Ready or Not, Here Comes THE MYKONOS MOB

Saturday—Jeff

Yes, dear reader, today is my once a year unabashed Blatant Self Promotion Saturday, because on Tuesday, April 2^nd THE MYKONOS MOB is released.  It’s number ten in my Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis mystery thriller series, made all the more special because it’s my first book under the auspices of my new publisher, Sourcebooks, which acquired Poisoned Pen Press as its mystery imprint in January.

I’ve been told that those of you attending Left Coast Crime in Vancouver next weekend will be able to purchase pre-release copies, but if not, don’t fret because my website lists places where you can obtain a copy, as well as describing where I’ll be touring, frantically awaiting the opportunity of personalizing your copy with my new fountain pen.  And, yes, that’s the same schedule of book events as sits at the bottom of this post (and has on Saturdays for a month…subtly self-promoting).

So, what’s #10 all about?  My tag line for it is, “#MeToo meets the Mob.”  I say that because while Andreas wrestles to learn what’s behind the assassination of a corrupt ex-police colonel who’d run the island’s protection rackets—a hit that threatens all out war for control of the island’s vice operations—Andreas’ wife, Lila, struggles to find a meaningful role for herself beyond wife and mother. 

Serendipitously, Lila’s search introduces a new character that I’m simply wild about:  Toni, a devil-may-care American ex-pat who pushed her way into a leading role in the book as the quick-witted piano player in a gender bending bar by night, and the island’s most connected finder of stolen items and fixer by day. Toni’s contagious, iconoclastic zest for life soon turns Lila and Toni into fast friends, and they hit upon a plan to mentor young island girls caught up in an exploitative culture, unaware that their well-intended plans are on a deadly collision course with Andreas’ investigation.

  

But there is another way to look at The Mykonos Mob; from the perspective of Mykonians who asked me to write about the wildly profitable dark side of the renowned 24/7 international playground we call home, the sinister forces battling for control of its vices, and the innocents affected by it all.

For those who look for bottom line messages in a book, one of my characters suggests a pretty good one:  As long as people thirst after vices, if you’re willing to offer a place for providers and seekers to come together and freely do their business, you will always make money—and all it will cost you is the community life and family values you once cherished.

NEWS FLASH. Just before posting this blog I learned Publishers Weekly had reviewed The Mykonos Mob, calling it “entertaining” and “fun.” As great as that was to hear, I was particularly moved by the reviewer’s grasp of the roles Lila and Toni play in the book. Here’s an excerpt from that review.

Siger’s entertaining 10th mystery featuring Chief Insp. Andreas Kaldis… his right-hand man, Det. Yianni Kouros, and the inspector’s perceptive and understanding wife, Lila, who welcomes a break from her routine life as a wife and mother. American expat Toni, a woman who plays piano in local bars and befriends Lila, says of Mykonos: “It’s a paradise for everyone. Until you become a victim.” Kaldis and Kouros are soon drawn into what is shaping up to be a turf war for control of the island’s many lucrative and shady dealings—from prostitution to exploitive real estate deals. But the question remains: who is really behind the killing of the colonel? Siger seasons Kaldis’s investigation with abundant slices of Greek history and island mores, along with Lila’s consciousness-raising conversations. Armchair travelers will have fun.

 And now I just learned that earlier today Library Journal released a review in which they also call my tenth Kaldis title, “an entertaining read.”  That’s back-to-back “entertainings” by big time reviewers.  Whoopee!!!

The Mykonos Mob is a very special book to me for many reasons, but I’d be remiss if I failed to mention my proudest reason.  It is dedicated to a Mykonian whose smile never failed to light up a room, whose charity was honest and without pretext, whose consideration and love for his family, friends and community served as a blessing and treasured memory to all fortunate enough to know him.  He appealed to our better natures and served as a beacon for the youth of his island seeking leadership into the future.  Sadly, he passed away while I was writing this book—at twenty-four, after a valiant battle against an insidious cancer, all the while smiling, enduring and strong. We shall not see your kind, sweet, soul again, dear Nikolaos Andreas Fiorentinos.

God Bless you.

  

—Jeff

My Upcoming Events

Friday, March 29, 4:00 PM

Vancouver BC, Canada

LEFT COAST CRIME –Hyatt Regency Vancouver

Moderating “International Settings” with Alice K. Boatwright, G.M. Malliet, Sujata Massey, and S.J. Rozan

Saturday, March 30, 4:00 PM

Vancouver BC, Canada

LEFT COAST CRIME –Hyatt Regency Vancouver

Panelist, “Keeping a Series Alive” with Anne Cleeland, Mary Jane Malfini/Victoria Abbott, Marty Wingate, moderated by Janice MacDonald

THE MYKONOS MOB book tour begins:

Tuesday, April 2, 7:00 PM

Seattle, WA

THIRD PLACE BOOKS (Lake Forest Park)

Author Speaking and Signing

Saturday, April 6, 3:00 PM

San Francisco, CA

BOOK PASSAGE (Ferry Building-Embarcadero)

Author Speaking and Signing

Sunday, April 7, 3:00 PM

Orange, CA

BOOK CARNIVAL              

Author Speaking and Signing

Wednesday, April 10, 7 PM

Pasadena, CA

VROMAN’S (East Colorado)

Author Speaking and Signing

Friday, April 12, 7 PM

Dallas, TX

Interabang (Preston Oaks)

Author Speaking and Signing

Monday, April 15, 2:00 PM

Fountain Hills, AZ

Fountain Hills Community Center

Fountain Hills Friends of the Library Author Event

Tuesday, April 16, 7:00 PM

Scottsdale, AZ

POISONED PEN BOOKSTORE

Author Speaking and Signing

Wednesday, April 24, 6:30 PM

Houston, TX

MURDER BY THE BOOK

Author Speaking and Signing

Friday, April 26, 7:00 PM

Denver, CO

TATTERED COVER (East Colfax)

Author Speaking and Signing

Monday, April 29, 7:00 PM

Pittsburgh, PA

MYSTERY LOVERS BOOKSHOP

Author Speaking and Signing

Wednesday, May 1, 6:30 PM

New York, NY

MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP

Author Speaking and Signing

Thursday, May 2, 7:00 PM

Naperville, IL

ANDERSON’S BOOKSHOP

Author Speaking and Signing

Friday, May 3, 7:00 PM

Chicago, IL (Forest Park)

CENTURIES & SLEUTHS  BOOKSTORE

Author Speaking and Signing

Saturday, May 4, 2 PM

Milwaukee, WI

BOSWELL BOOK COMPANY

Author Speaking and Signing

Thursday May 9, 5:00 PM

BRISTOL, UK

CRIMEFEST—Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel

Panelist on “Nobody Would Believe it if You Wrote it: Fake News, Post-Truth and Changing Words,” with Fiona Erskine, William Shaw, Gilly Macmillan, moderated by Paul E. Hardisty

Friday, May 10, 5:10 PM

BRISTOL, UK

CRIMEFEST—Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel

Panelist on “Sunshine Noir,” with Paul Hardisty,  Barbara Nadel, Robert Wilson, moderated by Michael Stanley

October 31-November 3

DALLAS, TX

BOUCHERCON 2019---Hyatt Regency Dallas

Panel Schedule Yet to be Announced