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((and the winner of Caught Up In It from yesterday is Beverly Fontaine! Email Hank via her website!)
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Can you imagine a more glorious historic
romantic suggestion than—let’s go off to the Greek Isles? Have you ever been
there? We’ve talked about setting in mystery, of course and chosen the places
we’ve adore to go.
But whoever chose the Greek Isles—you
win. Because the amazing Jeff Siger will take us there. In his books, of
course, but hey. We love that.
(Do you know Jeff? He’s absolutely
fascinating, with a jaw-dropping resume, and you can see all that below).
But we are so thrilled to have him here
today. Got your passport? Let’s go to Greece.
HANK: When you made the decision to start a crime series, why did you choose Greece as the setting?
JEFF: When I started writing about Andreas Kaldis with Murder in
Mykonos, I thought I’d be writing a stand-alone novel telling the story of
a Greek island I had come to know intimately over the course of several
decades. I wanted to write about the people, culture and politics of
Mykonos, and only settled upon the mystery format because it struck me as the
best vehicle for exploring how a tourist island society might respond to a
threat to its newfound economic glory.
 |
| Mykonos |
Spartan courage, Athenian democracy, Olympic achievement, Trojan
intrigue—all sprung from this wondrous land.
As for Greece’s place in the modern world: just look at a map,
and you'll immediately realize how many of the greatest issues facing the
modern world are centered in Greece’s Mediterranean
neighborhood. I’d venture to say no western country is closer to
what challenges our planet today than Greece.
HANK: And your setting shifts from one Greek island to another. I’m losing my geography here—but seems like you won’t soon run out of new places.
JEFF: In order to run out of Greek island locales —not to
mention the plethora of utterly intriguing mainland venues—I’d have to live
more than a thousand years… and that would be at a two-book-a-year pace!
HANK: Okay, then! Setting solved. But you also use of timely contemporary issues as a centerpiece. In THE MYKONOS MOB, it’s the island’s ever-expanding popularity with the tourist trade upon the lives of its native occupants. What else are you thinking about?
JEFF: So many things happening in our world call out for
Kaldis to intervene, but at the moment there’s an idea percolating in my mind that's got its hooks
deeply into me. It’s a battle raging on an island close by Mykonos that
has islanders seeking to preserve their agrarian ways pitted against those
seeking to maximize tourism profits. It is a dilemma facing many of the
world’s tourist paradises, but particularly so the Greek islands. And it can
lead to murder. That's all I have to say on that for now. Stay tuned....
HANK: How about you--who do you read? Who do
you revere as an author? Who has influenced you?
JEFF: That’s such a hard question for me to answer, because
those I think of as having most influenced my style of writing are not commonly
associated with the crime writing genre. Cormac McCarthy is a favorite of
mine on so many levels, as is Steinbeck, and I admire the pacing of Tom
Clancy—but in my approach to dialog I think of myself as influenced more by the
cadence of poets (Robert Frost, believe it or not) and the decisive rigor of
playwrights (such as August Wilson).
I see Inspector Kaldis and his crew as having naturally evolved
without any conscious input on my part. Having said that, my work is most
often compared to that of Ed McBain and Donna Leon, two literary legends to
whom I am deeply honored to be compared.
HANK: Whoa. That’s quite the pedigree! Okay, now I can’t resist.
Were Netflix or HBO to come calling with a plan to develop an on-location film
or miniseries based on one of the Kaldis novels, which one would you suggest
they start with? And play casting
director for a moment.
JEFF: Funny you should mention that. Let’s just say that I don’t
count my film deals—or leading actors—until they’re hatched. :) However, and
hypothetically speaking, I’d say the place to start is with the first in the
series, MURDER IN MYKONOS, because it plumbs the spirit of Greek islands in
general, and Mykonos in particular, while establishing the personal integrity
of Andreas Kaldis that carries forward throughout the series. As for lead
actors, I’m so bad at that, but others have suggested Clive Owen or Bradley
Cooper.
HANK:
Hmm. Investigative reporter me is hearing…secrets.
So, Reds and readers, do you imagine
Greece? Or have you been there? Like to go?
And a copy of THE MYKONOS MOB to TWO lucky commenters!
Jeffrey Siger
Jeffrey Siger
is an American living on the Aegean Greek island of Mykonos. A Pittsburgh native
and former Wall Street lawyer, he gave up his career as a name partner in his
own New York City law firm to write mystery thrillers that tell more than just
a fast-paced story. His Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis novels are aimed at
exploring serious societal issues confronting modern day Greece and the world
at large, while touching upon Greece’s ancient roots.
The
New York Times Book Review honored his work by designating Jeff as Greece’s thriller
novelist of record, the Greek Government’s General Secretariat of Media and
Communications selected him as one of six authors—and the only American—writing
mysteries that serve as a guide to Greece, and Library Journal named
his ninth book in the series, An Aegean April, as one of the best
mystery books of 2018. He’s also received Barry and Left Coast Crime Best Novel
award nominations.
Jeff’s
work is published in the US, UK, Germany and Greece He is honored to have
served as Chair of the National Board of Bouchercon, the world's largest
mystery convention, and as adjunct professor of English at Washington &
Jefferson College, teaching mystery writing.
His
new novel, The Mykonos Mob, is the tenth in the widely praised
Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series, and explores the wildly profitable dark side of this renowned
24/7 island playground for the world’s rich and famous, the forces battling for
control of its vices, and the innocents affected by it all.
Jeff
blogs about Greece every Saturday onwww.murderiseverywhere.blogspot.com and can be reached atwww.jeffreysiger.com, on Facebook @jeffrey siger, and
on Instagram at jeffrey_siger
The
Mykonos Mob: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery—the tenth in the
series—will be published on April 2 by Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of
Sourcebooks.
