Death Ex Machina

(Paperback)

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Description

It's the time of the Great Dionysia, the largest arts festival of the ancient world, held each year in honor of Dionysos, the god of wine. But there's a problem: A ghost is haunting Athens's grand theatre. Nicolaos and his clever partner in sleuthing (and now in matrimony), the priestess Diotima, are hired to rid the theatre of the ghost so that the festival can begin. With the help of Theokritos, the High Priest of Dionysos, they exorcise the ghost publicly, while secretly suspecting that a human saboteur is the actual culprit.

Reviews

Praise for Death Ex Machina

"Corby blends the history lesson so well into the story that you won't even need a spoonful of sugar."
San Jose Mercury News

This fifth mystery in the series moves from shock to shock, each one amplified by the fact that every prank and accident is painted on the scenery wall onstage almost immediately afterward. Corby is adept at delineating ancient Greece without sounding professorial. This works on every level.
Booklist, Starred Review

Corby again manages to effortlessly integrate laugh-out-loud humor into a fairly clued puzzle.
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Exciting, intriguing and erotic."
Gumshoe Review

"Death Ex Machinais an entertaining entry in this historical series. The characters are nicely developed, and Nicolaos and Diotma are engaging as a couple. There is a lot of history here, much of it seamlessly introduced into the story and supportive of the time and place."
Mysterious Reviews

Peppered with fascinating details about theater history and the Hellenic origins of theatrical lore. Corbys sixth series outing will please fans of mysteries set in ancient Greece, especially those written by Anna Apostolou and Marilyn Todd.
Library Journal

"Corby knows how to create a page-turning mystery, and he certainly knows how to infuse his encyclopedic knowledge of ancient Greece seamlessly into his story."
Kittling Books

Praise for Gary Corbys Athenian Mysteries

Corby serves up a bubbly cocktail of clear history, contemporary wit, and heart-stopping action.
Booklist, Starred Review

Corby integrates the political intrigue of the day with fair-play plotting and welcome doses of humor. Fans of Steven Saylors Gordianus novels will be enthralled.
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Gary Corby has managed an unlikely feat with his series . . . hes written mysteries that combine funny characters and intriguing crimes with accurate history . . . The Marathon Conspiracy is never dull . . . The escapades of the detective will keep readers laughing, while the history lesson will leave them feeling a little bit smarter.
Shelf Awareness

Every new volume further highlights the tricky thing Corby so consistently manages to create: comedic mysteries that still have heft . . . In the manner of what Lindsey Davis and David Wishart give readers for ancient Rome, Corby presents an ancient Greek world thats vibrantly, gawkishly alive.
Open Letters Monthly

A fast-paced, enjoyable, murder mystery that will make readers laugh and think in equal measure.
The Sydney Morning Herald

Corby has not only made Greek history accessiblehes made it first-rate entertainment.
Kelli Stanley, award-winning author of City of Dragons

Author Bio

Gary Corby lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and two daughters. He blogs at A Dead Man Fell from the Sky, on all things ancient, Athenian, and mysterious. He is the author of four other critically acclaimed Athenian mysteries: The Pericles Commission, The Ionia Sanction, Sacred Games, The Marathon Conspiracy, and The Singer from Memphis.