Stratos Gazis hates being called a contract killer. What he is, is a conscientious fixer. He fixes problems that are only mentioned in whispers. That very few can fix. Things that people are willing to pay handsomely to get done, without wanting to know about the small stuff - just that the job was carried out. Stratos is their man, provided that his meticulous research shows him that the targets deserve their fate. As he says, "I'm a kind of Robin Hood. I hunt down the villains. And I rob them. Of their lives." But now, in the midst of the Greek economic crisis and political turmoil, during a melancholy winter which makes life in Athens even more unbearable than usual, this film-noir loving caretaker with the strict moral code is about to get involved in the most high-profile case of his contract killer career. He finds himself caught between the most beloved lawyer in Greece, known as "the guardian of the poor", and his actress and model wife, the most desirable woman in the country. They are both in dire need of his killing services, but which one is telling the truth?
Helped by three childhood friends, Costas Dragas, a homicide cop, Teri, a transsexual high-class hooker and Maria, the passion of his life, he discovers that truth, in shattered loves and broken families, is, as ever, a relative thing.
Though the idea of a killer sleuth has been done before, it is the dynamics between Stratos and his friends that really set this book apart for me and had me take notice of it. If you like character-driven stories or are a fan of a hard-boiled style of detective fiction, you may well want to check this series out.
Read my full review at Mysteries Ahoy!