Sacred Games

A Mystery of Ancient Greece

By: Gary Corby

Narrated by: Erik Davies

Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

It is the Olympics of 460 BC. Nico's best friend, Timodemus, is a competitor in the pankration, the deadly martial art of ancient Greece. Timo is the hot favorite to win. His only serious rival is Parmonos, from Sparta. When Parmonos is found beaten to death, it is obvious Timodemus must be the killer. The Judges of the Games sentence Timodemus to be executed in four days' time. Complicating everything is the fact that Athens and Sparta are already at each other's throats. If an Athenian is found to have cheated by murdering a Spartan, it will be everything the hawks in Sparta need to declare open war. Nico and his partner in sleuthing, Diotima, have four days to save their friend and avert a war.

©2013 Gary Corby (P)2013 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"[Corby's] best thus far... Corby integrates the political intrigue of the day with fair-play plotting and welcome doses of humor. Fans of Steven Saylor's Gordianus novels will be enthralled." ( Publishers Weekly)

Absolutely Fabulous

Sacred Games by Gary Corby Is one fantastic read! I was drawn into the story immediately, easily caught up in the excitement, intrigue, and frightfully dangerous sports and altercations

Set at the Olympic Games in Olympia itself when Athenians, Spartans and all of Helles (Greece) competed for the coveted victor's crowns - some to their death - a murder is committed that could lead to all out war for Helles.

The killer must be found, be it Athenian or Spartan and our hero, a young crime investigator was given the task. Not strong in body, but clever in mind, he follows the clues, questions men and women on both sides - sometimes getting beaten to the pulp in the process - to clear his best friend's name, save his life and stop a war. Of course, his very clever and determined wife, plus his "nerdy" little brother, help in their ways too.

There are characters you love to hate, some who are downright funny for their eccentric ways, others you admire, and some who are pretty scary and you fear will do away with our hero.

The mystery is finely plotted and exciting. There is the proverbial "ticking clock" (it must be solved during the four days of the Sacred Games or all "hades" will break out), and the mounting climax had me nearly breathless (the killer totally unexpected).

There is not an audiobook that I've read that has been so hard to stop listening too. I stayed up late several nights into the wee hours because I just couldn't push the stop button. The narrator, Erik Davies was excellent, reading all the voices clearly.

5 stars. I highly recommend this book! I will also look forward to reading others in this series.

Enjoyable...But Wordy

I enjoyed this murder mystery set in the times of the ancient Greek Olympics. The story was detailed, and the details of the time period seemed well researched. I was impressed at the Narrator's ability to voice so many characters. There were several female characters, and many male voices, which at times made it hard to follow which character was speaking. But overall, I enjoyed the intrigue, as well as the dark humor.