The Pericles Commission, Gary Corby, Minotaur, $24.99.
This is a welcome addition to the historical mystery field, which has pretty much lacked material set in this particular time period: ancient Greece. Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt are pretty well covered, but not Greece, which is peculiar when you think about it. Corby helpfully supplies a list of character's names and whether or not they existed (like Socrates, who makes an appearance here as an annoying, if brilliant, younger brother to the main character). This is handy as is the glossary at the end of the book: I recommend the use of both, unless you are for some reason fluent in Greek.
In tone, Corby's book most resembles those of Lindsey Davis, whose light and well put together novels set in Ancient Rome have always been popular. I think Corby shares Davis' nice mix of humor, use of historical background and the tone, which is breezy and entertaining, while not sacrificing plot or character. (The humor also reminds me of another gifted historical writer, Alan Gordon.)
The book opens with a literal bang as a corpse falls at the feet of our main character, Nicolaos, who shortly after encounters Pericles. Pericles knew the dead man - Ephialtes, who literally invented democracy, and who actually was murdered days after this astonishing creation. Pericles, knowing that Athens will teeter on the verge of a civil war if the perpetrator isn't caught, gives Nicolaos a commission to discover the killer. Nicolaos' task is made all the more difficult by the fact that he knows few of the players, as well as the fact that his father, a sculptor, had hoped that his son would follow him in his trade.
Structured like a fairly typical private eye novel, Nicolaos goes from suspect to suspect asking questions, often being reprimanded (or reprimanding himself, mentally) for his brash youth. Yet this seems to win him allies as well. The memorable characters he encounters on his path to truth include Euterpe, mistress of the dead man; Diotima, priestess in training and illegitimate daughter of the dead man; and Pythax, who is basically a mercenary working as a slave in Athens to keep the peace as no Athenian is supposed to carry a weapon.
While some of the ancient Athenian customs are entirely unappetizing - the keeping of slaves, for example, and the fact that women were segregated and couldn't own property, many of the practices of the fledgling democracy are still in practice: jury trials, for example. As with any birth, the process surrounding it can be both messy and painful, and Athens at this point in time was in a state of flux. Of course, that's a perfect time to set a mystery.
Corby is really excellent at action scenes. There are two in particular that I thought were terrific - one involves Nicolaos in a street fight, and one involves the young Socrates. Both advance the plot, and Corby scatters them through the narrative like an old pro, punching things up before they begin to sag.
All in all this is a terrific and entertaining debut. For me the extra bonus was the humor. I'm really looking forward to the next installment.
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