A Murder in Thebes (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: Needs improving....
Review: 'Murder in Thebes' opens at Alexander's camp as he lays siege to an seemingly impregnable Thebes. Ordering that the shrines and Pindar's house remain, the stones of the city are levelled and the conquering Macedonian arrives at the Shrine of Oedipus to find a mystery. Who murdered Memnon and Lysander?
As Miriam begins to investigate more murders occur and the Iron Crown of Oedipus is stolen. All that can be seen is a limping, bandaged ghost-like figure who claims to be Oedipus Rex in whose wake death follows. It is up to Miriam to unravel the deaths and the mysteries to ensure Alexander's victory does not become a political triumph for his enemies.
The author's prose style and depiction of Alexanders's Greece and the Greeks is not at the level of a McCullough or Saylor. Alexander's character seems built around the many stereotypes he has been labelled with by historians and much of the terminology used has its roots well after Alexander's time, from the opening 'infantry' (which dates from sixteenth century middle french and old italian), referring to the hoplites as 'footmen' (a fourteenth century term) and use of a Theban stockade (from the seventeenth century Spanish) to Alexander's battles against the 'savage tribes' of Thessaly, much of the vernacular makes the reader with any knowledge of the period raise a questioning eyebrow. By the time the author reveals a key protagonist to be a transvestite (coming from the Latin and 'created' in the twentieth century) it is clear that historical accuracy is not the most fundamental aim of this murder mystery.
However, as much as it lacks the above what it does excel at is creating puzzles. The enigma to obtain the Iron Crown without crossing the pits of fire and snakes and spikes proves baffling until Miriam literally stumbles over the answer. This mixed with the mystery of Memnon's death, several misleading pieces of information as to motive and several complex conundrums all serve to raise the plot somewhat higher over the second half of the novel. Indeed the complexities of Miriam's thought processes to solve the crimes as more and more people die means the novel degenerates into riddle-solving and people interviews. It is necessary as multiple motives, both political and personal intrigue, and several suspects interact and press their own agendas so the reader is unaware of who tells the truth and who does not.
So, as a murder mystery the author scores highly for ability to create a truly cryptic whodunnit is not in question. There are glimmerings and inklings of the culprit(s) but not enough to firmly grasp onto until Miriam's denoument. Where the novel falls down is on its historicity (both in its facts and depiction of the time) and its characterisation. Alexander's character best epitomises it and anyone who knows anything of the period and the man will realise this is one characterisation that misses its mark by some way. If you are a fan of the ancient whodunnit then this is a good addition to the collection.

Rating:
Summary: Thrill, suspense, good writing...what more could you ask?
Review: Anna Apostolou's A Murder in Thebes is a historical fiction mystery novel that took place during time period of Alexander the Great. At the beginning of the novel, he led his powerful Macedonian army to suppress a revolt of Thebans, and decreed the destruction of the city. During his stay, he learned of a suspected Macedonian spy called "the Oracle", who communicated with the opposing side and brutally killed two respected officers. His friend Miriam and her brother Simeon were assigned the role of investigators. Alexander's mind was also on the unattainable Iron Crown of Oedipus, which lay in a closely guarded shrine. There were many signs of a man with close resemblance to the legendary Oedipus who killed officers and instigated trouble. At first he was thought to be merely a ghost, but as more evidence was uncovered, he was believed to be a high-ranking officer. The crown was stolen by this mysterious man, and more Macedonians were found murdered. Slowly Miriam and Simeon pieced together that this was the work of two people, a Theban priestess and a trusted Macedonian officer.
The content depicted in the novel closely relates to the time frame, individuals, events and places described. The characterization of Alexander the Great illustrated him as a clever but temperamental leader. He was known in history to be somewhat of an alcoholic, even killing people in his drunken fits of rage. He demonstrated this in the novel at a feast when he almost attacked an officer with a spear. Alexander was also known to dress in fancy clothing as if he were a god. At a party, Miriam saw him and thought, "Alexander loved to imitate the appearance of a god...donned in his dress armor, gold-wrought breastplate...silver armlets on his wrists, and a thick military cloak fastened around his neck by a silver clasp" (page 69). Olympias, Alexander's mother, was referred to as a malicious woman. In reality she was, and also very shrewd and occult. Miriam remembered her as "bent over a spinning wheel, crooning softly to herself while she planned the bloody assassination of some rival" (page 9). The revolt of Thebans did in fact occur in 332 B.C. and the city was ruthlessly ravaged by the Macedonian army. Many other characters were actual, such as Ptolemy and Hephaestion. Hephaestion was always assumed to be a lover of Alexander's, and evidence is shown to prove this in the novel.
Anna Apostolou emphasized several characteristics of a civilization in A Murder in Thebes. The Macedonians valued literature, Sophocles the playwright in particular. His renowned character Oedipus played a key role in the novel. The people were highly superstitious and for a time believed that his ghost was roaming the city. In this case, myths and legends were taken seriously. When Alexander decided to pillage the city, he gave orders that "...the house of Pindar the poet will be spared...and no temple is to be entered, no priest or priestess violated!" (page 6) The author also emphasized the role of writing and notation. Careful inventories were taken, and duty rosters were helpful in finding out who was working when. The author seemed to think that science was not a distinct characteristic of the Macedonian civilization, and did not focus on public buildings besides the shrine of Oedipus, nor the variety of specialized occupations.
Throughout the novel, Apostolou remained constant in her non-judgmental style of writing. Even during the many scenes where Miriam was harassed by soldiers, she maintained an objective approach. Nor did she seem to look unfavorably upon the bisexuality of many Macedonians. She merely described the events that occurred and the thoughts of the characters.
When evaluating this literary work as a true piece of historical fiction, it seems to be equally balanced between history and fiction. Many characters in the story did exist in history, and sustained the same characteristics. Oedipus, whose legend provided the basis for the novel, was highly revered during that time period, and could have been suspected to haunt Thebes. It is assumed that there were multiple spies and traitors who committed acts of murder and conspired with the enemy, therefor the "Oracle" and his actions were realistic. Obviously a percentage of the characters were made up, as were the murders that occurred, but for the most part it seemed to have as much fiction as it did history.

Rating:
Summary: not good
Review: I would have liked to give this book a 2.5, but that option is not available & it's not good enough for a 3. That said, I am an enormous fan of Paul Doherty, but not of this particular series. His more recent series with Alexander is far, far better. There are just too many historical inaccuracies and too much license taken with actual historical facts. Miriam (the detective) is a dreary, drab, unbelievable little squab of a character (Jews at the court of Philip? Female at that? I doubt it!!).

However, Paul Doherty is a wonderful writer and I would give everything else I have read by him a 4.5 or 5.

Rating:
Summary: A murder in THEBES
Review: This book is a great "who-dunnit" that realates to the past. I can't belive how well Apostolou got all the information from the past and how she related it to the story. WELL DONE!!!

Rating:
Summary: fictional yet believable
Review: This novel is set during the times of Alexandra the Great. The murder of two close officers, Lysander and Memnon, endanger Alexander's rule and to rid the danger he has to unravale the mysteries behind Oedipus' crown. Lysander was betrayed to the Thebans, who did it ? Memnon was in a guarded locked chamber yet fell to his death, who did it ? Macedonian sentires perished during the night, who did it ? Is the spirit of Oedipus reaving havoc on the Macedonian empire ? This is an exciting historical whodunit, chilling and entertaining with lively characters.

Rating:
Summary: not good
Review: What more could you ask for in setting and plot? Staging a mystery among the ranks of Alexander the Great's troops, during the early years of his reign. It should be a sure fire success, especially for such an esteemed writer of historical fiction. But the drab Israelite Miriam, who is the sleuth in these tales, serves as a voice of criticism of a culture that the writer clearly doesn't understand.

I mean this in the fact that the 'history' is excellent, the plotting is well done, but the constant remarks deriding Greek culture and religion is simply ignorant. A shame.

Add to this the distraction that the reader is constantly assaulted with mispellings and errors in grammar every few pages, showing that some editor should have lost their job over this one. :)

Rating:
Summary: a neat and tidy mystery
Review: Yes, Paul Doherty, UK's busiest history/mystery writer, pops up in a US edition only for his newest (and last) pseudonym. Apparently from now on all his books will be published under the DOHERTY byline but I'll believe that when I see it. Perhaps this particular period is not his strongest-readers of his first Apostolou pointed out some mistakes-but followers of this highly successful writer will not need much encouragement to have a go at this title.

Rating:
Summary: Needs improving....
Review: `Murder in Thebes' opens at Alexander's camp as he lays siege to an seemingly impregnable Thebes. Ordering that the shrines and Pindar's house remain, the stones of the city are levelled and the conquering Macedonian arrives at the Shrine of Oedipus to find a mystery. Who murdered Memnon and Lysander?
As Miriam begins to investigate more murders occur and the Iron Crown of Oedipus is stolen. All that can be seen is a limping, bandaged ghost-like figure who claims to be Oedipus Rex in whose wake death follows. It is up to Miriam to unravel the deaths and the mysteries to ensure Alexander's victory does not become a political triumph for his enemies.
The author's prose style and depiction of Alexanders's Greece and the Greeks is not at the level of a McCullough or Saylor. Alexander's character seems built around the many stereotypes he has been labelled with by historians and much of the terminology used has its roots well after Alexander's time, from the opening `infantry' (which dates from sixteenth century middle french and old italian), referring to the hoplites as `footmen' (a fourteenth century term) and use of a Theban stockade (from the seventeenth century Spanish) to Alexander's battles against the `savage tribes' of Thessaly, much of the vernacular makes the reader with any knowledge of the period raise a questioning eyebrow. By the time the author reveals a key protagonist to be a transvestite (coming from the Latin and `created' in the twentieth century) it is clear that historical accuracy is not the most fundamental aim of this murder mystery.
However, as much as it lacks the above what it does excel at is creating puzzles. The enigma to obtain the Iron Crown without crossing the pits of fire and snakes and spikes proves baffling until Miriam literally stumbles over the answer. This mixed with the mystery of Memnon's death, several misleading pieces of information as to motive and several complex conundrums all serve to raise the plot somewhat higher over the second half of the novel. Indeed the complexities of Miriam's thought processes to solve the crimes as more and more people die means the novel degenerates into riddle-solving and people interviews. It is necessary as multiple motives, both political and personal intrigue, and several suspects interact and press their own agendas so the reader is unaware of who tells the truth and who does not.
So, as a murder mystery the author scores highly for ability to create a truly cryptic whodunnit is not in question. There are glimmerings and inklings of the culprit(s) but not enough to firmly grasp onto until Miriam's denoument. Where the novel falls down is on its historicity (both in its facts and depiction of the time) and its characterisation. Alexander's character best epitomises it and anyone who knows anything of the period and the man will realise this is one characterisation that misses its mark by some way. If you are a fan of the ancient whodunnit then this is a good addition to the collection.