No spoilers here. A shifting viewpoint narrative between detective, killer, and victim becomes impossible to put down about a third of the way through. Great descriptions of the harsh landscapes of the Aegean islands and the divide between Greeks and the tourists that are so important to the economy of the modern Greek world. Kaldis, our hard-boiled detective with little to lose after being demoted from the big city (Athens) to the Mykonian backwater, is fun to watch and follow through the Byzantine machinations of a parochial Greek island and its elites and ways of doing things. The only issue here is the ending, which couldn't really pay-off the fever pitch of the action that built up over the last 200 pages or so. The murderer, one of at least three suspects still plausibly in the running by the end, seemed selected by the author somewhat at random--even the detectives don't know who it is until they are literally seeing him with their own eyes essentially in the act with red hands. Readers should not expect to do better. But, I think, most will enjoy the ride anyway. ( )

Ended up skimming it as I couldn’t get into it. ( )

Pretty well done but I’m not a fan of descriptively detailed torture, so it lost a star there. The main character and many of the supporting characters were well drawn and the climax was tense and compelling. The end, however, was a bit of a cheat. ( )

a serial killer has been killing tall blonde tourists on popular resort island for over 15 years, final victim fights back

This really isn't bad at all - the opening pages are not well written, and the heart sinks, but having stayed with it, I found the pages turning freely, if not un-put-down-ably: the tension is built effectively, and there is an interesting development of the relationship between the police chief on Mykonos and his boss who oversees the Cycladic islands in general. The author introduces a good variety of suspects (perhaps he even overeggs this particular pudding), and the crimes are nicely gruesome, although there is some tastelessness in their description. Towards the end, my interest did begin to fade a little - there is a rather tedious chase sequence, and the mischievous ending doesn't wholly convince (though full marks for effort); it's more frustrating than amusing. Having said all that, though, I'll definitely try the next in the series. ( )