Deadline in Athens: An Inspector Costas Haritos Mystery [Paperback]

I'm a huge fan of crime novels from the other countries, so it was with great eagerness that I picked up this first book of a Greek trilogy featuring Costas Haritos, a middle-aged homicide detective. Set in Athens around 1993, the story features an incredibly complicated mystery which kicks off with the apparently motiveless murder of a young Albanian couple. There's a lot of material jammed into the plot, which touches upon the omnipresence of Albanians in Greece, the role of the investigative media, a bundle of mysterious letters, a trio of secret love affairs, a child-smuggling plot which may or may not tie into the murders, the legacy of the fascist era, a pedophile recently released from jail, the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc, and the ability of the powerful to protect one another.

Throughout the book, Inspector Haritos is constantly being called into his superior's office in order to grovel to one bigwig after another. He's a likable character precisely because he's not very good at playing people off each other, instead he's a more traditional cranky copper with a taste for unhealthy food and a secret informant. What little glimpses are given into his personal life aren't too pleasant. He lives with his TV-addicted wife, endures her whining requests for spending money and her fake orgasms, wishing for nothing more than a little peace and quiet to retreat into dictionaries (every fictional detective has to have a little quirk). His

investigation proceeds through all the usual pitfalls and wrong turns before arriving at a shocker of an ending.

As a window into Greece, it has to be said that the book doesn't offer much of a new perspective. Athens is a glum and rainy place, and the traffic is horrendous (anytime Haritos goes anywhere, his exact route is tiresomely detailed and we are told how long it takes). Greek marriage is an unfulfilling, occasionally nasty enterprise sprinkled with unexpected tender moments, and the child is the main source of joy. The Greeks hate Albanians. Powerful media moguls and industrialists act swiftly and with cunning to insulate themselves from any imputation of wrongdoing (as it is everywhere). The media is a dog-eat-dog world (as it is everywhere). There are little glimpses here and there of how the fascist and communist struggles of the postwar era still resonate, but just a taste. On the whole, it's worth reading if one has a particular interest in Greece or international mysteries, but others will probably find it too convoluted and plodding for their tastes.

Costas Haritos is not like most detectives--he's not charming or attractive, he's not a lady's man, he doesn't carry a big gun or get into lots of physical altercations (none actually). He's a somewhat bright, plodding detective for the Greek police force. And this first novel, of a trilogy, describes his beginnings as a developing detective as he begins to recognize his weaknesses and strengths while solving a nasty murder case of two television reporters. I was engaged and intrigued throughout, despite (or perhaps because) what is often more about the culture of Greece then the murder that Haritos investigates.

Haritos is intriguing. Some of the time I didn't like him--he screams at his wife for no reason, verbally abuses subordinates and suspected criminals, use to work with a torture arm of the Greek army, and reads dictionaries for entertainment. On the other hand, he's honest about his limitations, tries to apologize to his wife, attempts to ferret out corruption, and seems to be a human being going about the messy, chaotic moral choices of life. One of his frequent helpers is a man once tortured under Haritos' watch (but who Haritos helped when he could). I had to remind myself as well that this is a translated novel and is aimed at a Greek audience that might find the corruption and abuse of suspects more palatable than an American audience (especially because the novel takes place just after Greece changed its government to one with a bigger emphasis on democracy).

The case is complex but comes together tightly at the end. We have the murder of a reporter by an Albanian immigrant who confesses, and as Haritos delves deeper another reporter is murdered and so is the Albanian and a child smuggling operation begins to come to light. An apparent red herring--a convicted pederast who was arrested because of the reporter's accusations and evidence--seems unimportant but comes to eventually help solve the case and helps to show Haritos' basic humanity.

Meanwhile, the book uncovers the quotidian culture of Greek life in a way that is not usually available to non-Greek readers. We aren't learning about ancient Greek Culture or even current Greek big wigs, but about what daily life is like for Greeks, their struggles with immigrants (and what the immigrant life must be like), the power and influence of the media, and what the interior life is of the police. We come to see a very different world than that of American readers, and while perhaps not intentionally, the novel makes us think about our own way of doing things, our freedoms, our treatment of immigrants, the restraint of our own media and the expectations of our own police forces.

Admittedly, this is not a fast paced, action packed thriller. And readers looking for detectives who almost get killed at the end of each book because they stupidly put themselves out on a limb won't find what they are looking for in Haritos. And, one of the things I did find irritating is the similarity in the last names of many of the characters (which all began with K). I was having great difficulty telling them apart.

I look forward to seeing where Haritos is headed--will he become more adept at kissing up to the big wigs, like his boss insists or will he continue to harangue and irritate those in power? Will he continue with his love/dislike relationship with his wife and hide in his room reading his dictionary in order to get away from her watching her soaps? Will his daughter go on to become a lawyer on his piddling salary? And will daily life in Athens improve or continue along its plodding, difficult, corruption laden path?

I read about 50 cop and spy thrillers each year. This is one of the top 20 for 2011. Set in 1990s in Athens, plot is byzantine but satisfying. Cranky, aging, incredibly dour Greek Homicide detective gets called to an insignificant murder of two apparently homeless and penniless undocumented immigrants. Murders which mean little to anyone. Case is solved in first 20 pages. Then the story begins to unfold with leads that do not add up, additional murders of prominent media figures, international baby selling, organ transplants, the fall of communism, and child abuse. Holding it all together, barely in his case, is the detective who suffers the foolishness of superiors, politicians, and powerful media manipulators. Detective's take on the world is hilarious - he is Eyore with a badge and gun. It is clear to see why this is Greek best seller.

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