Death on Delos

Written by Gary Corby

Narrated by Erik Davies

Greece, 545 BC: It is illegal to die on the sacred isle of Delos. It's also illegal to give birth there. Yet when murder is committed, the only available detective to solve the crime is the priestess Diotima, and she is heavily pregnant. Delos is the holy birthplace of the divine twins Apollo and Artemis, and it is an island in crisis. Not only has murder tainted the holy sanctuary, but there are about a thousand Athenian troops on the island. The army is led by the statesman Pericles and has come to take away the treasury of the Delian League, the defense fund of the Greeks against the Persian Empire. The holy people are in uproar. The Athenians are exasperated. The High Priest of the Delian Apollo is not amused. To cap it off, Diotima's husband and fellow detective, Nicolaos, is implicated in dodgy dealings that link him to the murder. Somehow Diotima must find the killer, calm the island, and.oh, yes.have a baby.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781501958892

Gary Corby

Gary Corby has long been fascinated by ancient history, finding it more exciting and bizarre than any modern thriller. He's combined the ancient world with his love of whodunits, to create an historical mystery series set in classical Greece. Gary lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and two daughters. He blogs at A Dead Man Fell from the Sky, on all things ancient, Athenian, and mysterious.

Reviews for Death on Delos

[soraki_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When dozens of Athenian warships arrive at Delos to remove the treasury of the Delian League to Athens, the citizens of Delos (led by an elderly priest of Apollo) set up a protest. When that same priest is found dead the next morning, suspicion falls upon the Athenians. Nicolaos and Diotima must solve the murder before Diotima gives birth, as births and deaths are forbidden on the island.

[drmaf-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This exciting, funny and historically fascinating series continues with another excellent entry. This time Nicolaos and his heavily pregnant priestess wife Diotima arrive on the sacred island of Delos to witness the wiley Athenian leader Pericles attempt to remove the treasury of the Delian League, allegedly for reasons of safety. The island's inhabitants are less than impressed and threaten to riot, but the murder of the priest who had led the opposition drags Nicolaos and Diotima into a race against time to solve the mystery before Diotima gives birth, which is forbidden on the island. The historical background to the story is as fascinating as the fictional plot. The Delian League was set up, as the authors describes, as the NATO of the Aegean, with each state contributing money to a treasury for the mutual defence of all against the Persians. However, Athens under Pericles got greedy and decided to pilfer the treasury under the pretext of preserving it from Persian attack. This did not go down well with the rest of the league, and after Athens abandoned the principle of a League and formed the Athenian Empire, revolts weakened the Athenians and left them vulnerable to attack by their arch-enemy Sparta, and after a long and exceptionally bloody war, Athens was defeated and humiliated. In retrospect the taking of the Delian treasury was the first step on a disastrous slope for Athens. This is a great read and a fascinating piece of history as well as a good detective story. I cant wait for the next episode.

[cathyskye · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this series even though I've never been a fan of ancient Greece. (Merely an admirer from afar.) Gary Corby has the knack of combining history, humor, and untimely death in a way that's so entertaining readers may never realize that they're learning something. When a man like Corby reads that no one was allowed to die or give birth on Delos, there's only one thing he can do: tell a story in which both may-- or may not-- happen.Since the plot of Death on Delos involves banks and boatloads of money, all sorts of skullduggery take place. All that cash is just too tempting. Nicolaos and Diotima are an excellent investigative team, but even they need a bit of time to unravel everything. However, with Diotima's due date looming ever closer, time is the one commodity they don't have.Like all the other books in the series, Death on Delos tells a fast-moving story involving the Nick and Nora Charles of ancient Athens. I love the humor, I love the mystery, and I love the history. I also enjoy the cast of characters, the glossary, and the Author's Note that are always included in each book. You can read the book without them, but you'll be missing out on some of the delightful humor. And... if you're like me and want to know just how much of the story is actually true, that Author's Note comes in very handy.If you haven't picked up one of Gary Corby's Athenian mysteries because you think reading about ancient Greece is too boring and stuffy for words, think again. You will be very pleasantly surprised to find out how fresh and lively those old Athenians were! You may even wind up eagerly awaiting the next book in the series-- like me!