Review: fabulous journey
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 5, 2014
The Threshing Circle  Neil GrimmettReview from jeannie zelos book reviewsSo – this is a bit outside my usual genre but I like that every now and then. Keeps things fresh. Of course the Greek element intriuged me, its somewhere I always wanted to go since I was a child. One day ….Anyway – The Threshing Cirlce is more than just a suspense novel. It's got snippets of history interwoven with a fictional tale of a forbidden love – but as ever Love won't be denied but it comes at a terrible cost to the participants.Then fast forward to modern times and we meet Kirsty, fierce but curous Scottish lady who runs a taverna...Barba Yiorgos, one of the locals who's an irascible man and seems to delight in taunting Kirsty. An unlikely combination then, and yet they team up to investigate a mystery that unfolds. Then there's two deeply in love tourists Eleni and Patrick. Eleni bears a striking resemblance to the lady we meet right at the start, back in the 1940's that's part of the forbiodden love. They say they're on holiday but the stories they tell of where they've been don't add up to what Kirsty knows...Then the mysteries deepen further when they disappear. Kirsty is concerned and teams up with Barba Yiorgos to see if they can find them. That brings them into serious danger.This is one of those books you need to savour, to read slowly, to absorb all the elements that make the reader feel as if they are in the story themsleves. The descriptions of the country are beautiful, and I could envisage the scenes mentally. The people too – very clearly set out,  and make the story come alive. It's a mix of modern and history, of suspense and danger, real truths versus myths and legends and make the reader see how little life has changed in many of the more rural areas of Greece. The mystery that unfolds unleashes danger, triggered initially by the appearance of Eleni and Patrick. Kirsty tries to find them but her questions are met with more questions, it seems no-one will give a straight answer, only more vague warnings. Although she's joined Barba Yiorgos she doesn't really know if she can trust him, its clear he knows more than he's telling but does that mean he's just not trusting her fully too? She's confused too by how her feelings to him are changing...An unusual book for me, but one I really enjoyed. The end though...that came as a shock and made me really sad, happy too but saddened by what occurred.Stars: Four, its a great read, full of vibrance and marries the present and past, truth and legends really well.ARC supplied by author.