Sacred Games
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A murder during the Olympics may spark a war between Athens and Sparta in this historical mystery in the “consistently excellent series” (Booklist).
It is the Olympics of 460 BC. Nicolaos’s best friend, Timodemus, is a competitor in the pankration, the deadly martial art of ancient Greece. Timo is hot favorite to win—his only serious rival is Parmonos from Sparta.
When Parmonos is found beaten to death, it seems obvious Timodemus would be the killer. Who else could have killed the second-best fighter in all Hellas but the very best? The judges of the competition sentence Timodemus to be executed in four days’ time, as soon as the Sacred Games have finished.
Complicating everything is the fact that Athens and Sparta are already at each other’s throats, in the opening stages of a power struggle for control of Hellas. If an Athenian is found to have cheated at the Games by murdering a Spartan, it will be everything the hawks in Sparta need to declare open war the moment the Sacred Truce is over. And that’s a war Athens cannot hope to win. Now Nico and his partner in sleuthing, the annoyingly clever priestess Diotima, have four days to save their friend and avert a war that would tear their world apart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The Olympic Games of 460 B.C.E. form the backdrop for Australian author Corby's third mystery featuring Athenian investigator Nicolaos (after 2011's The Ionia Sanction), his best thus far. Before they even begin, Nico's oldest friend, Timodemus, a martial arts champion, is goaded into a public fight by his fiercest rival, a Spartan named Arakos. That confrontation makes Timodemus the prime suspect after Arakos is found battered to death. Desperate to save his friend from summary execution, Nico manages to convince "the Ten Judges of the Games" to give him several days to find the truth. Doing so could avert a war between Athens and Sparta. Partnered with a Spartan, Markos, to avert bias in his findings, and aided by his feisty fianc e, Diotima, Nico has an especially twisted path to tread to reach an answer in time. Corby integrates the political intrigue of the day with fair-play plotting and welcome doses of humor. Fans of Steven Saylor's Gordianus novels will be enthralled.
