An excellent review for The Devil Takes Half by Leta Serafim!

An excellent review for The Devil Takes Half by Leta Serafim!

Having always wanted to visit Greece, of course I couldn’t resist reading The Devil Takes Half. This was an interesting look at Greece and their unique mindset. It was also fun seeing how the Greeks see foreigners. Patronas wasn’t exactly a bumbling investigator, more like a perfectly competent cop for life in a small Greek village — a village that saw its last murder during World War II. Suddenly he has two possible murders (or maybe just missing person cases) and if that isn’t bad enough there are plenty of foreigners mixed up in the case as well as a confusing archaeological dig. So while he’s trying to figure out who the murderer is, Patronus is also trying to figure out how you go about investigating a murder.
For almost half the book you’ll be wondering what the murderer’s motive is? Why would he or she murder archaeologists at what everyone agrees is a worthless dig? Maybe it isn’t about the dig at all? Maybe it’s personal? This is an enjoyable read, it’s easy to sympathize with Patronus who has assistants that are in turns incompetent and overenthusiastic and in desperation he begins to take advice from detectives on American TV shows. He reminds me of myself when I’m reading a mystery. I have a feeling about what’s going on but I’m not completely sure. As the investigation goes on there is no shortage of suspects (and eventually motives) and it’s a good tale as Patronus unravels the true story hidden on the island of Chios.
The Greek setting gives this book not only an exotic locale but also characters that have a different way of looking at life and often, motives that wouldn’t exist if this happened in…Cleveland. Take a literary visit to Greece. You won’t regret it! http://jodiwebb.com/
Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com

Published by Coffeetown Press www.coffeetownpress.com