"Exciting News for Jeff Siger Fans," courtesy of Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

Jeff–Saturday

 

We at Murder is Everywhere have an unofficial understanding among ourselves not to engage in Blatant Self-Promotion (BSP) unless we have a new book coming out. The driving principle behind that is nothing is more boring than authors incessantly plugging their books. I believe in that, and as the Covid pandemic delayed publication of my latest Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis novel (#11, A DEADLY TWIST) from April 2020 to April 6, 2021, I’ve been generally silent on the BSP front for close to two years. (N.B., there is a “P” included in that disclaimer.)

 

Yet, I’d come around to believing my fans deserve an explanation of what I’ve been doing since the publication of my last Kaldis book (The Mykonos Mob (in hardcover), Island of Secrets (in paperback)). Initially, I planned on running a promotional piece announcing the January 6, 2021 re-release of my first Kaldis novel, MURDER IN MYKONOS.  It features a brilliant new cover theme for the entire series and a blush-inducing introduction by that icon of mystery writing, Thomas Perry. 

 

But then some other exciting news occurred, and my dilemma became when best to announce it and what to say.

 

I wanted to wait until the crazy election news cycle settled down, but obviously that isn’t happening anytime soon. As for what to say, believe it or not I have a tough time with BSP.  Casual Self Promotion yes, and of course, I’m a big fan of BOPP—acronymically speaking [see below for a translation, if you prefer truth to your imagination].

 

But then came along the inimitable George Easter, publisher of our mystery world’s legendary Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine (DPMM), and shepherd of the much-coveted Barry Awards, with an article appearing on December 14^th in DPMM Online titled, “Exciting News For Jeff Siger Fans.”   

 

Everything I could conceive of saying was done for me in that much appreciated article.  It includes (a) an announcement of my film deal, (b) my background, (c) a description of the Kaldis series, (d) a list of all my books, (e) Tom Perry’s introduction to the re-release of Murder in Mykonos (with its new cover), and (f) a terrific review of A DEADLY TWIST!

 

The article begins with this description of my newly inked film deal:

 

VIEWPARK is a virtual studio with a global reach and mandate to produce and distribute quality curated, provocative, self-aware and entertaining content.  VIEWPARK has optioned Jeffrey Siger’s Andreas Kaldis book series for screen adaptation and plans to go into production in 2021, filming on location in Greece, and partnered with Dorian Productions to produce the series.

VIEWPARK is excited to bring the Inspector Kaldis series to the screen. Siger’s police thrillers are first-rate page turners set against the backdrop of some of the most scenic places in the world.  His characters are rich and entertaining and the thoroughly researched procedural dramas are the perfect source material for series adaptation.

Next, George Easter offered this as part of his personal take on the series.

 

For me, one of the aspects of Jeff’s novels that I enjoy the most is his creation of intriguing and ruthless villains who are very challenging to overcome. Another is his beautiful depiction of the Greek settings and islands he uses. It’s a cliché to equate a setting to a character, but in this case, the cliché is true.

Each novel treats some aspect of Greek life or a problem facing Greece (for example, corruption, insolvency, immigration, or conservation vs. development). For instance, the 2018 title, AN AEGEAN APRIL, was probably the first mystery fiction novel to deal seriously with the flood of refugees (and the attendant problem of people trafficking) into the Greek Isles from the troubles in Syria and surrounding areas. It was very timely and informative.

 

 If you haven’t read Jeff yet, you need to do so. You’ll thank me.

 

Can you see me blushing yet?

 

If not, read this excerpt from Tom Perry’s introduction to Murder in Mykonos and you’ll undoubtedly know that I am.

 

The brilliant careers of the fictional Greek police detective Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis and the writer Jeffrey Siger both began in 2009 with Murder in Mykonos. Since then their adventures have continued, and now include nine more novels written in the succeeding decade.

 

Murder in Mykonos did not come and go quietly, as most debuts do. The book was soon the number-one bestselling English language book in Greece, and by2012 was recommended in Fodor’s Greek Islands Guide as a pleasurable literary introduction to the island. In the United States the book quickly earned Siger a collection of rave reviews and, with later books, led to a place of respect among American and European mystery and thriller writers. The New York Times Book Review has called him “Greece’s thriller novelist of record.”

…

 

I’ve observed that one of the things that matters most about a writer is originality. If any writer is to be remembered after he’s gone, it will be for the things he presented in his work that would never have existed without him. Jeffrey Siger has, paradoxically, rediscovered one of the oldest regions and found it fertile ground for ten pieces of first-rate, original fiction. But it all started with Murder in Mykonos. Enjoy your trip.

 

DPMM concludes with this very first review of A DEADLY TWIST, and I’m beyond honored to say it’s earned an A- rating.

 

A DEADLY TWIST
by Jeffrey Siger
Sourcebooks, $26.99, April 6, 2021
Rating: A-
[Reviewed by George Easter]

Jeff Siger’s latest Andreas Kaldis mystery takes us to the relatively untouched Greek island of Naxos, where investigative journalist Nikoletta Elia has disappeared while researching two stories – one about a mysterious hit man who has chosen her to write about his life story; and two, a routine piece on the expanded tourism vs. nature preservation debate going on among Naxos inhabitants. Did someone kidnap Nikoletta because she uncovered something that put her life in danger?

 

When the body of an unidentified male is found at the base of a cliff where Nikoletta was last seen, Kaldis sends his chief deputy, Yianni, to investigate, using the reporter’s notebooks as guides to his search. Yianni survives a near fatal automobile accident, when the car he and a fellow policewoman are in, is forced of a mountainous road. Kaldis and a coterie of associates, including his wife, rush to the island to continue what Yianni started, while his deputy recuperates.

 

The following investigation leads Kaldis and his cohorts into dangerous territory to discover some long-time secrets of illegal activity on Naxos, protected by very powerful people in Greece.

Reading a novel in this series is always a treat. There is so much to like: great characters,
and intriguing story line and a wonderful setting. Enjoy.

 

Before I fall into a swoon from all this excitement, I think I’ll take a brisk walk out into the snow…but WAIT, I can’t.  There’s a new book to finish, and that standalone I’ve been working on, and….

 

Thus ends BSP for 2020.  Blatant Other People Promotion (aka BOPP) will be coming soon, for I have project in mind on that score. But that’s a subject for another post.

 

Stay safe, and please do celebrate sanely over the holidays.

 

–Jeff