Ronnith Neumann: Tod auf Korfu

In Agros auf Korfu stirbt ein krankes Kind. Wenige Tage später wird an einem einsamen Strandstück eine nackte männliche Leiche angeschwemmt. Hauptkommissar Alexandros Kasantzakis, der Grieche vom Festland, dem die Gewohnheiten der Inselbewohner noch immer fremd sind, beginnt zu ermitteln. Die blutigen Spuren deuten auf eine lange zurückliegende Tragödie in der deutsch-griechischen Vergangenheit hin.

Erstanden vor meinem Urlaub auf Korfu, um das Buch dann dort zu lesen und freizulassen. Gesagt, getan. Das Buch war recht interessant, da ich ein paar Orte kennenlernen konnte. Die Charakterisierung der Korfioten und der korfiotischen Kultur war auch ziemlich treffend, aber die Geschichte, die dann gleich zwei multiple Persönlichkeitsstörungen und das NS Regime des Deutschen Reiches behandelt, war dann doch etwas weit hergeholt. Dennoch war es interessant über diesen Teil der korfiotischen Geschichte zu lesen.

Anne Zouroudi: The Messenger of Athens

When the battered body of a young woman is discovered on a remote Greek island, the local police are quick to dismiss her death as an accident. Then a stranger arrives, uninvited, from Athens, announcing his intention to investigate further. His methods are unorthodox, and he brings his own mystery into the web of dark secrets and lies. Who has sent him, on whose authority is he acting, and how does he know of dramas played out decades ago?

The storyline and the characters were interesting and the setting gorgeous. However, the story telling itself was confusing with a range of voices and views merging into one another so that it was at times difficult to determine who is talking when....

Rick Riordan: Percy Jackson

The Lightning Thief - The Sea of Monsters - The Titan's Curse - The Battle of the Labyrinth - The Last Olympian
Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That's when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends, and generally trying to stay alive.

This series of Young Adult books is gripping for its storyline, and at the same time it is a great introduction to the Greek mythology. Many of the stories are quite commonly known, however, there are some less popular and famous Greek myths that have also been interwoven. Although the thought of the Greek Gods interfering with today's civilisation sounds far-fetched, it is carried off feasibly in this series.

Victoria Hislop: The island

On the brink of a life-changing decision, Alexis Fielding longs to find out about her mother’s past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. But when Alexis decides to visit Crete, Sofia gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend, and promises that through her she will learn more.
Arriving in Plaka, Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone’s throw from the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga – Greece’s former leper colony. Then she finds Fortini, and at last hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life: the tale of her great-grandmother Eleni and her daughters and a family rent by tragedy, war and passion. She discovers how intimately she is connected with the island, and how secrecy holds them all in its powerful grip..

This is an incredibly powerful story about never-ending and enduring love, about passion and beliefs. Although I found the beginning of the book too clichéd, the story soon unfolded to be gripping and reading about the leper colony and Sofia's family turned out to be an emotional roller-coster.

Salley Vickers: Where three roads meet

It is 1938 and Sigmund Freud, suffering from the debilitating effects of cancer, has been permitted by the Nazis to leave Vienna. He seeks refuge in England, taking up residence in the house in Hampstead in which he will die only fifteen months later. But his last months are made vivid by the arrival of a stranger, who comes and goes according to Freud’s state of health.

This is an interesting approach to the Greek mythology and a fascinating description of Dr. Freud's last days. This book was well written with a novel approach to history and man's psyche, however, it was also a very difficult read.