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Philocles #3
Justice for Athena
Some heroes search for glory, some for justice
It’s festival time in Athens, and Philocles is looking forward to the holiday. Visitors are coming from across the Hellenic world for eight days of sporting competitions, musical contests and sacred rites to honour Athena, the city’s patron goddess.
Thousands will flock to the Pnyx to be enthralled by the dramatic three-day performance of Homer’s Iliad, an entertainment unique to the Great Panathenaia. Taking part is the highest honour and greatest challenge for an epic poet. Then one of the poets is brutally murdered.
Is this random misfortune, an old score being settled, or is someone trying to sabotage the festival? The authorities want this cleared up quickly and quietly. Philocles finds himself on the trail of a killer once more…
Another thrilling ancient murder mystery novel from J.M. Alvey, perfect for fans of Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor and CJ Sansom.
It’s festival time in Athens, and Philocles is looking forward to the holiday. Visitors are coming from across the Hellenic world for eight days of sporting competitions, musical contests and sacred rites to honour Athena, the city’s patron goddess.
Thousands will flock to the Pnyx to be enthralled by the dramatic three-day performance of Homer’s Iliad, an entertainment unique to the Great Panathenaia. Taking part is the highest honour and greatest challenge for an epic poet. Then one of the poets is brutally murdered.
Is this random misfortune, an old score being settled, or is someone trying to sabotage the festival? The authorities want this cleared up quickly and quietly. Philocles finds himself on the trail of a killer once more…
Another thrilling ancient murder mystery novel from J.M. Alvey, perfect for fans of Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor and CJ Sansom.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 15, 2020
3 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 17, 2020
Another Philocles mystery this time in Athens. Entertainers are coming to Athens for competitions. The greatest of these is the Poets who perform Homer’s Iliad they are known for their deep red cloaks. Who would want to kill a poet Philocles has an impossible task to connect the brutal deaths. What is the reason it seems a spiders web to untangle. It will even come to affect Philocles own relationship. A mystery difficult to follow if you have not come to know the characters from previous books. It is well worth persevering for an engrossing story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 30, 2021
Fabulous book as gripping as the previous two. The author has an amazing knowledge of ancient Greece. Hope there's a fourth one.
November 2, 2020
This is an very good addition to this excellent series.
The characters are fleshed and well written as usual, the historical background is well researched and vivid.
The solid mystery is full of twists and turns and kept me guessing.
It's gripping and highly entertaining.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
The characters are fleshed and well written as usual, the historical background is well researched and vivid.
The solid mystery is full of twists and turns and kept me guessing.
It's gripping and highly entertaining.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
January 27, 2021
Third book following the adventures of playwright turned detective Philocles in ancient Athens. This time we return to Athens and the story is set dueing the Great Panathenaia. Philocles is somewhat unwillingly dragged into solving the murders of some epic poets who are taking part in the festival.
February 5, 2023
An excellent trilogy
I have just read the last book in the Philocles trilogy. It as authentic in its representation of classical Athens and its citizens with another intricate and absorbing mystery. I am following this author and hope to read more of his work in future.
I have just read the last book in the Philocles trilogy. It as authentic in its representation of classical Athens and its citizens with another intricate and absorbing mystery. I am following this author and hope to read more of his work in future.
November 6, 2020
A four star rating mainly for the vividly described life and the poetry reciting scenes.
February 25, 2022
I liked this one the best of the three. I would happily read more in this series.
April 11, 2023
This is the latest installment of an addictive series starring an ancient Athenian playwright, Philocles, who is also a part-time sleuth. In this book, he is allegedly on vacation, but he has to figure out who is offing all the Homeric poets before the big recitation of the Iliad at the Panathenaia, in increasingly gruesome ways.
There's a lot of great stuff here. The characters are fun, and there's a fantastic mix of bone-crunching action and a sincere belief in the ancient gods, along with complicated and inescapable family dynamics which drives most of the plot. This is the second time I read this book, and the whole series holds up to successive rereads. Characters important in the first and second books show up here-- it really hangs together, and the continuity is fantastic. I don't necessarily think you need to read the first two books to get this, but it does help, of course. The mystery is well plotted, and the suspense is great, climaxing with a nighttime chase scene throughout the temples on the Acropolis, worthy of a scene from Assassin's Creed: Odyssey-- but even better. I love it!
If I may nitpick, I was distracted by the overuse of the word "bastard." It gets used a lot, which became distracting after a while. I do appreciate the casual dialogue used here, but words like "okay" stick out like a sore thumb. It's too modern and too American to work for the setting.
With that said, I highly recommend Alvey's work. This is the second time I've read it, and it's such a pleasure to revisit her work. There's not many authors, IMO, who capture the humorous, earthy side of ancient Greece, in a way that's both memorable and visceral, and combine it with lovable characters and a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
I can't wait for the next book in the series!
There's a lot of great stuff here. The characters are fun, and there's a fantastic mix of bone-crunching action and a sincere belief in the ancient gods, along with complicated and inescapable family dynamics which drives most of the plot. This is the second time I read this book, and the whole series holds up to successive rereads. Characters important in the first and second books show up here-- it really hangs together, and the continuity is fantastic. I don't necessarily think you need to read the first two books to get this, but it does help, of course. The mystery is well plotted, and the suspense is great, climaxing with a nighttime chase scene throughout the temples on the Acropolis, worthy of a scene from Assassin's Creed: Odyssey-- but even better. I love it!
If I may nitpick, I was distracted by the overuse of the word "bastard." It gets used a lot, which became distracting after a while. I do appreciate the casual dialogue used here, but words like "okay" stick out like a sore thumb. It's too modern and too American to work for the setting.
With that said, I highly recommend Alvey's work. This is the second time I've read it, and it's such a pleasure to revisit her work. There's not many authors, IMO, who capture the humorous, earthy side of ancient Greece, in a way that's both memorable and visceral, and combine it with lovable characters and a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
I can't wait for the next book in the series!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews