The premise of this story is unique and that is the best way to describe the book. The characters may be lacking development a little but that may be because this is book three and the previous books setup the characters so this is all mystery. Jesse is brilliant but seems completely clueless about people. She reminded me a bit of a female Walter OBrien with high IQ and low EQ both of which she demonstrates at the conference. The same conference allows Jesse and team to meet two individuals who will shape the outcome of the rest of the story. I did find it a touch irregular that Greek authorities would approach a team at a conference and recruit them but we needed that casual contact to get us to the meat of the story. Speaking of meat, the shootout at the meat market was unique and easy for me to picture in my mind's eye.
Greece is a beautiful place to set a mystery and that locale definitely added to the story. I had to laugh multiple times at Jesse's crass behavior when it seemed everything she learned about Greece came from Xena and the big fat wedding. To me, that lack of real knowledge of Greek culture fit perfectly with her low EQ. Being taken advantage of by a man who was not all he seemed fit that story as well. Again, this hearkened back for me to a story where Walter was taken advantage of because of his high IQ allowing him to miss the human clues. Equating Jesse to a female Walter allowed me to give the story context for me and enhanced the story. I could picture some of the situation Jesse got into like the conference Q&A.
The mystery was deep and the person behind the violence was smart using people's desire for unity to stir the pot. It truly fit the culture we hear about where modern organizations use social media to spread the message. Platon was perpetuating violence all the while convincing people to join him and fight a common enemy. Platon' intelligence matched well against Jesse and team to make a good mystery. There were so slower paced sections in the story but overall I would give it a solid 3.5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and Severn Housefor the opportunity to read this ARC.

Fun story of a Jesse O'Hara and her group going to Greece to present a program. They get caught up in political machinations. As we drove around Athens one of our drivers made a comment about the political situation so the book isn't far from the truth. I did learn about how grapes are grown on Santorini and then saw them growing. I also learned on word reading the book "Yamas" which is equivalent to skoal. Fun book.

Murder in the Greek Isles by Wendy Church is the third book about Jesse and her friends, this one set in Greece. A last minute invitation to a conference sends them into danger again, this time chasing a Greek dissenter while trying to escape Jesse's archenemy, Svetlana. I have not read the first two and find Jesse so rude and obnoxious that I won't bother. The story line and setting in Greece make the book readable.

I read the first book in this series, Murder on the Spanish Seas, and had liked the spunky main character of Jesse. She'd had an interesting backstory and I'd enjoyed the setting of the book, so I was excited to read Murder in the Greek Isles.

In this third installment in the series, Jesse finds herself in Greece with her friends Gideon, Sam, and Tatiana for a law enforcement conference. She and Gideon are supposed to give a talk on teams working together, but after the conference, they get pulled into crime happening in Greece. At the same time, they're trying to avoid Svetlana, who returned from a previous book.

I was really hoping for more of a character-driven mystery. But while "Murder in the Greek Isles" definitely brings snappy dialogue and a fast-paced, action-packed feel, it leaned a bit more on plot than on deep character moments. There were long chunks of dialogue from characters explaining a political situation, followed by action scenes straight out of a movie like shootings and bombings--and Jesse just sort of moved through these things with snappy comebacks and clever (and convenient) solutions. It all felt really...easy? I wish there'd been room for her character to develop a bit more with some real struggle, but instead she just moves on to the next action scene, the next clever plan or convenient rescue, without much change.

There are also a couple of moments where the logic takes a big leap—for example, when Jesse reads a sales email and, thanks to its use of the word "caldera" in Pig Latin, suddenly announces they have to go to Santorini.

Still, the vivid Greek settings and overall lively tone keep the story engaging. I do think Jesse has the potential to be a really interesting character in the style of Stephanie Plum, and I'd like to see how she evolves over the series.