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Petros Markaris
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Deadline in Athens: An Inspector Costas Haritos Mystery Paperback – July 10, 2005

by Petros Markaris (Author), David Connolly (Translator)
3.9 out of 5 stars 114
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When an Albanian husband and wife are found dead in their home, Inspector Costas Haritos, a veteran junta-trained homicide detective on the Athens police force, is called to what seems at first to be an open-and-shut case. For the Greek police, two dead Albanians are hardly a matter of concern. But when Albania's celebrity television news reporter Janna Karayoryi insists that the case was closed too early, Haritos becomes unnerved. He doesn't exactly like the ambitious young journalist, but could she be right in thinking the murder has something to do with babies?
Before Haritos can find out, Janna is suddenly murdered, moments before she is to go on the air with a startling newsbreak. Did her mysterious report have something to do with the murdered Albanians? Who wanted her silenced, and why? Caught between a bumbling junior officer and higher-ups all too easily influenced by news executives determined to protect their own, Costas Haritos sets out to get to the bottom of the matter-and ends up neck deep in a dark form of capitalism that has emerged in Albania after the dictatorship.
Previous page
  1. Part of series
    The Inspector Costas Haritos Mysteries
  2. Print length
    304 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Grove Press
  5. Publication date
    July 10, 2005
  6. Dimensions
    5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0802142079
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0802142078
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press; First Trade Paper edition (July 10, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802142079
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802142078
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 114

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Petros Markaris

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
114 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Karibuh
4.0 out of 5 stars The book is really really good. Great sense of humor and not supermanic characters
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2015
Verified Purchase
The book is really really good. Great sense of humor and not supermanic characters. I really enjoyed it BUT the kindle file is really really bad, it's full of typos and other errors, particularly the second part of the book. Markaris and inspector Costas deserve a way better edition.
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Duprestars
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the top 20 thrillers of 2011 - Eyore with a badge and gun
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2011
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I read about 50 cop and spy thrillers each year. This is one of the top 20 for 2011. Set in 1990s in Athens, plot is byzantine but satisfying. Cranky, aging, incredibly dour Greek Homicide detective gets called to an insignificant murder of two apparently homeless and penniless undocumented immigrants. Murders which mean little to anyone. Case is solved in first 20 pages. Then the story begins to unfold with leads that do not add up, additional murders of prominent media figures, international baby selling, organ transplants, the fall of communism, and child abuse. Holding it all together, barely in his case, is the detective who suffers the foolishness of superiors, politicians, and powerful media manipulators. Detective's take on the world is hilarious - he is Eyore with a badge and gun. It is clear to see why this is Greek best seller.
4 people found this helpful
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Cathy G. Cole
2.0 out of 5 stars Read Jeffrey Siger's Inspector Kaldis mysteries instead
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2018
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I love reading mysteries written by international authors: Fred Vargas, Andrea Camilleri, Henning Mankell, Ragnar Jónasson, Karin Fossum, and Jane Harper are just a few. It goes without saying that I picked up Deadline in Athens with a great deal of anticipation.

The mystery itself is strong. There's a lot going on besides the reporter's death, and the more Haritos teases out clues, he finds that those clues lead to solving all sorts of cases. If I were the type of reader who concentrates on solving the mystery to the exclusion of all else, I would've been happy with this book. But... I'm not. I'm a character-driven reader, so those all-important fictional people mean a great deal to me. I don't have to like every character in a book. Sometimes it can be therapeutic to loathe one or two and even cheer on their demise. But sometimes what drives a character can mean a great deal to my enjoyment of a book, and those found in Deadline in Athens seem to luxuriate in being mean-spirited jerks.

Costas Haritos has two hobbies: (1) collecting and reading dictionaries, which would be interesting if he did more with them than lay across the bed, crack one open, and then (2) concoct his latest scheme to get even with his wife. According to Haritos, "The first stage of family life is the joy of living together. The second is children. The third and longest stage is getting your own back at every opportunity. When you get to that stage, you know that you're secure and nothing is going to change." At least it's a good match-- his wife sits on the couch, remote control in hand, watching soap operas and scheming how to get back at him. I won't even go into the morning ritual Haritos performs with his junior officer.

One reason why I enjoy reading mysteries written by international authors is the opportunity to learn about other countries and cultures. There's scarcely any of that to be found in Deadline in Athens. Markaris adds "authentic Greek flavor" by naming each and every street Haritos travels down, how bad the traffic is, and how long it takes him to get to his destination (usually in the pouring rain). Ho hum.

If I weren't so interested in the solution to the mystery, I would've stopped reading within the first fifty pages. In the end, I was very happy with the solution and thrilled that my time spent with the grim Costas Haritos was over. For anyone who wants to experience Greek culture, intriguing mysteries, and solid characters, you'd be well advised to read Jeffrey Siger's excellent Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series instead.
8 people found this helpful
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Marketta Kopinski, Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Good reading
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
Markaris at his best. Inspector Costas Haritos tries to solve the murder of two Albanian immigrant laborers, which seem to be connected with the murder of a well-known TV reporter. The social tensions between Greeks and immigrant workers form a background to the mystery.
One person found this helpful
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Elias Vlanton
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading...
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2021
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I had a hard time putting it down. Unexpected ending, rings true for the life of an Athenian detective.
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Ericpeter
5.0 out of 5 stars The human condition in modern Greece
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is the way to vicariously visit another country. Well written fiction is a gift. And this is a really good yarn with an ending that is quite a surprise. Good murder mysteries in other countries and cultures are quite a treat.
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MV
4.0 out of 5 stars A different kind of hero
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2011
Costas Haritos is not like most detectives--he's not charming or attractive, he's not a lady's man, he doesn't carry a big gun or get into lots of physical altercations (none actually). He's a somewhat bright, plodding detective for the Greek police force. And this first novel, of a trilogy, describes his beginnings as a developing detective as he begins to recognize his weaknesses and strengths while solving a nasty murder case of two television reporters. I was engaged and intrigued throughout, despite (or perhaps because) what is often more about the culture of Greece then the murder that Haritos investigates.

Haritos is intriguing. Some of the time I didn't like him--he screams at his wife for no reason, verbally abuses subordinates and suspected criminals, use to work with a torture arm of the Greek army, and reads dictionaries for entertainment. On the other hand, he's honest about his limitations, tries to apologize to his wife, attempts to ferret out corruption, and seems to be a human being going about the messy, chaotic moral choices of life. One of his frequent helpers is a man once tortured under Haritos' watch (but who Haritos helped when he could). I had to remind myself as well that this is a translated novel and is aimed at a Greek audience that might find the corruption and abuse of suspects more palatable than an American audience (especially because the novel takes place just after Greece changed its government to one with a bigger emphasis on democracy).

The case is complex but comes together tightly at the end. We have the murder of a reporter by an Albanian immigrant who confesses, and as Haritos delves deeper another reporter is murdered and so is the Albanian and a child smuggling operation begins to come to light. An apparent red herring--a convicted pederast who was arrested because of the reporter's accusations and evidence--seems unimportant but comes to eventually help solve the case and helps to show Haritos' basic humanity.

Meanwhile, the book uncovers the quotidian culture of Greek life in a way that is not usually available to non-Greek readers. We aren't learning about ancient Greek Culture or even current Greek big wigs, but about what daily life is like for Greeks, their struggles with immigrants (and what the immigrant life must be like), the power and influence of the media, and what the interior life is of the police. We come to see a very different world than that of American readers, and while perhaps not intentionally, the novel makes us think about our own way of doing things, our freedoms, our treatment of immigrants, the restraint of our own media and the expectations of our own police forces.

Admittedly, this is not a fast paced, action packed thriller. And readers looking for detectives who almost get killed at the end of each book because they stupidly put themselves out on a limb won't find what they are looking for in Haritos. And, one of the things I did find irritating is the similarity in the last names of many of the characters (which all began with K). I was having great difficulty telling them apart.

I look forward to seeing where Haritos is headed--will he become more adept at kissing up to the big wigs, like his boss insists or will he continue to harangue and irritate those in power? Will he continue with his love/dislike relationship with his wife and hide in his room reading his dictionary in order to get away from her watching her soaps? Will his daughter go on to become a lawyer on his piddling salary? And will daily life in Athens improve or continue along its plodding, difficult, corruption laden path?
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Peter Oberschelp
4.0 out of 5 stars Adriani
Reviewed in Germany on March 30, 2015
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Das Schönste an den Haritosromanen ist vielleicht die Figur der Frau des Kommissars, Adriani Haritou. Unbeirrt einem traditionellem Frauenbild verschrieben, dabei meilenweit entfernt von der stillen Unterwürfigkeit der Mme Maigret, gewinnt sie die Herzen der Leser. Wenn es darauf ankommt, steht sie ihren Mann entschlossener als jeder andere.
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Penny Roberts
5.0 out of 5 stars good seller
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2022
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the book was as described and quickly delivered. Am looking forward to reading the novel when i go on my Greek getaway shortly. Would purchase from this seller again
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Ing Gerd Huber
5.0 out of 5 stars Komplex Thriller
Reviewed in Germany on February 20, 2012
Verified Purchase
I really liked this Book.
I got a good feeling for the society in greek in the 90's.
The story could have been really like it was told, it was authentic.
I will buy me more books from Kostas.
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blossom
4.0 out of 5 stars PLEASE HEED WARNING - ALSO PUBLISHED AS THE LATE NIGHT NEWS.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2013
Verified Purchase
I wish I had read the previous reviews properly as I would have seen the warning myself. As it is, I now have two copies of the same book.

Still, I did find it an enjoyable story with an interesting main character who is full of flaws, as we all are. I have known many Greeks (not necessarily in Greece itself,& certainly not police) & I was able to relate to some of the idiosyncrasies shown here, which I believe may be almost national character traits.

His familial relationships are similar to what a lot of us have known.

Yet, it is his life as a policeman which makes him what he is.

Athens is a backdrop, but not the Athens most tourists know. Then again, why should it be?

All in all, I enjoyed the story, & was looking forward to reading another in the series, only to find it was the same story dressed in a different title.
One person found this helpful
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Markopasha
5.0 out of 5 stars Deadline in Athens, Petros Markaris
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
Read any Petros Markaris detective novel – sadly very few are translated into English – and you will get a better grasp of modern Greece than from a stack of current events articles by often wrongheaded foreign correspondents. Blackly funny, and Markaris's ear for spoken dialogue or internal monologue is spot on.
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