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Philocles #2
Scorpions in Corinth
The Persian War is over and wealthy Athenians are looking to expand alliances overseas.
Popular playwright Philocles and his actors are hired to take his latest play to Corinth, to promote goodwill between the two cities. But on arrival, their guide and fixer Eumelos drops dead - a victim of poison.
Philocles is convinced someone is out to sabotage the play, and to find out who - and why - he must first uncover the murderer.
But in Corinth the ruling oligarchs seem more interested in commerce than justice. And with the city's religious brotherhoods pursuing their own vicious rivalries, asking the wrong questions could get an outsider like Philocles killed . . .
Popular playwright Philocles and his actors are hired to take his latest play to Corinth, to promote goodwill between the two cities. But on arrival, their guide and fixer Eumelos drops dead - a victim of poison.
Philocles is convinced someone is out to sabotage the play, and to find out who - and why - he must first uncover the murderer.
But in Corinth the ruling oligarchs seem more interested in commerce than justice. And with the city's religious brotherhoods pursuing their own vicious rivalries, asking the wrong questions could get an outsider like Philocles killed . . .
297 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 7, 2020
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52 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 12, 2025
Phillies and his troupe of actors travel to.Corinth.
After the success of his play (The Builders) Philocles and his actor companions have been hired to travel to.Corinth and .perform the play there. Unfortunately there is a faction in the city that would like to see them immediately set sail back to Athens, failing that this group will do whatever it takes to make sure the play is a whopping failure.................... Then a man who's supposed to aid them dies while the same night the man's slave disappears, is it the same group of troublemakers or is there something more going.on.........Phillies feels compelled to try to find answers...............
After the success of his play (The Builders) Philocles and his actor companions have been hired to travel to.Corinth and .perform the play there. Unfortunately there is a faction in the city that would like to see them immediately set sail back to Athens, failing that this group will do whatever it takes to make sure the play is a whopping failure.................... Then a man who's supposed to aid them dies while the same night the man's slave disappears, is it the same group of troublemakers or is there something more going.on.........Phillies feels compelled to try to find answers...............
August 3, 2020
What can I say, a fabulous book. I loved it as much as her first book in the series. You can imagine Ancient Greece, it comes to life almost like watching a film. Philocles is a very likeable character as are his wife and others in his entourage. It's very clever how they manage to work things out and solve the crimes. I really really hope that the series continues, five stars for sure.
January 8, 2020
At the beginning of 2019 I enjoyed reading Shadows of Athens, which is this authors first historical mystery, so I was delighted to read this second thriller in the series, which, once again focuses the attention on playwright, Philocles, and his troop of actors, who always seem to get drawn into a particularly challenging murder/mystery. Travelling from Athens to perform their latest production in Corinth should be straightforward but then their guide, Eumelos, drops dead, seemingly as a result of poisoning.
What then follows is a classic whodunnit in which Philocles, and his disparate group of actors, get drawn into trying to discover just who responsible for the death of Eumelos whilst at the same time trying to keep the peace in a different sort of setting and with a culture that is unlike what they are used to in Athens.
The author writes this type of historical mystery with a good eye for detail and brings the ancient classical world to life in a meaningful way. There are twists and turns aplenty and the plot travelled along quite nicely with more than enough going on to keep me guessing. Scorpions in Corinth is an interesting murder/ mystery which I am sure will appeal to those who enjoy reading about the classical world of ancient Greece and whilst book #2 can be read as an enjoyable standalone it would be better to get to know the idiosyncrasies of Philocles, and his actors, by reading Shadows of Athens first.
What then follows is a classic whodunnit in which Philocles, and his disparate group of actors, get drawn into trying to discover just who responsible for the death of Eumelos whilst at the same time trying to keep the peace in a different sort of setting and with a culture that is unlike what they are used to in Athens.
The author writes this type of historical mystery with a good eye for detail and brings the ancient classical world to life in a meaningful way. There are twists and turns aplenty and the plot travelled along quite nicely with more than enough going on to keep me guessing. Scorpions in Corinth is an interesting murder/ mystery which I am sure will appeal to those who enjoy reading about the classical world of ancient Greece and whilst book #2 can be read as an enjoyable standalone it would be better to get to know the idiosyncrasies of Philocles, and his actors, by reading Shadows of Athens first.
January 5, 2020
Another excellent historical mystery by JM Alvey! It's a dense, entertaining story set in 5th century Greece of Pericles' time. Philocles the playwright has been invited by his ex-patron's allies to stage his successful play in Corinth, and his new patron's fixer, a likable guy named Eumelos, is murdered with poison. Philocles, his girlfriend, and his troupe of actors now have to find out who killed Eumelos to appease the gods, to keep the relationships of the two cities from fraying, and most importantly, to save their own skins.
I'd actually give this 4 and a half stars; I enjoyed this even more than the first book, because it feels the author has really gotten into the groove of the series. There's less info-dumping or "As you know Bob" dialogue. "Scorpions" is twisty and fast-paced with lots of action and really authentic atmosphere. There's so much cool stuff about the cultures of the different city-states at the time; it feels very lived-in and real, which I appreciated. The pacing is great, the dialogue is modernized in a believable way, and there doesn't seem to me any distracting anachronistic attitudes. The whodunit is satisfying and well-crafted, and I like how the ensemble cast worked together.
Anyway, I enjoyed this very much, and I highly recommend it. I can't wait for the next book in the series!
I'd actually give this 4 and a half stars; I enjoyed this even more than the first book, because it feels the author has really gotten into the groove of the series. There's less info-dumping or "As you know Bob" dialogue. "Scorpions" is twisty and fast-paced with lots of action and really authentic atmosphere. There's so much cool stuff about the cultures of the different city-states at the time; it feels very lived-in and real, which I appreciated. The pacing is great, the dialogue is modernized in a believable way, and there doesn't seem to me any distracting anachronistic attitudes. The whodunit is satisfying and well-crafted, and I like how the ensemble cast worked together.
Anyway, I enjoyed this very much, and I highly recommend it. I can't wait for the next book in the series!
September 15, 2019
I'm a fan of good mystery thrillers and this book had me interested from the time I got the book. And it turned out to be an engrossing and entertaining book. The book was quite well researched and the characters were likeable and well written and was quite able to keep me interested till the very end.. Overall an enjoyable book and one that I won't hesitate to recommend to anyone who's looking for a good historical mystery. And a big thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for giving me this ARC in exchange of my honest review.
February 3, 2023
Tragedy and a little Comedy in Corinth
The second book in the Philocles trilogy is even better than the first. This time the action is set mainly in ancient Corinth and the background to the crimes and their solution is as authentic and well researched as in Volume 1. This is an outstanding contribution to the genre of ancient murder mysteries. Unlike most of the genre the has presented us with authentic classical characters moving in an authentic classical society rather than just taking a modern plot and dressing it up by sprinkling it some classical names. Highly recommend.
The second book in the Philocles trilogy is even better than the first. This time the action is set mainly in ancient Corinth and the background to the crimes and their solution is as authentic and well researched as in Volume 1. This is an outstanding contribution to the genre of ancient murder mysteries. Unlike most of the genre the has presented us with authentic classical characters moving in an authentic classical society rather than just taking a modern plot and dressing it up by sprinkling it some classical names. Highly recommend.
July 16, 2024
I loved the first one, now I love to second. Great, original and full of lots of details that make it a very different kind of mystery. Part of the fun of the second book is the change of setting while holding onto the characters and the things that they are doing (the play). A great way of getting a new twist on what you know while creating an original story.
January 27, 2021
Entertaining crime solving romp around ancient Corinth. Follow up to Shadows of Athens. Lots of interesting background info about daily life in Corinth.
March 5, 2021
A new series and author to me. I really enjoyed this and definitely want to go back and read the first one.
February 17, 2022
I really liked the first book in this series. I liked the second even more.
September 24, 2019
When I read JM Alvey’s debut novel ‘Shadows of Athens’ back in February 2019 I was so excited to hear that there was going to be a series of murder mysteries set in Ancient Greece. I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel and the introduction of the characters of playwright Philocles, his partner Zosime, and the players.
Book two in the series, Scorpions of Corinth sees Philocles take his play ‘The Builders’ on tour to Corinth. The differences in culture between Athenian society and the society in Corinth were fascinating and so very different. It is clear that JM Alvey’s knowledge and research has created an accurate representation of the differences within different areas of Ancient Greece.
I loved getting to know the recurring characters better in this book, and the murder mystery element of the story was intriguing and kept me guessing throughout the book. It really is a perfect murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie, but in a completely historic setting, and it works so well that this was an easy 5 star for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Orion Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review, and a special thank you to Alainna Hadjigeorgiou for my physical copy of the book.
Book two in the series, Scorpions of Corinth sees Philocles take his play ‘The Builders’ on tour to Corinth. The differences in culture between Athenian society and the society in Corinth were fascinating and so very different. It is clear that JM Alvey’s knowledge and research has created an accurate representation of the differences within different areas of Ancient Greece.
I loved getting to know the recurring characters better in this book, and the murder mystery element of the story was intriguing and kept me guessing throughout the book. It really is a perfect murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie, but in a completely historic setting, and it works so well that this was an easy 5 star for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Orion Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review, and a special thank you to Alainna Hadjigeorgiou for my physical copy of the book.
November 7, 2019
Another gem by J. M. Alvey, the second book of the series takes us temporarily away from Athens to the wealthy city of Corinth, where Philocles, Zosime and their merry crew of friends get entangled in a mystery that is much nearer to home than they think. Apart from being very well written and researched, the book really captures, in my view, the spirit of Classical Greece in its well rounded characters and accuracy of detail; it also brings it near our own experience with which it actually has much in common. Now looking forward to the third. I do hope this takes us to yet another place and city. I would have loved to see Sparta or Sicily or one of the islands (or all of them and more, hopefully).
August 5, 2019
I adored the Falco series by Lindsey Davis so this new historical murder mystery was right up my alley!
Philocles is a popular playwright and he and his band of actors are travelling throughout Ancient Greece, pulling together alliances with their dramatic works, sponsored by some wealthy Athenians
Eumelos has been acting as their guide and "fixer" in Corinth but when he drops dead Philocles finds himself amidst a murder mystery, family feuds and political shenanigans.
He doesn't exactly have an easy time of it, he gets stonewalled more than he is helped. But he does find some help from willing slaves and his ragtag bunch of actors!
Philocles is a popular playwright and he and his band of actors are travelling throughout Ancient Greece, pulling together alliances with their dramatic works, sponsored by some wealthy Athenians
Eumelos has been acting as their guide and "fixer" in Corinth but when he drops dead Philocles finds himself amidst a murder mystery, family feuds and political shenanigans.
He doesn't exactly have an easy time of it, he gets stonewalled more than he is helped. But he does find some help from willing slaves and his ragtag bunch of actors!
September 7, 2019
Philocles playwright in Ancient Greece is touring with his group of actors when they arrive in Corinth. The first death occurs by poison to their fixer Eurnelos. When Philocles looks into the death with his actors he must also lookout for the cities religious brotherhoods. Two of these brotherhoods are determined to disrupt the plays performance. Tainted wine would be used for the audience. Could the cities politics overshadow the real murderer of Eurnelos. There are many twists and turns in this Greek mystery. It may be left up to the gods for justice.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
September 9, 2019
I'm a fan of mystery set in Ancient Greece and this one was a very good one.
It's engrossing and entertaining and it kept me interested till the end.
I liked the likeable and well written cast of characters, the well researched historical background and the mystery that kept me guessing.
I hope to read other books with this cast of characters as I really liked them.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It's engrossing and entertaining and it kept me interested till the end.
I liked the likeable and well written cast of characters, the well researched historical background and the mystery that kept me guessing.
I hope to read other books with this cast of characters as I really liked them.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Want to read
September 8, 2019YES YES YES !!! absolutely loved the first one, absolutely cannot wait to find these characters again in the second one. i need more
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews