What do you think?
Rate this book
Seymour of Special Branch #3
A Dead Man in Athens
When the prime minister of 1913 Greece hatches a poorly received plan to unite his people throughout the Mediterranean, CID Foreign Office investigator Seymour is dispatched by Scotland Yard to address the ensuing chaos.
221 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2006
5 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Michael Pearce
54 books53 followersMichael Pearce grew up in the (then) Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. He returned there later to teach, and retains a human rights interest in the area. He retired from his academic post to write full time.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 23, 2020
A Dead Man in Athens by Michael Pearce is the third book of the Seymour of Special Branch historical mystery series. It's the autumn of 1912. Seymour is in Athens to investigate the death of the Sultan's cat. British diplomats fear the cat may have been practice, before the real target: the deposed Ottoman Sultan. With Athens a tinderbox waiting for a spark to ignite war, British and French agencies agree: investigating the cat's death is a useful distraction. Why Seymour from Scotland Yard? His fluency in many languages, not from a posh education, but from his life in London's East End.
Seymour teams with Dr. Metaxas, one of many physicians who attend the Sultan. Metaxas is far more interested in spending his time in cafes than with a hypochondriac Sultan. Seymour enjoys visits with the Metaxas family: son Andreas is caught up in the city-wide fascination with Bleriot machines (airplanes); daughter Aphrodite is an assertive feminist; their mother is fiercely against war.
On numerous visits to the Sultan's residence, Seymour patiently and persistently questions all members of the Sultan's household. He insists upon speaking with all servants, and with members of the harem. A few of the wives are interested in contact with a man who can share news of the outside world (strictly forbidden). Seymour diligently identifies and speaks with each person who is involved with feeding the cat (however slight or short their task). It takes all Seymour's determination, tact and cleverness to outwit all the objections to interviewing wives, servants, officials. The investigation crawls along at snail's pace due to extensive security checks and multiple layers of servants. But in this third episode, more than in the two earlier books, Seymour's repeat encounters with time-wasting bureaucratic protocols are seasoned with humor. The pompousness of the Sultan's servant hierarchy is amusing as he outwits them. As in the previous books, the story provides a fascinating glimpse into daily life at a pivotal location on the brink of war.
Seymour teams with Dr. Metaxas, one of many physicians who attend the Sultan. Metaxas is far more interested in spending his time in cafes than with a hypochondriac Sultan. Seymour enjoys visits with the Metaxas family: son Andreas is caught up in the city-wide fascination with Bleriot machines (airplanes); daughter Aphrodite is an assertive feminist; their mother is fiercely against war.
On numerous visits to the Sultan's residence, Seymour patiently and persistently questions all members of the Sultan's household. He insists upon speaking with all servants, and with members of the harem. A few of the wives are interested in contact with a man who can share news of the outside world (strictly forbidden). Seymour diligently identifies and speaks with each person who is involved with feeding the cat (however slight or short their task). It takes all Seymour's determination, tact and cleverness to outwit all the objections to interviewing wives, servants, officials. The investigation crawls along at snail's pace due to extensive security checks and multiple layers of servants. But in this third episode, more than in the two earlier books, Seymour's repeat encounters with time-wasting bureaucratic protocols are seasoned with humor. The pompousness of the Sultan's servant hierarchy is amusing as he outwits them. As in the previous books, the story provides a fascinating glimpse into daily life at a pivotal location on the brink of war.
August 23, 2018
I picked up an old copy of this in Caffe Nero and started to read. It's a short, deft crime story set a few years before the First World War. Seymour, a linguistically competent member of the English Special Branch is sent to Athens to investigate the suspected poisoning of the exiled Turkish Sultan's cat - it is feared this death was a dry run for an attempt on the life of the ex-Sultan himself.
The narrative is wry and quietly amusing, as well as entertainingly informative of Balkan politics in the years immediately preceding the First World War. I enjoyed it so much that I am now actively seeking out the others in the series to read.
The narrative is wry and quietly amusing, as well as entertainingly informative of Balkan politics in the years immediately preceding the First World War. I enjoyed it so much that I am now actively seeking out the others in the series to read.
July 30, 2016
A Dead Man in Athens by Michael Pearce is set in Greece during 1912. The country is on the brink of war and there is much unrest--tension between the Greeks and the Ottoman Empire; tension between the older Greeks who have seen enough of war and the young, eager Greek men who want to prepare for war and want to use the new aircraft, the French Blériot machines, to help in the impending hostilities; and tensions surrounding the exiled former Sultan who is living in Salonica.
When the ex-Sultan's beloved cat is poisoned, he believes that it was just a trial-run for an attempt on himself and creates quite a fuss. The British Consulate, as a more neutral party in the area, offers to bring in a detective to investigate the matter discreetly and send for Inspector Seymour of Scotland Yard. The Yard man who is well-known for his skill as a detective as well as his command of several languages has investigated several odd crimes in various far-flung areas of the world. But this is the first time he's been asked to investigate the death of a cat. Then the ex-Sultan begins having intense stomach cramps and it looks like he may have been right about the true target. But what about the death of a British man who was involved with the new aircraft? Does that connect somehow to the poisonings in the Sultan's household? Seymour will have to find out.
Once again Pearce does an excellent job evoking the time and place for his historical mystery. His descriptions are brief but the reader has a definite understanding of the tensions building in this area of the world just prior to the First World War. We are also given a nice peek at a harem--both the general operations and the machinations at work amongst the inmates. He tends to devote a great deal of time to dialogue and tangible clues aren't exactly thick on the ground but he does sprinkle enough hints throughout the conversation that one can (and I did) identify the culprit.
I did find the poisoning of the cat to be interesting. Apparently (it hasn't been entirely clarified), the poison was in the milk. But the cat smelled it and rejected the milk until it was fed candies with marzipan which somehow dulled the sense of smell to the extent that it later drank the milk. Was this a two-part plan? Was the marzipan fed to the cat on purpose and, if so, was the poison really in the chocolates? I found myself more intrigued by the cat's death than the attempt on the ex-Sultan and the death of the British man.....Another solid entry in the historical series.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting.
When the ex-Sultan's beloved cat is poisoned, he believes that it was just a trial-run for an attempt on himself and creates quite a fuss. The British Consulate, as a more neutral party in the area, offers to bring in a detective to investigate the matter discreetly and send for Inspector Seymour of Scotland Yard. The Yard man who is well-known for his skill as a detective as well as his command of several languages has investigated several odd crimes in various far-flung areas of the world. But this is the first time he's been asked to investigate the death of a cat. Then the ex-Sultan begins having intense stomach cramps and it looks like he may have been right about the true target. But what about the death of a British man who was involved with the new aircraft? Does that connect somehow to the poisonings in the Sultan's household? Seymour will have to find out.
Once again Pearce does an excellent job evoking the time and place for his historical mystery. His descriptions are brief but the reader has a definite understanding of the tensions building in this area of the world just prior to the First World War. We are also given a nice peek at a harem--both the general operations and the machinations at work amongst the inmates. He tends to devote a great deal of time to dialogue and tangible clues aren't exactly thick on the ground but he does sprinkle enough hints throughout the conversation that one can (and I did) identify the culprit.
I did find the poisoning of the cat to be interesting. Apparently (it hasn't been entirely clarified), the poison was in the milk. But the cat smelled it and rejected the milk until it was fed candies with marzipan which somehow dulled the sense of smell to the extent that it later drank the milk. Was this a two-part plan? Was the marzipan fed to the cat on purpose and, if so, was the poison really in the chocolates? I found myself more intrigued by the cat's death than the attempt on the ex-Sultan and the death of the British man.....Another solid entry in the historical series.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting.
October 21, 2025
The third installment of Scotland Yard's travelling detective Seymour, lands our hero in Athens within months of the First Balkan War - followed almost immediately by the Second with the Great War close on its heels.
An innocous case of a poisoned cat has thrown the politicians in a tizzy. Complications stem from the collapsing Ottman Empire, the rise of the Young Turks, the growth of a pan-Hellenic movement, and the jockeying position of the Great Powers. Does the dead cat portend things to come? Is it an opening move on the exiled former Ottoman Sultan now resident in Athens, or is it typical positioning for influence within the Sultan's harem?
An interesting read that pokes fun in all directions while also touching on the social and political makeup and issues of the times.
An innocous case of a poisoned cat has thrown the politicians in a tizzy. Complications stem from the collapsing Ottman Empire, the rise of the Young Turks, the growth of a pan-Hellenic movement, and the jockeying position of the Great Powers. Does the dead cat portend things to come? Is it an opening move on the exiled former Ottoman Sultan now resident in Athens, or is it typical positioning for influence within the Sultan's harem?
An interesting read that pokes fun in all directions while also touching on the social and political makeup and issues of the times.
July 21, 2019
Enjoyable and very quick historical/murder/mystery read. Once I accepted that this was written for a British (not U.S.) reading audience the descriptions/dialogue was not a distraction. Interesting plot, very little character development at all. I will likely look at reading the author's other works.
July 29, 2025
This was a pretty good book from the start, it got interesting as it progressed on and I wanted to find out more on what happens furthermore. I liked how Seymour’s character was portrayed which kept the story interesting, but after the second half it felt like it was being repetitive in some of the chapters nonetheless but still had some plot twists hidden throughout.
February 14, 2018
A light read but good nonetheless. A bit of a cosy mystery set in Athens in 1912. Seymour is sent out to Athens as the ex-Sultan's cat is killed. Now, why is someone from Special Branch sent all the way to Greece to investigate a dead cat?
March 18, 2018
Quick read; interesting enough to keep my attention. Read it because it was set in Athens. I would probably read the other books in this series if I happened across them, but I’m not going to go out of my way to seek them out.
March 25, 2022
6/10 4%. BP. Another interesting and funny short read about pre war policing in the Balkans. Light plots as always, good holiday reading.
Read
July 4, 2023DNF
March 11, 2012
Very old-fashioned as its style, and not just because the story is set in 1912. Seymour is acting as a detective, but like with all the Hercule Poirot and Perry Mason era detectives, there isn't much actual investigation and close to zero forensics, just mostly talking to and chasing some odd (some interesting) characters. I guess the nicer term for the too old fashioned (and sometimes boring because of that) mysteries would be "cozy"?
The case that sends Seymour to do his investigations in Athens is the cat of a Turkish sultan residing there. The cat is murdered, and this could cause an international crisis, as the Turks, Greeks, and everyone else would not agree who killed the cat. And perhaps next they are to kill the sultan... the investigations while talking to the harem ladies about what happened the day the cat was poisoned is hilarious. What an estrogen mafia... later, fortunate for the mystery, also a man is murdered, so it doesn't turn out to be only about who murdered the cat.
The idea of setting the story in another time and exotic location is brilliant, but I'm not sure I can imagine what Athens was in 1912. Nearly all women in the story were irritating; the harem women seemed to be jus veiled estrogen issues and bitching with entitlement attitude and talking BS behind others' backs, then Aphrodite (a Greek whose name has English spelling? Odd. Like Chloe... I'd have thought it would have more a Greek spelling available) has some grandiose feminist ideas (she'd be unhappy in 2012 too).
Oh, and a cat who is murdered by feeding him poisoned chocolate with alcohol and marzipan filling - when did you last see a cat who'd eat chocolate or marzipan? One of my cats was a fan of peanuts when he was small, but I've never seen a cat be fond of sweet stuff.
It'd still make a nice travel read, for those who crave for an occasional cozy.
The case that sends Seymour to do his investigations in Athens is the cat of a Turkish sultan residing there. The cat is murdered, and this could cause an international crisis, as the Turks, Greeks, and everyone else would not agree who killed the cat. And perhaps next they are to kill the sultan... the investigations while talking to the harem ladies about what happened the day the cat was poisoned is hilarious. What an estrogen mafia... later, fortunate for the mystery, also a man is murdered, so it doesn't turn out to be only about who murdered the cat.
The idea of setting the story in another time and exotic location is brilliant, but I'm not sure I can imagine what Athens was in 1912. Nearly all women in the story were irritating; the harem women seemed to be jus veiled estrogen issues and bitching with entitlement attitude and talking BS behind others' backs, then Aphrodite (a Greek whose name has English spelling? Odd. Like Chloe... I'd have thought it would have more a Greek spelling available) has some grandiose feminist ideas (she'd be unhappy in 2012 too).
Oh, and a cat who is murdered by feeding him poisoned chocolate with alcohol and marzipan filling - when did you last see a cat who'd eat chocolate or marzipan? One of my cats was a fan of peanuts when he was small, but I've never seen a cat be fond of sweet stuff.
It'd still make a nice travel read, for those who crave for an occasional cozy.
October 14, 2024
🍷🍷🍷
Yep, it’s that good! Third of the seven “Seymour of Special Branch” books Pearce wrote, it’s the best one yet. It’s 1912, Greece and Turkey are continuing their endless dance of enmity, with war being a constant threat, and the penniless Greeks somehow manage to wangle themselves three “Blériot machines” (early version of airplanes, designed by the Frenchman who got them to stay aloft, and all the rage at the time) and it seems even the new secular rulers in Turkey are inflamed that the Greeks are using them to taunt the deposed Sultan, now domiciled in Athens. And then, even worse, the Sultan’s cat is poisoned! Zut alors!
Before the rising tensions threaten to blow the top off things, the British diplomats trying to keep things tamped down beseech Downing Street to send someone to quell the uproar…and of course, the Foreign Office is once again in need of the humble Scotland Yard cop, Seymour of “Special Branch” (criminal investigations) who is their only man with the requisite multi-lingual skills to mediate between the parties while figuring out “who dun it” (killed the cat, of course - the Sultan is quite definite in his resolve that this be revenged!)
These books are so fun, with fast breezy plots and dialogue, charming “caricature” characters, and of course a fully satisfying solution! Pearce is well able to maintain the slyly humorous aspect of the whole thing, such that the faster one turns the pages the more one hopes the story won’t soon end! A tour de force.
Yep, it’s that good! Third of the seven “Seymour of Special Branch” books Pearce wrote, it’s the best one yet. It’s 1912, Greece and Turkey are continuing their endless dance of enmity, with war being a constant threat, and the penniless Greeks somehow manage to wangle themselves three “Blériot machines” (early version of airplanes, designed by the Frenchman who got them to stay aloft, and all the rage at the time) and it seems even the new secular rulers in Turkey are inflamed that the Greeks are using them to taunt the deposed Sultan, now domiciled in Athens. And then, even worse, the Sultan’s cat is poisoned! Zut alors!
Before the rising tensions threaten to blow the top off things, the British diplomats trying to keep things tamped down beseech Downing Street to send someone to quell the uproar…and of course, the Foreign Office is once again in need of the humble Scotland Yard cop, Seymour of “Special Branch” (criminal investigations) who is their only man with the requisite multi-lingual skills to mediate between the parties while figuring out “who dun it” (killed the cat, of course - the Sultan is quite definite in his resolve that this be revenged!)
These books are so fun, with fast breezy plots and dialogue, charming “caricature” characters, and of course a fully satisfying solution! Pearce is well able to maintain the slyly humorous aspect of the whole thing, such that the faster one turns the pages the more one hopes the story won’t soon end! A tour de force.
August 10, 2014
The British Foreign Office CID agent Seymour continues his clockwise tour of the Mediterranean with his latest stop in Athens as the Greeks inches toward the first Balkan War. The immediate victim may be both a rouse and and a farce - the recently exiled Ottoman Sultan's cat. So exactly who is the 'Dead Man'? Eventually Seymour will get to that as he meanders in his typical Columbo-esque fashion chatting up all the main players in Athen's complex social and political circles.
The appeal - that somehow manages to keep me coming back - to these lightweight mystery novels is two simple ploys: the play-like dialogue that offers no shortage of humours banter and the subtle history lessons learned about this sliver of time before Europe exploded. With special attention to the local social-cultural scene, Michael Pearce's novels invariably open the door for a little extra research. Now I know what a Bleriot machine is.
I gave this Athenian episode a slightly lower score than usual as the story took longer to get going and the array of characters started to look all the same as Seymour's investigation progressed. However since I seem to have signed up for the full tour, I am curious to explore what else Seymour discovers about the locals - both dead and alive - in Naples, Istanbul and Malta.
The appeal - that somehow manages to keep me coming back - to these lightweight mystery novels is two simple ploys: the play-like dialogue that offers no shortage of humours banter and the subtle history lessons learned about this sliver of time before Europe exploded. With special attention to the local social-cultural scene, Michael Pearce's novels invariably open the door for a little extra research. Now I know what a Bleriot machine is.
I gave this Athenian episode a slightly lower score than usual as the story took longer to get going and the array of characters started to look all the same as Seymour's investigation progressed. However since I seem to have signed up for the full tour, I am curious to explore what else Seymour discovers about the locals - both dead and alive - in Naples, Istanbul and Malta.
March 15, 2016
A decent read, especially for waiting rooms, which is where I read most of it. Not a fast-moving plot and most of the characters would not be called dynamic. The mystery was decent and the people were decent and the setting (pre-WWI Athens) was decent -- which was in keeping with what I expected. So British. I did enjoy the fact that this book was set in Athens and involved the deposed Sultan from Istanbul, because I read in part as a prelude to my trip next month to Athens which will include a day in Istanbul. Sad about the death of the cat, which was the original case that Seymour was called in to investigate -- although apparently only the Sultan loved the poor thing. The interwoven story line of the Bleriot machines (airplanes) was also interesting. I will read more of Seymour's adventures if I come across them.
July 27, 2010
This version was the audio book by Chivers Audio Books read by Clive Mantle.
I found Clive Mantle's voice very pleasant to listen to, but I found my attention wandering from the plot.
The story follows Seymour as he tries to find out what has happened to the exiled Sultan's cat. There is a murder and sabotage too. I found the plot difficult to concentrate on, I'm afraid. The characters are not very likeable or particularly plausible and I felt little sympathy for their plight.
If I had been reading a book, I really think I would have abandoned reading it quite early on.
I found Clive Mantle's voice very pleasant to listen to, but I found my attention wandering from the plot.
The story follows Seymour as he tries to find out what has happened to the exiled Sultan's cat. There is a murder and sabotage too. I found the plot difficult to concentrate on, I'm afraid. The characters are not very likeable or particularly plausible and I felt little sympathy for their plight.
If I had been reading a book, I really think I would have abandoned reading it quite early on.
May 24, 2011
In 1912, Scotland Yard detective Sandor Seymour leaves London's East End for Athens to investigate the poisoning of the cat of the exiled Sultan of Turkey. To avoid any incident that might incite a war in the fragile Balkans, Seymour must prove that the sultan was not the intended target. The story is mildly amusing. Most interesting is the Greek infatuation with the new-fangled flying machines that also play a role in the plot.
July 5, 2013
Oof, slow-paced, long-winded and kinda boring, except for the delightful details of Blériot machines and love potions in the harem. Of the 7 in Pearce's "A Dead Man in..." series, this goes with the other of its ilk, Trieste. In the end, Tangier, Istanbul, Naples were best, Malta shaky and Barcelona yet to go. It is refreshing to have a look at the Balkans and the lead-up to WWI, but a better pace, sharp characters and more good local color would have helped this one.
March 27, 2013
Best of this series so far. Seymour, a British police officer, is sent to Athens in 1912 to investigate a seemingly minor crime, the poisoning of an ex Sultan's cat. Before long the bodies pile up, and the tensions between Greece and the rest of the Balkan area are definitely serious business. A well written and tight mystery set in a fascinating place at the brink of WWI.
June 24, 2014
I liked it--especially the setting and "backdrop" for the mystery, issues surrounding the Ottoman Empire right before WWI. However, nothing was really fleshed out enough. The story idea was great and frequently humorous, but the author didn't do nearly as much as he could have with these advantages.
April 21, 2008
this book was set right before the first world war, as his previous book was. It details some of the problems leading to it that happened in the Balkans. It is a bit interesting, but not overwhelmingly so.
July 24, 2013
This series promises exotic locales and an interesting historical setting, but its characters are only sketchily drawn and it isn't much of a mystery.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/a...
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/a...
October 23, 2008
Just an okay mystery found at the library.
July 10, 2011
This is one of those stories that you must learn a little history if you are going to understand anything at all about it. Thank heaven for Wikipedia.
July 17, 2023
Good period mystery - and I learned more about early 20th century Greek and Turkish politics.
September 14, 2017
Challenge category: cozy mystery
April 21, 2017
Love this series. This one was particularly great fun.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews