The Doctor of Thessaly
""This third book in a series featuring the detective Hermes Diaktoros is by far the most successful to date." "
Synopsis:
On the morning of her wedding day Chrissa Kaligi is cruelly jilted. Her fiancé, the local doctor, has disappeared and is later found in an isolated churchyard, the victim of a cruel and disfiguring attack. The people of the small town of Morfi show a marked reluctance to investigate the crime, a reflection of the doctor's unpopularity in the village. However, Hermes Diaktoros is not so easily put off. Determined to investigate the strange goings on in the village he soon uncovers in addition to the minor skulduggery of local characters a much more sinister tale.
Never one to let an injustice pass, Hermes Diaktoros must expose the true criminal in the town, thwart the machinations of former bureaucrats and repair the fractured relationships that surround him: all whilst doggedly refusing to reveal to the interested townspeople anything of his own identity.
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Review:
This third book in a series featuring the detective Hermes Diaktoros is by far the most successful to date. Anne Zouroudi lulls the reader into a false sense of security by locating the action in scenic Thessaly in northern Greece. But the picturesque surroundings and other worldliness of the characters disguise a crime firmly of our time. The author mitigates the horror of the crime however by setting it alongside more minor misdemeanours. As is previous books, Hermes Diaktoros can call on a range of family and friends to thwart the machinations of even the most determined evil doer. The story is well written but Zouroudi is no idealist when it comes to Greeks society. She describes life in the unhurried Greek north with a keen eye whilst never letting the reader forget the negatives aspects that village life brings, such as the petty intrigues. This clear eyed view of Greek life gives her books, which could otherwise fall into whimsy, a modern feel.