Quite a good Hermes D book. The yacht helps everything to go down smoothly I think. ( )

(A Seven Deadly Sins Mystery) by Anne Zouroudi (Fiction, Mystery, Series)

This is the fourth in the Hermes Diaktoros series which opened with such a bang for me in January 2015.

Amazon says: “A painter is found dead at sea off the coast of a remote Greek island. The painter’s work, an icon of the Virgin long famed for its miraculous powers, has just been uncovered as a fake. But has the painter died of natural causes or by a wrathful hand?”

The mystery in this episode just didn’t come together for me, but I did still enjoy the outing with Hermes, and will continue with the series.

3½ stars ( )

Delightful light novel in the Hermes Diaktoros mystery series. I really enjoyed it and was up until the wee hours last night reading; I couldn't put it down. The series takes place in different areas of modern Greece. In this novel, Hermes is visiting the island of Kalkos and takes in a miracle-working icon of The Lady of Sorrows [also known as The Lady of the Seven Swords]. Hermes spots something untoward and calls in an art historian friend from Athens, Kara Athaniti, for her expert opinion. They both come to the conclusion it is a forgery, possibly Russian and very old. Where is the original? When Hermes wishes to speak to the island's icon writer, the man suddenly falls dead while out fishing with his grandson. Although the doctor called in says cause of death is a stroke, Hermes feels it is murder. For the rest of the novel, he investigates both the provenance of the icon, its duplicate, and this suspicious death. He discovers the islanders have hidden resentments and secrets for many years.

The novel was very atmospheric of island Greece. The author painted wonderful word-pictures of the setting and of the inhabitants. I felt I was there in a sun-drenched setting overlooking the sea. Her writing style flowed along; not a word was wasted. Hermes [aka "the fat man" in white tennis shoes] is a most engaging investigator. He pieces things together himself but is not afraid to call on help from Kara and from an Athenian doctor friend. A natural psychologist, he speaks wisely, and gives good advice to the other characters, many of whom are troubled. We wonder, is Hermes perhaps the god Hermes [Mercury] in human form? I liked this possible bit of fantasy dropped into the novel. The author never spells out the identity in so many words; any clues are oblique and we make of them what we will. I enjoyed learning about the process of icon writing. I highly recommend it. ( )

Greek mystery series...not as good as the other ones, in my opinion. ( )

Hermes Diaktoros is on a short holiday and visits a remote island, home to an ancient icon which has miraculous powers. He expects his visit to be uneventful, but first he discovers that the icon is a fake and then the local icon painter is found dead, supposedly of a heart attack, at sea. We learn a little more about Hermes Diakatoros and his need for justice, not necessarily the justice meted out by the law. If you love Greece, read this series as its fully of local atmosphere but above all Zouroudi's love of the country and its people that shines through the writing. ( )