My favorite books for a virtual odyssey in ancient and modern Greece

Why am I passionate about this?

I wrote my first thriller at age 8 about a girl who ran away and joined the circus. For later works, I, a pediatric physician, did opt to follow my English teachers’ guidance to write about what you know, including science, medicine, psychology, journalism, and my twin home countries of America and Greece. As YS Pascal, I wrote the Zygan Emprise Trilogy, which blended ancient Greek history, mythology, and literature. As Linda Reid, I co-authored the award-winning Sammy Greene thriller series with Dr. Deborah Shlian and was eager to fly investigative reporter Sammy and her ex-cop friend Gus Pappajohn to the shores of modern Athens to solve an ancient and modern mystery.


I wrote...

Deep Waters

By Deborah Shlian, Linda Reid,

Book cover of Deep Waters

What is my book about?

For centuries an ancient shipwreck in azure Greek waters has concealed an astonishing truth. The drowning of an underwater cameraman, then the murder of a highly respected academic - seemingly isolated tragedies? When radio talk show host/investigative reporter Sammy Greene and ex-cop Gus Pappajohn investigate, they uncover an ancient and modern mystery - conflicts between pagans and saints, and archeologists and treasure hunters.

From the marble steps of the Parthenon to the peaks of the hidden monasteries of Mount Athos, the pair risk their lives in a desperate race to find a lost chapter of human history.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Vignettes of Modern Greece

Linda Reid Why did I love this book?

An American scientist and her Greek-American professor husband relocate to Greece with their young children as the millennium approaches. Dr. Orme, now back in the USA and a Vice President for Boeing, writes eloquently about her family’s decision to establish their home in Greece, a country whose language and customs are new and often challenging for an American immigrant. Her journey into the arms of a warm Greek community is shared through a series of vignettes that give readers an honest glimpse into the life and culture of modern Greece, and its positive impact on her own life and her family’s future.

By Melissa Orme-Marmarelis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Vignettes of Modern Greece as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

These "vignettes" describe the idiosyncrasies and charm of the modern Greek culture as seen through the eyes of an American woman married to a Greek man. Her vividly illustrated and often amusing vignettes chronicle her journey into the understanding and appreciation of Greece and the Greek people. This book was written with a fresh and descriptive style where the words bring to life the images of family, friends, lore and nature.


Book cover of Murder in Mykonos

Linda Reid Why did I love this book?

In Book 11, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis, fresh from Athens to the picturesque Greek island, must find the perpetrators of a gruesome murder of a young woman found dead in a rural church. Siger, via his blunt investigator Kaldis, is an expert in sprinkling the beautiful Greek landscape with notes of suspense and mystery, and, like the earlier entries in this attractive series, Murder in Mykonos does not disappoint.

By Jeffrey Siger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Murder in Mykonos as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mykonos has always had a romantic reputation, until the body of a blonde female tourist is discovered on a pile of bones under the floor of a remote mountain church. When the island's new police chief - the young, politically incorrect, former Athens homicide detective Andreas Kaldis - starts finding bodies, bones and suspects almost everywhere he looks, he's forced to admit that the island paradise is harbouring a ritualistic serial killer.

Mykonos's character is at stake, but political niceties no longer matter when another blonde vanishes. Andreas must delve into ancient myths and forgotten island hideaways as he races…


Book cover of American Kid

Linda Reid Why did I love this book?

Katherine, a Greek immigrant to the US, took her American children to Greece in the late 1930s to live on her family’s farm and escape from the Great Depression. Unfortunately, the arrival of the Nazi invaders trapped the family in Greece during the Occupation and the end of World War II. Based on a true family story, American Kid movingly describes the experiences of the children in the remote mountain village of Katherine’s birth, and their efforts to survive the occupation of their home by Nazis. Would they ever see their beloved America again? An authentic glimpse of the devastating war’s impact on innocent youth and the value of hope.

By Constance M. Constant,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked American Kid as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For Katherine and her three American children, Greece was meant to be a one-year refuge from the late 1930’s Depression. Her husband’s family-owned orchard should have provided for their well-being, but instead embroiled them in legal debate. WWII Axis bombings of Kalamata prompted the young family to flee to the remote mountain village of Katherine’s birth, but Nazi invasion—and seemingly endless occupation of their village and their house—trapped them there until the war's end. Told through the eyes of John, Katherine’s youngest child, he shares a universal story of fear and frustration faced by all innocent civilians during war in…


Book cover of Legacy of Courage: A Holocaust Survival Story in Greece

Linda Reid Why did I love this book?

Frederic Kakis, a brilliant scientist and moving writer, shares a personal story of survival and fortitude for a Jewish family in Northern Greece during the Nazi occupation. Close to 80,000 were relocated to Nazi concentration campus far from their homes in Thessaloniki and close to 60,000 did not survive the Holocaust. Dr. Kakis describes the terror experienced as well as the courage shown by Greek Jews and their local Christian neighbors during this tragic invasion, and how their efforts helped as many of the vulnerable as possible survive. 

By Frederic Kakis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Legacy of Courage as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Armed only with sheer guts and determination this Jewish family took on the whole German Army. Stubbornly refusing to surrender, they remained defiant throughout the occupation of Greece and survived by fighting and outsmarting the Nazis. This is their fascinating story.


Book cover of The Athenian Murders

Linda Reid Why did I love this book?

As an author of mystery-thrillers, including the Sherlock Holmes Pastiche, “Elementary, My Dear Spock” as well as a longtime fan of Agatha Christie, I was drawn to the appeal of an ancient Greek “detective”, Heracles Pontor investigating murders in Plato’s Athens. And, Somoza does not disappoint, inviting us to share Pontor’s journey down a rabbit hole that grows ever more intriguing and dangerous page by page. Somoza welcomes us with a beautifully translated murder mystery that soon envelopes us in a fascinating exploration of Plato, reality, and, as reflected in the original Spanish title, the Cave of Ideas. 

By Jose Carlos Somoza,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Athenian Murders as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE ATHENIAN MURDERS is a brilliant, very entertaining and absolutely original literary mystery, revolving round two intertwined riddles. In classical Athens, one of the pupils of Plato's Academy is found dead. His idealistic teacher suspects that this wasn't an accident and asks Herakles, known as the 'Decipherer of Enigmas', to investigate the death and ultimately a dark, irrational and subversive cult. The second plot unfolds in parallel through the footnotes of the translator of the text. As he proceeds with his work, he becomes increasingly convinced that the original author has hidden a second meaning, which can be brought to…


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Flashes of Insight

By Lynda Allen,

Book cover of Flashes of Insight

Lynda Allen Author Of Grace Reflected

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I think of myself as a listener and life in progress. As a poet and author, I’m always listening to the words that move through my heart. I’m also a spiritual seeker, always looking for the Divine in the world around me and almost always surprised by the ways it shows up when I’m paying attention. Yet, there’s another part of me that is a Jersey girl through and through, looking for humor or irreverence in the face of life’s challenges. All these aspects come together in an unusual harmony, creating an openness to being changed by the things that come into my life. Hence, a list of life-changing books.

Lynda's book list on life-changing world-rocking books

What is my book about?

Mood swings and insomnia are one thing, hot flash-induced psychic visions are quite another. When Olivia Wilde realizes the visions she’s experiencing in the midst of hot flashes are actually premonitions, she must learn to understand and trust what she sees in order to help a friend, preserve a piece of history, and save a life.

When Liv’s friend’s antique store in Fredericksburg, Virginia is robbed, she finds herself in the midst of a quest to find a secret cache of priceless letters written by President James Monroe and his wife Elizabeth. With the encouragement of her "Monthly" dinner party girlfriends, Liv begins to learn how to harness her newfound abilities, along with her smarts, to help catch the thief.

Flashes of Insight

By Lynda Allen,

What is this book about?

Mood swings and insomnia are one thing, hot flash-induced psychic visions are quite another. When Olivia Wilde realizes the visions she's been experiencing in the midst of hot flashes are actually premonitions, she has to learn to understand and trust what she sees in order to help a friend, preserve a piece of history, and save a life.

Deftly weaving together elements of history, mystery, menopause, humor, some Jersey girl attitude, a bit of salty language, and a healthy dose of female friendship, Flashes of Insight marks the start of a new "Jersey Cozy"* series sure to deliver laughter, intelligence,…


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