A Murder in Thebes: A Mystery of Alexander the Great
The pseudonymous Apostolou weighs in with the second book (after A Murder in Macedon, 1997) in her series featuring the brother-and-sister sleuthing team of Miriam and Simeon Bartimaeus, two Israelite friends of Alexander the Great. It seems that while Alexander's army may have decimated Thebes, the Thebans might have the last word. While awaiting Alexander's arrival, his victorious troops are told that their sovereign's party has perished in an ambush?false information that must have been planted by one of Alexander's own officers. When Alexander arrives in Thebes and learns that two of his favorite officers have been killed, the hunt for the spy/murderer is just the beginning of the troubles for him and the Bartimaeus siblings (whom Alexander has known since his days of learning at the feet of Aristotle). Miriam and Simeon also have to figure out how to get the crown of Oedipus into their chief's hands, guarded as it is by priestesses, fire and snakes. As Macedonian soldiers continue to die, especially those guarding Oedipus's temple, their task becomes more urgent. Some wonder if the ghost of the Theban king is avenging his people, but the ever logical Miriam believes in a less fanciful explanation for all the hauntings, riddles and conundrums. Apostolou's plot is complex to a fault, and she offers so much information about the times that very little of it comes to life or lodges in the reader's imagination. Alexander's greatness never materializes on the page, and Miriam, while she may have been one of Aristotle's star pupils, seems capable only of deductions that strain credibility.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.