Home Short Stories Novels Anthologies Eras Interviews
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Author
[Character] Book. Notes. |
Place |
Time |
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Anna Apostolou
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| see
Paul
C. Doherty |
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[Pliny
the Younger, Roman administrator (A.D. 61-112), & |
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All Roads Lead to Murder: A Case from the Notebooks of Pliny
the Younger (2002) |
Smyrna |
A.D.
83 |
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| Traveling
back to Rome in a caravan Pliny and Tacitus stop overnight in Smyrna,
where a member of the caravan is brutally murdered. |
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| see also the Darrell Schweitzer's short story featuring Pliny the Younger. | |||||||||
| Peter Carnahan |
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[Hermion,
Spartan captain]
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Pharnabazus Sits on the Ground With the Spartan Captains (2002) |
The
Hellespont |
396
BC. |
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| Hermion,
a grizzled and battle-weary Spartan captain, tells the story of a meeting
with a local Persian ruler, Pharnabazus, on the shores of the Hellespont,
the river separating Europe and Asia. The encounter raises questions about
the death of the brilliant Athenian politician and general Alcibiades. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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see
also Daniel Chavarria's novel featuring
Alcibiades;
and Peter T. Garratt's short story featuring Alcibiades. |
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| Daniel Chavarria |
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[Alcibiades,
Athenian general (c.450-404 B.C.)
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The Eye of Cybele: A Novel |
Athens
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434-429 B.C. |
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An
epic mystery, set in ancient Greece in the time of Pericles & his great
love Aspasia, finds a mad
priest and an entrancing whore joining the likes of Alcibiades and
Socrates in a quest for a lost jewel - the Dyndimenian Eye. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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see
also Peter Carnahan's novel featuring Alcibiades ; and Peter T.
Garratt's short story featuring
Alcibiades. |
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see also Breni James Gillian Linscott's story featuring Socrates |
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Agatha Christie |
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[Hercule
Poirot, private detective] |
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The Labors of Hercules |
England |
20th
Century |
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A collection of short mysteries in which Hercule Poirot takes on 12 cases that parallel the Labors of Hercules from Greek mythology. |
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Clyde B. Clason |
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[Theocritus
Westborough, classical scholar] |
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Murder
Gone Minoan |
California |
20th
Century |
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Wealthy eccentric Greek Alexis Paphlagloss has recreated the Minoan palace of Knossos on an island off the coast of California, and when a rare Minoan goddess statue is stolen, elderly classical scholar and amateur sleuth Theocritus Westborough is brought in to investigate. |
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Lindsey Davis |
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[Marcus
Didius Falco] The
Falco Mysteries are set in 1st Century A.D. Rome.
Mentioned here are those novels taking place in Rome's province of Greece. For the entire series, see Amazon.com
or the Official
Lindsey Davis website. |
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See Delphi and Die |
Greece |
A.D. 77 |
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Falco is sent to Greece to ensure a young scholar finds his university without being sidetracked by sport, corpses, or the Seven Wonders of the World. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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| see also Lindsey Davis' short story featuring Milo of Croton & Pythagoras | |||||||||
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[Alexander
the Great, King of Macedonia and Greece (356-323 B.C.) & friends] |
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A Murder in Macedon |
Macedon |
336 B.C. |
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| (written
as Anna Apostolou) In the dark days that followed the murder of Philip of Macedon, suspicion and fear fill the royal palace. Philip's son, Alexander, sets out to find the culprit with help from two Hebrew friends, Miriam and Simeon. |
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A
Murder in Thebes |
Thebes,
Greece |
335
B.C. |
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(written as Anna Apostolou) |
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The House of Death |
The Hellespont |
334 B.C. |
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"Anxious
to dominate the Persian empire... Alexander the Great awaits a sign from
the gods. He instead finds intrigue, secret agendas, spies, and murder.
The appearance of boyhood friend Telamon gives him a trusted ear he
hopes." |
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The Godless Man |
Ephesus |
334
B.C. |
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| "After the Battle of the Granicus, in which Alexander defeated the Persian armies, several murders in Ephesus threaten to delay Alexander's "clean up" of his enemies. His friend and doctor, Telamon, takes charge of the investigation, with help from the Master of Secrets." (Library Journal) | |||||||||
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The Gates of Hell
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Halicarnassus |
334 B.C. |
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"When Alexander's determination to invade and conquer Halicarnassus, a city inextricably linked to his infamous father, is threatened by an unsettling series of murders within his own inner circle, Telamon must use his considerable powers of detection in order to uncover a treasonous plot linked to the legendary Pythian manuscript." (Booklist) |
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see also the Theodore Mathiesen's short story featuring Alexander the Great. |
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| [Non-fiction] |
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The Death of Alexander the
Great: What or Who Really Killed the Young Conqueror of the Known World? |
Babylon |
323
B.C. |
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Doherty
scrutinizes the circumstances surrounding Alexander's death as he lay
sweating beside a swimming pool in the summer palace of the Persian kings.
Did Alexander die of alcoholism, a hideous bout of malaria, or were other
factors involved? |
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| Read an interview with Doherty by the Historical Novel Society | |||||||||
| [Aristotle,
philosopher, (384-322 B.C.) & Stephanos] |
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Aristotle Detective (1978; reissued 2002) |
Athens |
332
B.C. |
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Athens is unhappily under the rule of the Macedonian "barbarian"
Alexander the Great. In the midst of this unrest, Boutades, an eminent
citizen, is found brutally murdered. Suspicion falls heavily on young
Philemon, and his cousin Stephanos is elected to defend
his name in court. In desperation, Stephanos seeks assistance from
Aristotle, his former mentor...and Aristotle turns Detective. |
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Aristotle and Poetic
Justice |
Athens |
330 B.C. |
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Stephanos and Aristotle are drawn into solving the perplexing abduction case of Anthia, the heiress of a prominent silver merchant. Someone has snatched her from her home, but what is the motive: rape, a forced marriage or murder? All that is known is that the abductor and the heiress are on the road to Delphi and its ancient oracle. |
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The Secrets of Life |
Athens & |
330 B.C. |
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Aristotle and Stephanos both find reasons to leave the hostile atmosphere of Athens. With a varied cast of travelers they set sail across the Aegean Sea to the sacred Isle of Delos, to Mykonos and beyond to the coast of Asia Minor. There they will soon be caught up in investigating conspiracy and murder. But first they need to survive life on the high seas. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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Poison in Athens |
Athens |
330 B.C. |
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Three law cases are exciting Athens. Misogyny, political wrath, and lack of judgment bring affairs to a boiling point, stimulating Aristotle to intervene. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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Mysteries in Eleusis |
Athens
& |
329 B.C. |
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A series of thefts in Athens seem to have some connection with a little shop that makes statuettes of Demeter and Kore. Stephanos and Aristotle decide to become initiates of Demeter. Their new connection with the Mysteries at Eleusis allows them to observe some things that don't add up. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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Read an interview
with Margaret Doody.
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[Baudolino] |
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Baudolino |
Constantinople & elsewhere |
A.D. 1204 |
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Baudolino recounts his picaresque tale to famed
Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates, and
manages to touch on nearly every major theme of
the Middle Ages: the Crusades; the Holy Grail; cathedral cities; the Jews;
Prester John; sacred relics; and the
perennial power struggles between pope and emperor.
But the mystery at the heart of this story is, who killed Frederick
Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor, on his way to join the Crusade? |
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[Bias, a priest] |
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Murder at the Panionic
Games |
Priene, Ionia |
650 B.C. |
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| Bias, a minor priest, assists at the opening of the Panionic Games by securing the blessing of Priene's reigning deity, Poseidon. But while the games are being blessed, Priene's best athlete is poisoned and dies in Bias's arms. The citizens perceive Bias to be infected by the "miasma of death" and he is challenged with the responsibility of finding the killer. | |||||||||
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[Chloe, subpriestess of
Artemis Brauronia] |
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Attica |
Classical-era |
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| The sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia, outside Athens, is preparing for its major festival, when a murder takes place in the woods during the 'Sacred Hunt'. A young man, found with the body, seems the obvious suspect and is arrested. But Chloe, the subpriestess of Artemis, is not convinced that he is the murderer and decides to investigate. She discovers that several people had both the motive and the opportunity to kill the victim. | |||||||||
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[Inspector Richard Ringwood] |
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The
Cretan Counterfeit |
London |
A.D. 1950s |
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Alan Gordon |
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[Theophilos
the Fool] The
Fool's Guild Mysteries are set all around Medieval Europe. Here
are listed only those tales taking place in and around Greek-speaking
Byzantium & the Crusades. For the entire series, see Amazon.com. |
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Thirteenth
Night |
Illyria (Balkans) |
A.D.
1201 |
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Set on the Adriatic coast of the Balkans, in the duchy of Orsino, Alan Gordon draws on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night to conjure a mystery filled with enough passion, intrigue, danger, and shifting identities to delight the Bard himself. |
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see
also Kim Newman's short story "This
is Illyria, Lady," and Ron
Tiner's short story "A Kind of Wild Justice,"
based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
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The
Jester Leaps In |
Constantinople |
A.D.
1202 |
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This time Theo is sent to Byzantium to find out why six of his colleagues seem to have vanished and, if he's lucky, to stop an attack on Byzantium itself. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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A
Death
in the Venetian Quarter |
Constantinople |
A.D.
1203 |
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Theophilos
the Fool investigates the murder of a
silk merchant in the Venetian Quarter of Constantinople during a siege by
Crusaders who, instead of traveling to the Holy Land to battle the
infidel, have been subverted to plunder the richest city on Earth. |
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Widow of Jerusalem |
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A.D. 1191 |
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As they journey across the Alps in A.D. 1204,
Theophilos recounts to his wife a story from the Third Crusade, of the
most beautiful woman in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and her dwarf jester,
Scarlet. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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see
also the short
stories featuring Theophilos
the Fool. |
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[Demetrios
Askiates] |
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Mosaic
of Shadows |
Constantinople |
A.D. 1096 |
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Set in medieval Constantinople at the time of the First Crusade, Demetrios Askiatesis commissioned to investigate an assassination attempt on the Emperor's life. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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Knights of the Cross |
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A.D. 1098 |
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Set at the Siege of Antioch during the First Crusade, among squabbling princes and rival armies, Demetrios Askiates is commissioned to investigate the murder of a Norman Knight.
[Amazon.com
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Siege of Heaven |
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A.D. 1098 |
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Nearly a year after the capture of Antioch, the crusaders reach Jerusalem. And when at last, after a three-day onslaught, the city falls, Demetrios must find his family while the crusaders' journey reaches its terrible apotheosis in a nightmare of violence, bloodshed and slaughter. |
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| Patrick
Hatten |
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[Idas,
a merchant] |
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Champion of the Dead |
Athens |
5th Century B.C. |
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Idas
seeks the killer of his boxing mentor and idol Lamachus, the
"Champion of Athens", who mysteriously dropped dead in a match
with the brutish "Bull of Corinth". |
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[Lysanias] |
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Death Comes
by Amphora |
Athens |
461 B.C. |
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In Ancient Athens in 461BC, aristocratic
General Kimon has driven back the might of the Persian Empire and is now
struggling for his political existence against the radical democratic
reforms of the demagogue Ephialtes and his ambitious supporter Perikles.
Into this political turmoil steps Lysanias, 18, an innocent amidst the
deceit and corruption of the big city. Recalled from an Athenian colony
by a mysterious message from his wealthy uncle Klereides, he discovers
that his uncle has died in suspicious circumstances, that he is the
heir, and that his obligations now include marrying his uncle's teenage
widow. Driven by the ancient duty of vengeance, Lysanias sets out to
discover the truth, aided by his elderly slave Sindron.
[US: Amazon.com
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Fraud
Under the Akropolis |
Athens |
c.461 B.C. |
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The detective duo of young Lysanias and his
aging slave Sindron take their second foray into the politicking and
corruption of a less than golden age. |
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Paul Levinson |
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| [Sierra Waters] | |||||||||
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The Plot to
Save Socrates |
Athens |
399 B.C. |
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This time-travel tale ponders the problem of saving someone who refuses to be saved, in this case Socrates, the Athenian philosopher condemned to death in a shameful moment for democracy. Inspired by a newly discovered dialogue of Socrates in which he's offered escape by time travel, Sierra Waters, classics grad student in 2042, joins her professor, Thomas O'Leary, in a quest to return to the past. But the wily thinker, out to embarrass Athens, will have none of it. |
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[Black] |
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My
Name is Red |
Istanbul |
16th Century |
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Master miniaturists and illuminators are commissioned to illustrate a book celebrating the sultan. Soon one of them lies dead at the bottom of a well. A number of narrators give testimony to what they know about the circumstances surrounding the murder. And as the novel progresses, the reader is given not only a good murder mystery, but also a provocative exploration of the nature of art in an Islamic society. |
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[Crispin
Almond] |
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Death Mask |
Greece & England |
20th Century |
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A
non-series mystery. When archaeologist Bruce Almond is killed on a
dig in Greece, his son Crispin returns to Somerset, convinced his
father's death was no accident. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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| [John the
Eunuch, Lord Chamberlain to Byzantine Emperor Justinian (A.D.
527-565)] For more on John, see Mary Reed & Eric
Mayer |
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One For Sorrow |
Constantinople |
A.D. 535 |
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Thomas,
a knight from Britain, Ahasuerus, a soothsayer, and two ladies from Crete
stir up events and old memories for John, who must ask how the visitors
link to the death of Leukos, Keeper of the Plate. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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Two For Joy |
Constantinople |
A.D. 537 |
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John
must discover why Constantinople's holy stylites are bursting into
flames as they stand atop their pillars. A pagan philosophy tutor and a
heretical Christian prophet handicap his investigation. Then murder
strikes too close to home and John has only a few days to save the city. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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Three For A Letter
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in and near Constantinople |
A.D. 539 |
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During the performance of a play at a banquet honoring the two young diplomatic hostages (8-year old twins descended from the last Ostrogothic king), death makes an entrance and claims one brother. Then Empress Theodora's favorite mime vanishes and John is ordered to find both the missing mime and the murderer. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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Four For A Boy
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Constantinople |
A.D. 525 |
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Series
prequel. When a wealthy philanthropist is killed in broad daylight in the
Great Church, it isn't entirely surprising that the future ruler,
Justinian, engages an anonymous young slave called John to investigate
what many believe could be part of a succession conspiracy. [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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Five for Silver
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Constantinople |
A.D.
542 |
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In
plague-stricken Constantinople, John's aged servant, Peter, has an angelic
vision that Gregory, a close friend from his army days, has been murdered.
Distraught, Peter asks John to find the killer... John proceeds to
interview everyone who may be connected to the crime from lawyers to
doctors, from prostitutes to a holy fool who dances with the dead in the
streets.
(Publisher's Weekly) [US: Amazon.com] [Canada: Amazon.ca] [UK: Amazon.co.uk]
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Six for Gold |
Egypt |
c. A.D.
543 |
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Why are sheep in a remote Egyptian village
cutting their own throats?...That's the mystery Emperor Justinian
in-explicably sends his Lord Chamberlain John the Eunuch to solve.
Mehenopolis, a pilgrim destination thanks to its ancient shrine to a snake
deity (as well as the home of the late sheep) is nearly as byzantine in
its ways as Constantinople. |
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Seven for a
Secret |
Constantinople |
c. A.D.
544 |
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Who killed the mosaic girl? As Lord Chamberlain,
John spends his days counseling Emperor Justinian while passing the
small hours of night in conversation with the solemn-eyed little girl
depicted in a mosaic on his study wall. He never expected to meet her in
a public square or afterwards find her red-dyed corpse in a subterranean
cistern. Her death leads John to
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see
also their
series of short stories featuring John
the Eunuch. |
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[Heracles
Pontor, the "Decipherer of Enigmas"] |
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The
Athenian Murders |
Athens |
c. 399-347
B.C. |
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A
pupil of Plato's Academy is found dead. His teacher Diagoras
asks the famous Heracles Pontor, the "Decipherer of Enigmas," to
investigate. Simultaneously, a second plot unfolds: that of the
modern-day translator of the ancient text, who becomes convinced that
the original author has hidden a secret meaning in the text. |
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[High Priestess Iliona
of Sparta] |
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Blind Eye |
Sparta & Sicily |
466
B.C. |
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This is a new series set in Ancient Greece from
the creator of "Claudia Seferius." Blackmailed into spying for Sparta's
hated secret police, High Priestess Iliona has no option but to play along
with its ruthless commander, Lysander. But as the purpose of the mission
unfolds, Iliona comes to realize that the threat to her country doesn't
come from the arch-enemy, Athens; it comes from deep within Sparta itself. [US: Amazon.com
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Sparta |
c. 466
B.C. |
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On the night when rites are held to avert
witchcraft, three bodies are found in bizarre circumstances, and for the
rulers of Sparta, the timing is terrible. Hosting a trade delegation that
has traveled all the way from the Black Sea, the last thing they want is
for their delicate negotiations to be undermined by allegations of black
magic. Lysander, head of Sparta's hated Secret Police, is called to
investigate. He enlists the help of High Priestess Iliona, who soon
uncovers plots of conspiracy, murder, kidnap and adultery. |
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June 02, 2009
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