Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Saturday, February 14, 2026
Tuesday, February 03, 2026
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Sunday, January 04, 2026
Favorite Books of 2025
Back
in June, I gave you my favorite books of the year so far. I had 12 for you on
my list. Last week I gave you my list
of favorite reads for the back half of the year. That was 13 more favorite
reads. That meant, between the two lists, there were 25 of my favorite reads
for the year.
The stated
plan was to whittle both lists down to a master list of 10-12 favorite books. I
have thought about it a lot and there is simply no way for me to shrink the
lists. Like playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, it can’t be done.
So, all
I can do now is to tell you that every book selected on the two lists are
mighty good reads. Like I said before, there are 25 of them. That means, if you
do one a week, you should be ready when it is 105 plus here in the shade,
again, this summer and I tell you what I liked in the first half of the year.
Not to mention that while a few are series starters, others are installments in series. That means you also have those books to read. That is even more reading to do.
See, I’m
not a quitter. Both lists are so good they can’t be cut. I chose great reads. You
just have to understand that I am doing you a favor. I’m keeping you occupied
while the world goes to hell.
I’m a
helper! 
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Saturday, January 03, 2026
Saturday, December 27, 2025
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Publication Day Review: Murder in Mykonos: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger
Murder in Mykonos: A Chief
Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger is the first book in
the series originally published by the Poisoned Pen Press. Now published by
Severn House, the book begins a series of at least fourteen police procedurals
set in Greece. In this case, specifically, the Greek island of Mykonos.
At thirty-four, Andreas Kaldis has been
a hot shot homicide detective in the capital city of Athens. But, he annoyed those
in power, so he has been “promoted” out of town. He is the new Chief of Police
for the island of Mykonos. One of the smallest places in the Cyclades Islands,
it has become a go to spot for the wealthy who are taking over everything.
Those wealthy folks are calling the shots, the locals be damned, and Kaldis is
the answer. Not only is he good at his job, it also gets him out of multiple
cases in Athens, and allows some powerful people there to sleep better at
night.
Politics and orders mean that he arrives
on the island in early June along with numerous tourists. The first couple of
weeks in the new job are rocky as he makes changes, but he has hope of
surviving the summer, and getting back to Athens.
That hope takes a body blow when a
worker discovers a body inside a small church. Kladis is supposed to immediately
report the find to the Central Police Headquarters on the bigger island of
Syros, but Kladis is here because he tends to do his own thing. So, he wants to
see the situation for himself before folks from elsewhere trample all over his possible
crime scene.
Upon arriving at the church and hearing
the story from the worker, it does not take long for them to see the body in
the floor of the church. The body inside the very small chamber is recent,
decomposing, and clearly posing in place. With confirmation of the body, Kladis
has his people report the situation to those who need to know on Syros.
A team is dispatched to him and arrives
by boat to the island. That assemblage includes a man by the same of Tassos
Stamatos, Chief Homicide Investigator for the Cyclades. Though he has several
decades of experience on him, he has the same attitude about finding the truth
and getting the guilty caught as Kladis. Those additional decades of experience
make him better at navigating both local and national politics. That fact will
be a huge help as the case moves forward.
Primarily because they have stumbled on
the unthinkable—a serial killer. The body is the work of a serial killer who has
been active for quite some time. A serial killer, who in all likelihood, has
taken the daughter of Ambassador Vanden Haag. Young Annika Vanden Haag is also the
niece of the Deputy Minister for Public Safety. She is missing and going to be
his next kill if Stamatos and Kaldis don’t find him first.
Full of Greek politics and history that
does not slow down the mystery at work, Murder in Mykonos: A Chief
Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger is a very good read.
Rich in details, both investigators do the work the old-fashioned way of going
to a lot of places and asking question.
The result is a very complex and
extremely entertaining read well worth your time. If you are new to the series,
as I am, this is well worth your time and attention.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3WuetHj
My digital ARC came from Severn House,
where I am preapproved, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive
review. While NetGalley does not yet list the second book, Assassins of
Athens, Amazon has it coming out on November 20th along with
the entire rest of the series on the same day.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
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