THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS is the first in a Greek set seven deadly sins series.  THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS represents Lust.  You can get details about the rest of the series here. My thoughts....3.5 stars The death of Irini Asimakopoulos brings the mysterious investigator Hermes Diaktoros aka The Fat Man to the remote Greek island of Thiminos.  The Fat Man doesn’t believe the official conclusion; Irini’s death was an accident.  Eccentric and mysterious, in his person and investigative methods, he makes the villagers aware he will discover the truth behind Irini’s death no matter the cost. When I began THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS I was intrigued by the seven deadly sins premise as well as the location.  The island of Thiminos and its inhabitants came across, for the most part, as hard scrabble and depressing; giving a nod to the modern world while mired deeply in a dark archaic past.  This curious blending of modern and ancient gives THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS an odd timeless quality.  It wouldn’t have surprised me to discover one of the characters was a Greek god in disguise. THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS is as unorthodox in its telling as The Fat Man is in his investigative technique.  The Prologue met my expectations but then events slowed to a snails pace and pages were spent on minutia and rambling details past and present. The first half, while atmospheric, was a bit of a slog and I seriously considered giving a D(id)N(ot)F(inish) rating.  To my delight the second half picked up the pace along with all those gossamer detail threads to bring THE MESSENGER OF ATHENS to a gratifying conclusion rich in karmic justice. Like a Tom Holt novel, Anne Zouroudi’s Seven Deadly Sins series requires a certain mindset.  Mentally prepared for the uniqueness of the telling and characters I’m looking forward to the rest of Ms. Zouroudi’s series.  Hopefully I’ll discover who, exactly, the Fat Man is.