Kaldis finally runs up against (sort of) a villain that will get away from him. With this installment of the Kaldis mysteries we have a murder that needs solving on Mykonos--which of course brings us our friend Tassos Stamatos, chief of homicide investigations for the Cyclades. The mysterious Teacher weaves a web of murder and deceit over decadent Mykonos, alone in Greece in the middle of the financial crisis but feeling the pressures from the outside like never before. Kaldis and company can only get on the edges of the bigger threat in this one before settling for the smaller fish. This installment promises to bring forth a recurring challenge as Teacher's network of criminal activity continues to intrude into the purview and life of Greece's most honest, principled, and relentless cop. ( )

My favorite Kaldis novel so far. I like the way Siger enfolds the active political and social issues of the day in the Greek isles into the action of his stories. A very good series. ( )

What can I say? Jeffrey Siger always delivers. As soon as you begin reading any of his Inspector Kaldis novels, you are instantly transported to Greece-- not only by the sights and smells and sounds, but by the customs, the people, and the political atmosphere. Whenever I want to immerse myself in another country, Jeffrey Siger is one of the writers I turn to first.

The plot of Mykonos After Midnight is fast-moving and hard-hitting. The clandestine group fighting for control of Mykonos is utterly believable because of the people its leader targets to recruit: "...the camaraderie they shared as ignored and undervalued human beings united by a common lack of faith in governments and endless suffering at the hands of society's empty promises. They were the disenchanted, the crazies, the betrayed, the outcasts, the exploited." There are plenty of people like that in the world. Why wouldn't some of them begin banding together to attain their own ends?

The story gathers speed like an avalanche rumbling down a mountainside, and as a result, some of my favorite characters in crime fiction are put in terrible danger. Kaldis and his men are smart, funny, honest, and dedicated to their jobs. They are also quite good at thinking outside the box in order to bring the bad guys to justice, but they aren't bulletproof. Knowing that harm can come to these characters makes me even more invested in the story's outcome.

But Kaldis and his men do not rule the roost. Not by a long shot. There are two women I love even more than Kaldis and Tassos: Kaldis' wife Lila and his secretary Maggie. These two are every bit as smart, brave, and determined as the men-- and they are even funnier.

Are you like me and reading your way around the globe? Take it from me, one of your stops must be Jeffrey Siger's Greece. ( )