of bad guys get caught or dealt with. In this book there are plenty of antagonists to keep things interesting, with a couple of very nasty characters. Besides the entertainment value of the book, there is a learning curve on the difficulties of immigrants trying to reach Europe. The immigrant information alone is worth the read as it informed me like no news article I have read. I hope Siger continues the series.
April 8, 2019
+++Sadly it seems to be the same story over and over again. Money is more important than ethics, politics, religion or people and because of that life becomes very cheap. Attempting to put some form of cooperation with the UE, various refugee relief organizations and the nations directly effected is the goal of Mihalis Volandes a patriarch of a shipping clan living in Mytilini, Lesvos. His efforts along with Dana McLaughlin a director of SafePassage an NGO get him cleaved from the top of his head to his crotch. Internecine rivalries also come into play with law enforcement, families, & governments. Andreas Kaldis, his assistant Yianni Kouros, his secretary Maggie Sikestes, AK's od friend & mentor as well as MS's fiancee Tassos , the police commander of Mytilini & his daughter Aleka,work together to bring down a murderer.+++
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2019
A great comeback from Siger after some slightly disappointing books. A good take on the immigration issues after touching on it previously. Immigrants have become a hot topic around the world and his take provides a neutral and objective approach with some insight that many can learn from. Moreover, the book contains more graphical scenes and I love it. One negative from this book is the resolution again. The motivation behind Kharon to fight against the villain in this book is left unexplained and left a small plot hole here. I also hope the author could put more focus on emotions and character dynamics as I feel that it is somehow lacking.
September 8, 2018
High stakes thriller & murder mystery book, addressing current global political, social & economic issues (in this case refugees and economic immigrants arriving by the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, at the hands of people smugglers from Turkey to Greece and the EU), as well as other elements of terrorism and systemic nepotism. The author's statement in GR, of his purposes in writing his books, makes me want to see what else he's written.This is the 9th book in the Andreas Kaldis series.
October 25, 2022
Mr. singer’s main cast of characters investigates the murder of a wealthy Greek ship owner on Lesbos. He was trying to help refugees, but was perhaps killed by one. Or was it the Turkish smugglers? (Btw the Turks get sort of a harsh rap here).
The action is a duel between the semi crazy hit man and the police. But a main theme is the plight of the refugees and the world’s ambivalence. The preaching is both heartfelt and valid, but it slows the course of events.
Lots of local color and interesting characters but sort of predictable.
The action is a duel between the semi crazy hit man and the police. But a main theme is the plight of the refugees and the world’s ambivalence. The preaching is both heartfelt and valid, but it slows the course of events.
Lots of local color and interesting characters but sort of predictable.
March 16, 2021
Looks like Siger calmed down a little after his previous book in the this series. No sex scenes at all, and a more direct plot than usual. Filled with more Greek cultural aspects, especially since this one also takes place around Easter. He manages to get in another dig at the orange American monster, in this tale of murder around Syrian refugees and the evil government bastards on all sides of the continuing refugee crisis.
October 30, 2025
A fun installment in the Kaldis mysteries sees the intersection of migrant smuggling with Siger's interest in the international assassin community we first saw in The Devil of Delphi. This provides for an exploration of Lesvos and the nearby Turkish community surrounding Izmir. Tassos finally seems to be paying some manner of cosmic price for his Epicurean habits, while Kaldis begins to settle into having two children rather than just Tassaki.
The continued existence of the aforementioned "Devil," who successfully eliminated Siger's previous big bad 'guy,' provides for an interesting twist at the end of this one as the Orthodox get to see their faith affirmed in frightful vengeance. Or do they?
The continued existence of the aforementioned "Devil," who successfully eliminated Siger's previous big bad 'guy,' provides for an interesting twist at the end of this one as the Orthodox get to see their faith affirmed in frightful vengeance. Or do they?
February 4, 2018
Another homerun by author Jeffrey Siger! The development of the characters and plot in each book is familiar and refreshing. I appreciated the way he addresses current issues in their cultural context (the refugee crisis) interwoven within the lives of his characters.
June 12, 2018
This book was truly an exciting read. The ending was very original and took me completely by surprise. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their families better. I'm still having trouble with some of the more violent scenes, but I guess that goes with the genre.
July 5, 2018
This book is the story of the world we live in today. It concerns the refugee crisis and the ugly politics and smuggling that occur every day. The story is very well written. The ending is not what I expected.
February 7, 2019
I hadn’t read any of the prior books in this series so I had no idea who any of the main characters were. Thankfully, there weren’t a large number and I could keep track of them. I liked the location, the characters and the plot so I may pick up the first in the series and read that.
August 4, 2017
I've now read all nine of the police procedurals in this series.
March 22, 2018
Good mystery set in Greece and Turkey with some interesting insights to the refugee crisis and the criminal industries that grow up around it
April 30, 2018
An immigrant is accused of killing a Greek official.
May 23, 2018
Great mystery that deftly portrays the plight of war refugees. Highly recommend .
November 15, 2018
Always interesting to have history and geography details, in combination with current factors (in this case refugees) as background to a fast moving plot. Jeffrey Siger came up with a winner again.
March 25, 2020
Brutal.
June 11, 2020
Didn't like it enough to want to read more of the series.
May 21, 2021
3,5 Stars
A bit too "fantastic" this time, but still a good title of this series
A bit too "fantastic" this time, but still a good title of this series
November 22, 2024
Just okay.
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