An excellent book about detectives... in ancient Greek!
Young Lysanias and his personal slave Sindron must find who mudered Lysanias' uncle Klereides. A political turmoil, including a revolution in democratic Athens, an extra-marital affair and bussiness affairs covers the reasons why was Klereides killed and his young nephew and heir must navigate this perilous waters.
Wonderfully written, placed into a real historical time with exhaustive investigation about the place and uses of the age from the author, I just can say I'm waiting for another book of Lysanias and Sindron adventures.

I liked this book. It is well written, well researched and helps to travel with your mind in a complex time as Athens just before Pericles was. The character are realistic, it means they sound "ancient Greek" :) and the plot is fascinating.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial

I have a bit of history with this novel: about ten years ago I came across it in Heffers Book Shop in Cambridge and read the first chapter, while considering whether to buy it. I didn't buy it, as the opening chapter seemed rather hackneyed to me. Given a second opportunity, I tried again and this time as I read the book, I found it more interesting and plausible than before.

It is set at a time of major change in the Athens of the Fifth Century as radical reformers set the democracy in a new and revolutionary direction. This culminates in the murder of the reformer Ephialtes and the rise of his deputy Perikles to power and influence.

All of this is the pervading context for the surface plot which involves the murder of a wealthy Athenian businessman who appears to have been playing one political faction off against another. His nephew and heir, a rather callow but determined youth called Lysanias, investigates, with the help of his elderly slave tutor. Their relationship is tetchy and awkward and this is one of the strengths of the book. Another is the author's genuine knowledge and understanding of Athenian history and society of the period. The position of Athenian women, for example, is explored through Lysanias' aged grandmother, and the young widow of his uncle.

As for the story, there are lots of suspects to choose from, and if the ending is rather melodramatic, it does not spoil a thoroughly entertaining novel.

Athens, 461 BC. A young man comes to Athens only to find that his uncle has died under mysterious circumstances. Pretty soon it is clear that murder is the keyword and the hunt for the culprit(s) starts in earnest. Athens is in turmoil.,two factions,the radicals,with Pericles as a leading figure(who believe in a distribution of power among the entire population,except slaves...)and the aristocrats,heads of military families and so on.(who believe that only a very few,and very well connected,are entitled to lead,to take decisions...)are at daggers drawn. History, of course,tells us wich faction did eventuality win and consequently led to Athens Golden Age and to something called democracy.
The historical aspect of the story is very well researched. But,because it is such a dominant part of the story,the mystery story tends to be put aside. After a while one is no longer sure there is a mystery at all and it becomes a tad long winded. A firmer editing might have been a good idea.

Just couldn't get into the story. For me there was too much about the politcal situation at the time rather than expanding on the mystery.