Death Comes by Amphora
Non-series
Roger
Hudson
Twenty First Century (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-904433-68-5 (1904433685)
ISBN-13: 978-1-904433-68-2 (9781904433682)
Publication Date: September 2007
List Price: $12.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): In Ancient Athens in 461 BC, aristocratic General Kimon
has driven back the might of the Persian Empire and forged a new empire
for Athens, making his city the commercial centre of the Eastern
Mediterranean. Now he is struggling for his political existence against
the radical democratic reforms of the demagogue Ephialtes and his
ambitious supporter Perikles.
Into this political turmoil steps Lysanias, just 18, just reached
manhood, and an innocent amidst the deceit and corruption of the big
city. Recalled from an Athenian colony by a mysterious message from his
wealthy uncle Klereides, he discovers that his uncle has died in
suspicious circumstances, that he is the heir, and that his obligations
now include marrying his uncle’s teenage widow.
Convinced that his uncle was murdered and driven by the ancient duty of
vengeance, Lysanias sets out to discover the truth, aided by his
elderly slave Sindron. Their investigations take them deep into the
murky interlocking worlds of Athenian politics, business, finance,
religion and even art, where it seems Klereides had many enemies and
where even his friends cannot be trusted. With his own loyalties torn
between the rival political factions, aristocrats and workers, due to
his early training as an artisan, Lysanias himself faces violent death
before he and Sindron discover the culprit and Ephialtes’
assassin.
Review: With a
combination of scholarly research and highly creative imagination
British author Roger Hudson has fashioned a believable and highly
readable story in Death Comes By
Amphora, a murder mystery that could as easily happened in
Greece’s Golden Age of Athens as in modern America.
Hudson admits in an author’s insightful afterword that not much
is known about the times in which his novel is set so he has used a
certain degree of literary license to create the settings, the
atmosphere, the characters and even the events he interweaves into his
plot. It is a masterful job with references to the city of
Athens’ known landmarks, to the Greek gods and goddesses, to
historical icons, and to characters with Greek names and their
interests in the politics of the day. And in the middle of it all are
the central characters, “18 yesterday” Lysanias, now a
designated citizen with a vote, and his older slave and mentor,
Sindron. As it turns out the pair could easily have been the prototypes
for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in their reliance on observation and
deductive reasoning to solve the murder of Lysanias’ opulent
uncle Klereides, done in by a huge shipyard amphora falling on him when
he is lured to the docks late at night for a meeting with a stranger.
While some believe the death to be an accident, especially those who
might profit by it, Lysanias follows the clues, and tracks the suspects
he believes have placed profit ahead of justice. With Sindron as his
assistant and a sounding board for his theories, he mingles with
business leaders, mixes with politicians and generals, and sorts out
the good from the bad among his relatives, including a belligerent
cousin and his domineering grandmother, Makarias. He reserves a couple
of trysts for his own exploration with the 15-year-old wife of his
uncle whom he is now obligated by custom to marry, a custom he is quick
to embrace, literally as well as figuratively in a couple of lively
scenes. In addition to the intrigue over the uncle’s death, there
are concerns and physical clashes between the lower classes of artisans
and workers and the elite, ruling class, causing further conflict for
Lysanias who straddles both camps, formerly as an artisan and now as a
wealthy tycoon. Sindron as well brings his cartload of conflicts, torn
between loyalty to Lysanias, his dipping into his master’s funds
for a risky venture and the lure of easy money for spying upon him for
bankers with motives of their own. In the end loyalty to friends and to
family wins out with Sindron occupying a place of influence in
Lysanias’ new household after a murder has been solved, a
political resolution to it being accepted by Lysanias even though
Sindron’s “sense of rightness, of justice would be outraged
he knew.” And in the final paragraph there’s a door, or
should we say a portico, left open for a sequel or two with the
Athenian dynamic duo.
Sometimes told from the point of view of different characters, but
always consistently true to the plot, atmosphere and setting, Death Comes By Amphora is a
first-rate history/mystery, complete with credible maps of the Athens
and the Agora (city market place) of 461 BC, a list of characters with
the names in italics of those who were known real people, and the
author’s two-page historical note about the history used in the
book.
Special thanks to M. Wayne Cunningham (mw_cunningham@telus.net) for contributing his review of Death Comes by Amphora and to Roger Hudson for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — M. Wayne Cunningham — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission
Have you read Death Comes by Amphora? How would you rate it?
Novels by this author …
Death Comes by Amphora
Twenty First Century (Trade Paperback), September 2007
ISBN-10: 1-904433-68-5 (1904433685)
ISBN-13: 978-1-904433-68-2 (9781904433682)
Omnimystery keywords for Death Comes by Amphora ...
Location(s) referenced: Athens, Greece.
