A fun Kaldis mystery that sees protegee Yianni Kouros take the lead in a case that gets personal in Greece's storied Mani region--the finger of the Peloponnese jutting into the sea south of Sparta. The solution to this case is elusive until the very end as we don't get any narration or insights from the murderer's perspective until after the answer is known (which is not regularly the case in these stories). It was great to see a different part of Greece, outside of Kaldis's usual stomping grounds of Aegean islands and Athens. The Teacher loose end of the previous installment is not invoked here (at least not directly?) while a future case, perhaps on Crete is nicely teased while justice is exacted here without our police protagonists being any the wiser. How could it not be the case in Greece's version of the wild west? ( )

A twisty, fast-paced mystery. Detective Yianni Kouros pays a visit to his Uncle, a retired crime boss with a plan to break the cycle of revenge that has taken so much of his family. Kouros' quiet investigation into the death threats the uncle has been receiving becomes an urgent search when the uncle is killed and his daughter cries for vengeance. While Kouros seeks his uncle's killer, Chief inspector Kaldis is on the trail of high-level government corruption that may have ties to Kouros' uncle's murder.

This is an enjoyable mystery interwoven with Greek history and culture. The land itself is a character in the story and the descriptions are vivid and compelling. Being the sixth story in the series, the main characters are well established, but that may prove a disadvantage to those who start with this book, as I did. Still, the story was well told and enjoyable enough to make me want to read more in this series.

Note: this review is based on an ARC received from the publisher ( )

This satisfying sixth Andreas Kaldis mystery is quite a change of pace from the high octane, adrenaline-charged action of its predecessor, Mykonos After Midnight. Once again author Jeffrey Siger highlights an area of Greece and weaves its history and culture into his narrative; this time the very tip of the Peloponessian Peninsula which will be familiar to many once Sparta is mentioned. Many readers (and devotees of The Godfather films) are familiar with vendettas being a way of life in Sicily, but what may surprise them is that vendettas are just as important in the Mani. One of the things I found so fascinating about Sons of Sparta is the code of conduct surrounding vendettas in that area. There are rules, and they must be obeyed.

It is Kouros's show in this book, with Kaldis and Tasso working on the periphery, and it's quite a tangled investigation, but there is still plenty of the comraderie and humor that are Siger's trademarks. And as for trademarks, the author's ability to portray what is currently happening in Greece is as strong as ever. Greece is a country in severe financial difficulties, and the foreign criminal elements arriving in an attempt to carve up lucrative "business deals" for themselves is sickening-- reminding me of vultures fighting over the best morsels before the animal has even died. What is heartening is that Siger also shows that there are men and women who are dedicated to doing what's right even if it comes at high personal cost.

Jeffrey Siger's books are a feast for the mind and the senses: an intriguing mystery to solve, one of the best teams of detectives in all of crime fiction, and a wonderful setting all skillfully blended with action, humor, and a touch of steamy sex. I know that I'm preaching to the choir with many, but as for those of you who have yet to read a mystery by Jeffrey Siger... what are you waiting for? ( )