Nicolaos is minding his own business in ancient Athens when a body falls from the Areopagus above. Pericles, a rising politician, arrives moments later, and together they identify the corpse as that of Ephialtes, leader of the democratic movement and Pericles's friend. After a brief conversation, Pericles determines that Nicolaos is a man of keen insight and commissions him to investigate the highly volatile murder. Corby uses the early chapters to explain for the modern reader everything from Athenian politics and the place of women to monetary matters and clothing. Once the story gets rolling, though, it moves along at a good clip, even borrowing some tropes from the noir subgenre-a beating for the hero, a femme fatale, and plenty of shifty characters. As he explains in his author's note, Corby draws the murder and many of his characters from historical documents, lending that much more believability to the story.

VERDICT This series opener will appeal to historical mystery fans and readers who enjoy Lindsey Davis and Kelli Stanley.

-Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids