Mykonos Comes to Life

 

Jeff–Saturday

 

The past couple of weeks have not been particularly kind to Mykonos. I’m not just talking about the weather—which is now heading back to the sunny seventies (Fahrenheit; low 20s Celsius).

 

I’m referring to the rash of media attention it’s received from the Greek and international press. None of that should come as a surprise because fame attracts attention, and Mykonos’ fame as the world’s Number One celebrity draw and Mediterranean party island screams out for attention of every imaginable sort.

 

It’s even made the front page of the business section of The New York Times, with the headline “Mykonos, a Sinister Side To a Luxury Building Boom.” The story line reminds me of a book I wrote a few years back, titled, “The Mykonos Mob” (published in trade paperback as “Island of Secrets.”) – and of another I wrote five years before that, “Mykonos After Midnight.”

 

 

But I’ve no interest in getting into any of that today—or the optimism I sense among many Greeks at the results of this past Sunday’s Parliamentary elections.  I’ll leave those topics for another time…perhaps after Greece’s concluding round of Parliamentary elections set for June 25^th. Instead, I’m offering up a selection of photos taken this week largely around old Mykonos town… plus some shots of (for now) deserted beaches. It’s meant to give you a sense of what things are like before the season begins in earnest.

 

So, here we go…welcome to the place I call home.

 

On the harbor-front old town beach

In the old harbor

On the new path from the Windmills to Little Venice

Little Venice

The Windmills as seen from Little Venice

Tourist Fashion Shop

Discerning Tourist Shop

Supermarket Wine Section

Yes, you saw correctly... 19,900€/$21,000

 A far better value

View of the new harbor

View of the True Mykonos Spirit that keeps me coming back

Is Mykonos Destined to be Europe's Las Vegas?

Jeff—Saturday

Five years ago I wrote a book with what some thought a “preposterous, never happen” premise: a plot centered on turning Mykonos, the Aegean Greek island I call home, into Europe’s Las Vegas.  How foolish of me to suggest that Mykonians would ever countenance such a terminal end to their treasured island paradise’s ways. 

I remember delivering a copy of that book to the newly elected mayor in his office at the town hall. I also remember what I said to him at that time.  “Mister Mayor, if what I wrote comes true, it will happen on your watch.”  He promised me it wouldn’t.

Here’s an excerpt from Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis’ fifth mystery-thriller, Mykonos After Midnight, highlighting the concerns that triggered my warning to the mayor:

“Can you imagine what a casino would do for Mykonos?  It would turn the place into the Las Vegas of the Mediterranean."

“And that's a good thing?  ... Don't you think the island has gone about as far off in the ‘nightlife direction’ as the Mykonians can take?”…

“If we'd commit as a community to turning our island into a worldwide entertainment destination, a Las Vegas on the sea, it would become a year-round tourist attraction, and not just a place for partying…in the summer…But none of that is ever going to happen…The big boys here have all the juice and the big boys elsewhere don't want Mykonos to have a casino.  And you don't have to look very hard to see how nasty some of them are willing to play… Those boys play for keeps. So, unless you're prepared to play by their rules, stay away.”

“[H]ere we are…on the verge of bringing…[foreign organized crime] to Mykonos… Wholly different rules.  No one, not a child, mother, you name it, is off limits.”...

“And once here, they'll want a piece of everything they can get their hands on.”…

“Las Vegas may not be a bad comparison for the way Mykonos could end up.  I hear it's surrounded by desert filled with never to be discovered bodies.  Mykonos has the Aegean.”

“Let's hope it doesn't go that way.” 

“What's to stop it?  If all it takes is money to do whatever you want, those with the most get to call the shots.”…

“If you're right, there's nothing you or I can do to affect the end of that story; it's all up to the Mykonians.”

*****

That’s what I wrote in 2012, now take a look at this excerpt from an article appearing four days ago (December 12, 2017) in Casino News Daily titled, “Opposition Mounts to Mykonos Casino Construction Proposal”:

Municipal authorities of the Greek island of Mykonos have launched a process for gathering signatures for a referendum on the potential construction of a casino. The move came after it was announced that the Greek government was considering a gambling bill that, among other things, would expand the country’s casino industry.

Under the bill, three new casino licenses could be issued for each of three Greek islands, with those being Mykonos, Crete, and Santorini. All three are among Greece’s major tourist hubs.

Local media reported that Mykonos Mayor Constantinos Koukas recently proposed the launch of a signature collection process. The move was approved by the Mykonos council without objection and was launched shortly after.

It is understood that Mykonos officials are trying to collect enough signatures for a referendum at which residents will be able to voice their opinion on the proposed casino. According to local media, the island’s Mayor and council undertook the move in hopes to prevent the construction of the gambling venue…

Greece’s casino expansion effort came as part of the government’s plan to overhaul the nation’s gambling industry. The changes have been pushed for by the Ministry of Finance for quite some time now…

It is believed that the Greek government will vote on the casino expansion proposal before Christmas. And according to reports from local media, the bill has already gained quite a lot of momentum and will likely be passed…

The legislative piece contains provisions that will create a licensing system for foreign gambling operators to be able to participate in the country’s market.

It looks like the “big boys” off the island—and perhaps on—decided a casino on Mykonos wasn’t such a bad idea after all, nor is bringing in foreign gambling operators.  I wonder what the referendum will show the Mykonians to think about all of this, not that their referendum at this late a date in the process will likely affect the outcome. 

What I wonder even more is whether the mayor was thinking of our conversation when he called for the referendum.  After all, he was warned not just by me, but by the international criminal mastermind in Mykonos After Midnight who, after thwarted in its (fictional) efforts to build a casino hotel on Mykonos, said this:

“I want you to go back to Mykonos and wait.  We will forget about this hotel deal… Still, a seed has been planted, and the possibility looms in the minds of those who matter that there is great profit to be made for those willing to sell their birthright.  We just must be ready for the opportunities.  They will come in many forms as Greeks struggle to find a new direction.”

Ah, yes, fiction.  How I love it when it shows the way. And hate it when it comes true.

—Jeff

Jeff’s Upcoming Events

My ninth Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis novel, AN AEGEAN APRIL, publishes on January 2, 2018 and here is the first stage of my book tour:

Thursday, January 4 @ 7PM

Poisoned Pen Bookstore,

Scottsdale, AZ (joint appearance with Thomas Perry)

Saturday, January 6 @ 2 PM            

Clues Unlimited

Tucson, AZ

Monday, January 8  @ 7PM

Vromans (on Colorado)

Pasadena, CA

Wednesday, January 10 @ 7PM                   

Tattered Cover (on Colfax)

Denver, CO

Saturday, January 13 @ 2 PM                      

Book Carnival 

Orange, CA

Sunday, January 14 @ 2 PM

Mysterious Galaxy

San Diego, CA

Wednesday, January 17 @ 7 PM      

Third Place Books (Lake Forest Park)

Seattle, WA

Thursday, January 18 @ 7 PM

Janet Rudolph’s Mystery Readers Literary Salon

Berkeley, CA

Sunday, January 21 @ 7 PM

Book Passage

Corte Madera, CA

Thursday, January 25 @ 7 PM

Mysterious Bookshop

New York, NY

Friday, February 2 @ 7PM

Centuries & Sleuths (Forest Park)

Chicago, IL

Saturday, February 3 @ 12 PM

Once Upon A Crime

Minneapolis, MN

It's All Up to the Mykonians

Jeff—Saturday

Perhaps there’s just something in the air…or the water, but the raging populist drive reflected in Thursday’s Brexit vote and the US Presidential campaign seems to be taking root on Mykonos.

A half-dozen times this week different Mykonians lamented to me on their island’s future. That’s not unusual.  I’ve been hearing similar complaints every year for over thirty years. Some say it’s only natural. :)  This time, though, the complaint was specific, with each one expressly saying, “We’re turning into Las Vegas.”

That gave me a chill.  No, not because of my own memories of times in Las Vegas, but because those were practically the very words I’d used to describe the potential fate of the island more than three years ago in Mykonos After Midnight (no cover shot this time). 

Here is dialog from that Kaldis book #5 among Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, his colleague Yianni Kouros, and Lefteris, a local Mykonos businessman.  I’ve edited the conversation slightly so as to avoid a plot spoiler.

[It starts off with the local, Lefteris, saying,] “Can you imagine [turning] … Mykonos… into the Las Vegas of the Mediterranean?”

“And that’s a good thing?” said Kouros.

Andreas rubbed his forehead.  “Don't you think the island has gone about as far off in the ‘nightlife direction’ as the Mykonians can take?”

“Maybe, but it has only profited the handful of locals who control it.  Look, I love this place as much as any Mykonian.  I grew up here and raised my family here.  But I'm a realist.  There is no going back to the old days.  None.  All we can do is try to protect the future, make things fairer so that no longer will one man get rich and another go to jail for doing exactly the same thing just because one has connections and the other does not. 

“If we'd commit as a community to turning our island into a worldwide entertainment destination, a Las Vegas on the sea, it would become a year-round tourist attraction, and not just a place for partying kids in the summer.”

Lefteris turned his hands palms up and shrugged.  “But none of that is ever going to happen...The big boys here have all the juice and the big boys elsewhere don’t want Mykonos to [succeed].  And you don't have to look very hard to see how nasty some of them are willing to play.”

….

[When alone with Andreas, Kouros said,] “Las Vegas may not be a bad comparison for the way Mykonos could end up.  I hear it's surrounded by desert filled with never to be discovered bodies.  Mykonos has the Aegean.”

“Let's hope it doesn't go that way.” 

“What's to stop it?  If all it takes is money to do whatever you want, those with the most get to call the shots,” said Kouros.

Andreas put his arm around Kouros’ shoulder.  “If you’re right, there's nothing you or I can do to affect the end of that story; it's all up to the Mykonians.” 

***

So, to those Mykonians now concerned and complaining, I suggest that perhaps some constructive guidance can be found in the words of U.S. Representative and veteran civil rights leader, John Lewis, offered in his speech Wednesday announcing his and his colleagues’ determination to occupy the floor of the United States Congress until that government body addresses common sense gun-control measures.

Here are relevant excerpts from Representative Lewis’ speech, modified as indicated for local consumption.

“[You] were elected to lead, [fill in position]. [You] must be headlights, and not taillights.  [You] cannot continue to stick [y]our heads in the sand and ignore the reality of [what is happening to our island]… [T]his is a fact. It is not an opinion. [You] must remove the blinders. The time for silence and patience is long gone.

We are calling on the leadership of the [island] to bring common-sense … legislation [and enforcement] to the [fore]… [You] came here to do [y]our jobs.  [You] came here to work. The [Mykonian] people are demanding action.”

As Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis once said, “It’s all up to the Mykonians.”

—Jeff

MYKONOS AFTER MIDNIGHT

I’m ready to pass out cigars. The new baby arrives September 3^rd.  Can’t believe it’s already the fifth in the series.  The mother is doing fine, but she was somewhat surprised when someone named Kirkus wrote to say he’d had an advance glimpse of the soon to be with us little package and it “reads more like an Elmore Leonard caper than a whodunit.”  Mom swears she knew “whodunit” and it wasn’t that Elmore Leonard fellow (God rest his brilliant soul).

Elmore Leonard (1925-2013)

I think I’ll stop now and try to make sense.  Rather, I’ll let Publishers Weekly do it for me, “Siger’s satisfying fifth mystery featuring Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis… a complicated international plot that threatens to disrupt the easygoing, anything-goes life that Mykonos is famous for—keeps the reader engaged,” or maybe Chicago’s The Greek Star, “[Siger] has so profoundly captured the essence of Modern Greece and its people, you can’t believe he isn’t Greek.  The reader travels to Greece and is right in the center of the action… Siger is a gifted storyteller. His stories grab you and don’t let go.”

Blush, blush, blush. 

Honest, I am blushing, though you might not be able to tell as I’m still on Mykonos and won’t be back in the US on book tour for MYKONOS AFTER MIDNIGHT until November. 

However, I will be in Albany, New York to participate with some of my MIE mates in Bouchercon 2013 and announce MAM’s release with a little promotional surprise at the convention (our Murder is Everywhere Panel, “When in Rome,” kicks off the conference at 12 noon on Thursday, September 19^th).  After all, we must keep our publishers at least thinking we care about doing more than just writing our books. J  And in my case I’ve got the absolute best, most supportive publisher in the mystery world, POISONED PEN PRESS, with a special shout out to my nonpareil editor, Barbara Peters.

So, here’s a quick sketch of the new book, the one in which I return to my home island of Mykonos, scene of my debut novel in the series, Murder in Mykonos—followed by Assassins of Athens, Prey on Patmos, and Target: Tinos (if you’re going to do a BSP piece once a year, you might as well go all the way!):

MYKONOS AFTER MIDNIGHT begins with a legendary nightclub owner found bludgeoned to death in his Mykonos home.  In his lifetime he’d helped transform Mykonos from an obscure, impoverished Aegean island into a world-renown summertime playground for the world’s rich and powerful, and the Mykonian people into some of the wealthiest in Greece. 

All evidence points to obvious killers, but the murder has put long hidden, politically explosive secrets in play and drawn a dangerous foreign investor to the island.  Andreas Kaldis, feared head of Greece’s special crimes division, is certain there’s a far more complex solution to the murder.  Andreas’ quest for answers amid the entrenched cultural contradictions that give Mykonos so much of its magic, soon has him battling ruthless opportunists preying on his country’s weakened financial condition and learning that there is a high, unexpected price to pay for his curiosity.

He finds himself locked in war with a powerful, clandestine international force willing to do whatever it takes to wrest control of Mykonos from its old guard, no matter what the cost, no matter who must die.  It is a struggle of the sort playing out across much of Greece during this time of dire economic crises overrunning a society rooted in the past trying to catch up with the present. 

I’m very proud of this book.  I consider it true to the gracious words on my Kaldis series expressed by Marilyn Stasio of The New York Times when, in selecting Target: Tinos as one of her five picks for the beach in 2012, wrote: “Another of Siger’s thoughtful police procedurals set in picturesque but not untroubled Greek locales.”

I hope you’ll agree, but more importantly, ENJOY!

Thanks.  Our regularly scheduled programming will return next Saturday.

Jeff—Saturday