A tourist is found dead in Istanbul, the victim of what appears to be a ritual killing. An elderly man is murdered in the same manner, in his house by Lake Como. The third murder is the most perplexing of all: the priest of a small, isolated Greek island lies dead in the sanctuary, his body ritualistically mutilated.
Fotini Meliou is visiting her family on the island of Athora for a few days, before starting a new life in the US. She is looking forward to a brief respite and, perhaps, becoming better acquainted with the seductive Gabriel, whom she has just met. It is not the summer vacation she expects it to be. A massive weather bomb is gathering over the Aegean, threatening to unleash the most violent weather the area has ever seen.
When the storm breaks out, the struggle begins. A race against the elements and a race against time: the killer is still on the island, claiming yet another victim. In the absence of a coroner and with the island now cut off from the rest of the world, Fotini is called in by the local police to help carry out an autopsy. She quickly becomes swept up in the investigation and the battle against the storm.
Locals, a boatload of newly arrived refugees, foreign residents, and stranded tourists are now trapped on an island that has lost contact with the outside world. Is the mysterious refugee Azim the man he claims to be? Who is Sophie, an elderly woman who has been living on Athora like a hermit these past thirty years? What are Gabriel and Carlo, a visiting American investor, really after?
As the storm wreaks havoc on the island, how will they manage to survive?
Original title in Greek: «Φως μέσα στη θύελλα»
Suzi Stembridge
Readers who choose a book for the location of a beautiful Greek island will need to adjust their thinking as this is a serious and probably realistic portrayal of how challenging events, perhaps even fantastical, would be in a remote place. The book is well written and as page-turners go, once past the first three chapters this is without parallel. The setting within climate change events must have taken some research, as would the awful circumstances of the grizzly deaths. The characters are well drawn and the book draws all the extraordinary events into a clever conclusion in the very last pages. I recommend this book.
“Really enjoyable book. There’s romance. history and an insightful look at the other side of a Greek island, the one that you don’t usually see as a tourist. Not only is Kostas Krommydas a talented actor, he’s also a gifted writer. I look forward to reading more from him.”
Julie Ryan