A DEADLY TWIST

Simmering tensions between tourism advocates and farmers reach a boiling point when a reporter goes missing.

On the Greek island of Naxos, mythically identified as the childhood home of Zeus, “the computer underground’s most successful hacker” agrees to an interview with Athens crime reporter Nikoletta Elia, who’s less than excited by what she views as a soft assignment. Shortly after the article appears, Nikoletta disappears. From Greece’s Central Police Headquarters in Athens, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis sends detective Yianni Kouros to Naxos to investigate. Finding a collection of notebooks in the room where Nikoletta had been staying, Yianni sends this potentially valuable evidence back to Athens. But he finds the locals evasive about Nikoletta and encounters a similar vibe when he talks to the mayor. Hotelier Marco Sanudos blandly touts the importance of the burgeoning tourist industry and dismisses the idea that Nikoletta met with foul play from that quarter. Local farmers present a darker picture, for their conflicts with ambitious developers are well documented. As Kaldis is tying up loose ends so he can join Yianni, he gets a call that Yianni’s in the hospital after a suspicious road accident. A local policewoman named Popi lands in a coma. Yianni’s vibrant girlfriend, Toni, rushes to his side. Kaldis arrives on Naxos with determination and support: His wife, Lila, has important local contacts, and his secretary, Maggie, has been carefully reading the notebooks. Siger’s pace is leisurely but includes many quirky splashes of local color. Though Andreas looms large, all the series regulars get their time in the sun.

Reading Kaldis’ amiable 11th case is like visiting old friends.