Gary CorbyCríticas

3.5*

A fictional investigation into a historical murder. Corby does a good job showing his reader daily life in 461 B.C. Athens (and I wish that I had discovered the glossary at the end earlier!) and provided enough explanation of the politics at the time (which were a factor in the murder). I also appreciated his Author's Note at the end which explained which parts where historical, which reasonable guesses and which entirely fictional.

One historically accurate bit took me aback -- in this time & culture, if a man died without sons his widow was required to marry the closest possible male relative. If that man happened to be already married, he was required to divorce so as to marry the widow! The divorced wife would be sent back to her family.

One minor complaint is that Nicolaos at times speaks too much as a modern man (referring to shield factories for example, which struck me as anachronistic).

While this 3rd book in the Athenian mystery series was a pleasurable way to spend my time, I again felt that there were too many modern phrases.... I love the setting (and Nico's brother Sophocles!!) but am jarred sometimes by that use of modern phraseology which disrupts my ability to sink into the historical setting.

3.5*

I listened to the digital audiobook (which GR doesn't have listed)

Pericles and an Athenian delegation come to Delos to remove the Delian League's treasure to Athens for safekeeping. When the priest heading the Delian's resistance to the move is found dead, a heavily-pregnant Diotima is appointed to head the investigation as priestess of Artemis.

A worthy wrap-up to the series.

When dozens of Athenian warships arrive at Delos to remove the treasury of the Delian League to Athens, the citizens of Delos (led by an elderly priest of Apollo) set up a protest. When that same priest is found dead the next morning, suspicion falls upon the Athenians. Nicolaos and Diotima must solve the murder before Diotima gives birth, as births and deaths are forbidden on the island.½

Nicolaos and Diotima are hired as bodyguards to protect a traveler on his way to Egypt. Unfortunately, Egypt is currently a war zone as the Egyptians and Libyans are fighting a rebellion against Persia. Pericles orders Nico to drop in on the Prince of Libya, the leader of the Egyptian rebellion, to offer his help as an agent since Athens is allied with Egypt.

The Prince of Libya has a convoluted scheme to prove his status as the rightful pharaoh of Egypt and he sends Nico and Diotima behind enemy lines into Persian-controlled Memphis to retrieve the crook and flail of the last pharaoh.

As secret agents representing four different factions converge on Memphis, Nico and Diotima have their work cut out for them in their most difficult mission yet.

Nicolaos and Diotima investigate sabotage at the theater where Sophocles is putting on his newest play. The actors think the theater is haunted and refuse to rehearse until the ghost is exorcised. But after the exorcism, an actor is murdered in the theater. Who is sabotaging the play and why?

Just shallow enough that I felt like I would prefer to listen to it on audio. But definitely full of fun historical detail.

Escaping their wedding preparations, Nicolaos and Diotima investigate the death of a schoolgirl and the disappearance of another girl at the Temple of Artemis at Brauron. The Temple serves as a finishing school for the best families in Athens. The two girls had discovered a skeleton and thirty-year old scrolls in a nearby cave shortly before their death/disappearance. Nicolaos and Diotima must figure out the connection, if any, between the thirty-year old skeleton and the modern mystery.

Nico and Diotima are attending the Sacred Games at Olympia when a Spartan athlete is found beaten to death. The chief suspect is Nico's best friend Timodeus, an Athenian athlete. The Olympic judges are 99% certain that Timodeus is the guilty party but agree to appoint Nico and Markos, a Spartan knight, to jointly investigate the crime. Nico has three days to solve the case before Timodeus is executed for murder.

In the meantime, will Nico's father and Diotima's stepfather ever agree on a dowry?½

After a mysterious scroll warning of treason arrives in Athens and the only person who read the scroll is murdered right after he read it, Pericles hires Nicolaos to track down the murderer and investigate the origins of the scroll. This mission takes Nico across the sea to Persian-controlled Ionia. Luckily, Diotima is currently serving in the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus in Ionia, which will give Nicolaos a chance to see her again. Unluckily, Nico has no idea what to say to her since his father refused to give his permission for them to marry.

While this 3rd book in the Athenian mystery series was a pleasurable way to spend my time, I again felt that there were too many modern phrases.... I love the setting (and Nico's brother Sophocles!!) but am jarred sometimes by that use of modern phraseology which disrupts my ability to sink into the historical setting.

Pericles sends Nico and Diotima on a mission to contact a Libyan prince in Egypt, which is currently a warzone.

This was a fun one with lots going on and a real page-turner towards the end.

When a series of "accidents" hold up rehearsals of Sophocles's latest play, the actors go on strike. They agree to continue after an exorcism, but the accidents then culminate in murder and Nico and Diotima have to find the culprit before the Great Dionysia can go ahead.

The usual fun and games.

Another entertaining romp along the fringes of history as Corby's characters interact with real figures such as Herodotus, Pericles and others in an effort to aid Libyan rebels in freeing Egypt from Persia.

Nicolaos accompanies a pregnant Diotoma to Delos with annual gift to the temple. Pericles plans to remove the treasury of the Delian league and an elderly priest who opposes the transfer is murdered. Death on Delos, birthplace of Artemis and Apollo, is sacrilege and Diotoma must investigate. However, nature has set her a deadline as giving birth on Delos is also forbidden.

Nicolaos receives another commission from Pericles, the up and coming man in Athens. The Great Dionysia is at hand and threatened by actors who refuse to rehearse because they believe the theater haunted. Their fears are worsened when an actor is killed. But greater than the crime of murder is the impiety of it having been committed in the theater before the statue of the god, Dionysos. Aided by his wife, Diotima, a priestess of Artemis and his irritatingly curious younger brother, Socrates, Nicolaos must solve the mystery before Athens is embarrassed before the world and cursed by an offended god of the harvest. Lively details of life in early Athens make this another interesting chapter in the sago of Nicolaos, the only investigator in Athens.

This exciting, funny and historically fascinating series continues with another excellent entry. This time Nicolaos and his heavily pregnant priestess wife Diotima arrive on the sacred island of Delos to witness the wiley Athenian leader Pericles attempt to remove the treasury of the Delian League, allegedly for reasons of safety. The island's inhabitants are less than impressed and threaten to riot, but the murder of the priest who had led the opposition drags Nicolaos and Diotima into a race against time to solve the mystery before Diotima gives birth, which is forbidden on the island. The historical background to the story is as fascinating as the fictional plot. The Delian League was set up, as the authors describes, as the NATO of the Aegean, with each state contributing money to a treasury for the mutual defence of all against the Persians. However, Athens under Pericles got greedy and decided to pilfer the treasury under the pretext of preserving it from Persian attack. This did not go down well with the rest of the league, and after Athens abandoned the principle of a League and formed the Athenian Empire, revolts weakened the Athenians and left them vulnerable to attack by their arch-enemy Sparta, and after a long and exceptionally bloody war, Athens was defeated and humiliated. In retrospect the taking of the Delian treasury was the first step on a disastrous slope for Athens. This is a great read and a fascinating piece of history as well as a good detective story. I cant wait for the next episode.½

Death on Delos is the 7th Athenian Mystery by Gary Corby. The story opens with a heavily pregnant Diotima, priestess of Artemis, and her husband Nicolaos arriving on the Island of Delos so that Diotima can dedicate the annual offerings from Athens to Delos. There are 2 laws on Delos. It is illegal to die there and it is illegal to be born there. Violating these laws results in the entire island and everything on it needing to be resanctified for it is a holy place.

When the couple arrive they are accompanied by many warships. The Persians are not far away and Athens believes the Delian Treasury is at risk. Athens wants to temporarily remove the Treasury to Athens for safety. However, the Delians feel betrayed by the plan and prefer to rely on their faith in their gods Artemis and Apollo to protect them. A Delian crowd gathers near the coast preventing the Athenians from moving forward without a fight. One Delian, Geros, gives a convincing speech to the crowd and gets them aroused against the Athenians and Pericles, their leader. A day later, Geros is found dead of multiple stab wounds. It will now take weeks, maybe months, to sanctify the island for Diotima to be able to make her sacred offering.

Diotima and Nicolaos are known for their sleuthing skills and are asked by the Delians to determine who killed Geros. I am always pleased when a murder mystery begins with the murder early in the plot. Here, the murder took place on page 47 so we have the rest of the book to enjoy figuring out whodunnit.

Another plus is the common English language that the author has the characters speaking. This is an ancient Greek mystery but aside from the character names, they are speaking English which makes the book a quick read. While the language is English, there is a ton of historical fact woven into the story which makes the book an authentic historical mystery.

Some of the historical facts are that the land of Delos has never been able to grow food. That is why for centuries Delians relied on gifts to their deities from other Greek islands in order to survive. Men used to urinate on vegetables in order to make them grow! This strategy did not work though. When a resident was about to die they were put on a boat and sent to another island. Pregnant women were sent to Mykonos.

I highly recommend this series. I have read every book in the series and all of them were fabulous.

I don't know if it was the audiobook narration or just the book itself, but I didn't think that this second book in the series was as good as the first one.

History and humor combine in what has easily become one of my absolute favorite mystery series. This time, Nico and Diotima travel to Egypt and things do not run smoothly. The Persians are occupying Memphis, a young prince from Libya is attempting to prove he is descended from Pharaohs and has a legitimate claim to the throne, there's a Spartan assassin on their tail and no matter which way they turn or which choices they make, Nico and Diotima are going to anger someone and put themselves in danger. Throw in the tavern singer of the title (and some delightfully groan-worthy Elvis allusions), Herodotus (yes, that Herodotus), a power-hungry bureaucrat, the king of the beggars, and other assorted pieces and players and you have the makings of a perfect cross between a farce and--to paraphrase a certain Sicilian--a game of wits where death (and the fate of Egypt) is on the line. Corby deftly balances well-researched history with action and humor to create mystery novels that keep readers entertained and maybe accidentally learning something.

A fictional investigation into a historical murder. Corby does a good job showing his reader daily life in 461 B.C. Athens (and I wish that I had discovered the glossary at the end earlier!) and provided enough explanation of the politics at the time (which were a factor in the murder). I also appreciated his Author's Note at the end which explained which parts where historical, which reasonable guesses and which entirely fictional.

One historically accurate bit took me aback -- in this time & culture, if a man died without sons his widow was required to marry the closest possible male relative. If that man happened to be already married, he was required to divorce so as to marry the widow! The divorced wife would be sent back to her family.

One minor complaint is that Nicolaos at times speaks too much as a modern man (referring to shield factories for example, which struck me as anachronistic).½

I love this series even though I've never been a fan of ancient Greece. (Merely an admirer from afar.) Gary Corby has the knack of combining history, humor, and untimely death in a way that's so entertaining readers may never realize that they're learning something. When a man like Corby reads that no one was allowed to die or give birth on Delos, there's only one thing he can do: tell a story in which both may-- or may not-- happen.

Since the plot of Death on Delos involves banks and boatloads of money, all sorts of skullduggery take place. All that cash is just too tempting. Nicolaos and Diotima are an excellent investigative team, but even they need a bit of time to unravel everything. However, with Diotima's due date looming ever closer, time is the one commodity they don't have.

Like all the other books in the series, Death on Delos tells a fast-moving story involving the Nick and Nora Charles of ancient Athens. I love the humor, I love the mystery, and I love the history. I also enjoy the cast of characters, the glossary, and the Author's Note that are always included in each book. You can read the book without them, but you'll be missing out on some of the delightful humor. And... if you're like me and want to know just how much of the story is actually true, that Author's Note comes in very handy.

If you haven't picked up one of Gary Corby's Athenian mysteries because you think reading about ancient Greece is too boring and stuffy for words, think again. You will be very pleasantly surprised to find out how fresh and lively those old Athenians were! You may even wind up eagerly awaiting the next book in the series-- like me!½

I fell for Gary Corby's grasp of history and his excellent storytelling the first time I picked up one of his Athenian mysteries. Nicolaos is the perfect sleuth, called upon to investigate all sorts of interesting situations by Athens' premier citizen, Pericles. Nico's wife Diotima (a former priestess) is quite talented at deduction herself, and even his younger brother Socrates (yes, that Socrates) can come up with a good question or two (dozen).

Corby has created the perfect little time machine in which readers can visit ancient Greece and still feel at home. There are action sequences at sea and on dry land that will certainly keep the pages turning, and since there is no shortage of secret agents representing all the various factions in Egypt, readers will be kept guessing at the outcome. Traveling along with the world's first historian is yet another perk of reading this book.

One of the ways Corby makes readers feel so at home in this ancient world is with his use of humor. In this book, that humor begins with the title. How many of you thought of Elvis Presley when you saw "The Singer from Memphis"? I would imagine most of you did, unless you knew that Gary Corby writes mysteries set in ancient Greece and that there was a city in Egypt named-- you guessed it-- Memphis. But in this book, one of the characters is a young female who makes a living singing in a bar in Memphis, and the first time Nicolaos sees her, she's singing a song in Greek about suspicious minds. (Any Elvis fans smiling?) There's another instance of subtle humor when I was reminded of what happened when someone wore a red shirt in the original Star Trek series. Whether subtle or laugh-out-loud funny, Corby's humor brings his story to life and helps his readers make the transition to the ancient world.

The Singer from Memphis has a wonderful setting and characters and an engrossing mystery with more than a hint of a treasure hunt to it. For those of you who are wavering because you think you'll be unable to pronounce words, know what some of the words are, or be lost in history, waver no more. Corby has included a short cast of characters complete with pronunciation, a brief historic timeline to set up the story (although you really don't need it), and a glossary to define any of the words you may not be familiar with. Rest assured that Corby does a marvelous job of placing you in the ancient world without the feeling that you're drowning in history. In addition, his Author's Note at the end should not be missed-- although he warns you not to read it first because it's full of spoilers. This section tells you what is true and what isn't in the story as well as several other fascinating facts. Is it necessary to read this series in order? No, but I can see you reading one and then going back for the others.

Gary Corby has prepared the feast, and it's sitting on the table, waiting for you. All you need to do is to sit down and begin enjoying yourself.½

A young Athenian becomes involved in investigating the murder of Ephialtes, a politician who had just turned Athens into a democracy.
Although it's claimed to be "in the tradition of Lindsey Davis" the author has a way to go before he's there.
Nico wanders about Athens asking questions without a whole lot of subtlety and is lucky he's not murdered any number of times by any number of people.
Only average.