Nicolaos and Diotima investigate sabotage at the theater where Sophocles is putting on his newest play. The actors think the theater is haunted and refuse to rehearse until the ghost is exorcised. But after the exorcism, an actor is murdered in the theater. Who is sabotaging the play and why? ( )

When a series of "accidents" hold up rehearsals of Sophocles's latest play, the actors go on strike. They agree to continue after an exorcism, but the accidents then culminate in murder and Nico and Diotima have to find the culprit before the Great Dionysia can go ahead.

The usual fun and games. ( )

Nicolaos receives another commission from Pericles, the up and coming man in Athens. The Great Dionysia is at hand and threatened by actors who refuse to rehearse because they believe the theater haunted. Their fears are worsened when an actor is killed. But greater than the crime of murder is the impiety of it having been committed in the theater before the statue of the god, Dionysos. Aided by his wife, Diotima, a priestess of Artemis and his irritatingly curious younger brother, Socrates, Nicolaos must solve the mystery before Athens is embarrassed before the world and cursed by an offended god of the harvest. Lively details of life in early Athens make this another interesting chapter in the sago of Nicolaos, the only investigator in Athens.

Enjoyable romp through Classical Athens with the (now husband and wife) duo of Nico and Diotima, and Nico's bratty brother Socrates (yes, that self-same Socrates), this time involved in the world of Athen's tragic theatre. Initially hired to exorcise a ghost in the theatre, it quickly becomes a murder mystery that threatens to derail the sacred Festival of Dionysus and embarrass Athens in the eyes of the rest of the Greek world. Fascinating for the details it gives of the Athenian theatre (who knew "tragedy" comes from the words for "goat" and "song", so tragedy is literally "goat-music"?), and cameos by three of the ancient world's greatest playwrights in Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Plenty of humour is the trademark of Corby's series, and this doesn't disappoint. The comprehensive author's notes at the back, which will tell you everything you need to know about the story of Greek theatre (and then some) round out a terriffic tale. Enjoyable reading that educates you and makes you think along the way. Great stuff ( )

I can always count on Gary Corby to make me feel right at home in ancient Athens. This time Greek drama played an integral part in the story, and it was fascinating to learn the important role it played in the ancient world.

With the start of the Great Dionysia looming on the horizon, all those concerned come up with an ingenious way to buy time for the investigation. (Would that we could do the same today!) Corby's mystery is an absorbing one because the first thing Nicolaos has to do is find out which Romanos was killed. The further he and Diotima investigate, the more it seems that Romanos the actor was a different person for each group of people with which he came into contact. Was the murderer killing Romanos the actor, or the character he was portraying in the play? Was he killed for personal reasons, or did a complete stranger choose him at random? As the two investigate the dead man's life, the mystery twists and turns with each new piece of information. It certainly kept me guessing.

Corby knows how to create a page-turning mystery, and he certainly knows how to infuse his encyclopedic knowledge of ancient Greece seamlessly into his story, but that's not all he does. Not only the setting comes to life, so do the characters. Nicolaos and Diotima are such an engaging couple that you can't help but want them to succeed. Nicolaos' little brother just so happens to be Socrates. (Yes, that Socrates!) In each book the young Socrates gets into some sort of mischief, and in Death Ex Machina, he's being homeschooled. The reason why will make you smile if not laugh out loud.

Another thing that I love about Corby's Athenian mysteries is the humor I find throughout each book. Nicolaos learns not to call one certain play by its title but to refer to it as "the Corinthian play" because it's unlucky to say its name aloud. (MacBeth, anyone?) And when one character asks the rhetorical question "Who in his right mind would ever vote for an actor?" I just had to smile. This humor, referring as it does to our own world, makes us feel more at home in ancient Athens. We humans haven't changed all that much after all, have we?

If you're new to these books, you should be able to read Death Ex Machina with little to no confusion. It reads well as a standalone, but one thing I do advise is to read the author's notes in the back of the book once you've finished the story. You'll find out how much of the plot is based on fact, and which parts Corby tweaked a bit. You'll also be entertained by more of his humor. I am very glad that I discovered Nicolaos and Diotima, and I look forward to more of their adventures. ( )