Blood & Gold

In Kanaris’s assured sequel to 2015’s Codename Xenophon, PI George Zafiris looks into the suspicious death of Mario Filiotis, the mayor of the island of Astypalea. According to the police report, Filiotis was riding a bicycle when he lost his balance and was hit by a truck. Zafiris, who was a friend of the deceased mayor, soon discovers that the police have done everything possible to erase any evidence. “The bicycle has been disposed of,” an unhelpful official tells him. “Also the truck driver’s file.” During Filiotis’s funeral, a mishap with his coffin reveals not a body but a trove of archeological treasures. Filiotis’s appointment book provides some leads for Zafiris and his raw but eager helper, Haris Pezas, to pursue. Meanwhile, Zafiris takes on a worried new client, Anna Kenteri, who wants him to locate her missing sister, violinist Keti Kenteri. Both cases turns out to be complex and dangerous. Kanaris depicts a troubled Greece with compassion and precisely observed social commentary. (Aug.)