Mystery Book Reviews

Book Review: The Taint of Midas

By Sandy Amazeen Apr 7, 2011, 2:15 GMT

Gabrilis Kaloyeros is a bee-keeper on the beautiful Greek island of Arcadia. The ruined Temple of Apollo has been in his care for decades, and he has worked to protect it. But when crooked developers take over the island and the value of the land soars, he is persuaded through unscrupulous means to sign away his interest. Hours later he meets a violent, lonely death.When detective Hermes Diaktoros finds his ...more

World traveler, scholar and sometime detective with high connections, Hermes Diaktoros was dismayed to return to his beloved home on the Greek island of Arcadia just in time to discover his long time friend Gabrilis Kaloyeros dead on the roadside. A victim of a hit and run accident, Gabrilis was left in the bushes to breath his last alone and that is a crime Hermes is determined won’t go unpunished. As Hermes reacquaints himself with the village and its people, he finds the tourist industry has transformed the sleepy little town. Everyone seems to have become obsessed with bleeding the foreign tourists of every cent while forgetting their own rich heritage and even the shadiest of deals is shrugged off as the price of doing business. Although Hermes was first fingered as the prime suspect in Gabrilis’s death, he is soon cleared of charges and hot on the trail of unbridled greed, deceit and worse.

Smoothly paced in an exotic setting complete with olive groves and beehives, this delightful mystery is a nice addition to the Seven Deadly Sins series. It is a treat watching the character development unfold and seeing each one get their just deserts. Readers can only wonder where Hermes will turn up next.