Book description
People used to come to the small Greek island of Palassos for the
historic ruins. Now they come to take drugs and party all night. But
the horrific ritual murder of a boy in the grounds of an old monastery
brings back memories of two similar deaths in the mid-1970s, and of a
mysterious cult who once dwelt in the island's interior, memories the
island has tried hard to forget. As Nikos, the police chief who has
been persuaded back to his home island for the final years of his
career, begins his investigation, two Brits arrive on the island: the
bestselling crime writer Kitty Carson, on a break from the pressures
of work and her strained marriage, and Jason, an aspiring writer with
a secret of his own. When a second body is discovered - further
endangering the island's lucrative tourist trade - these three
characters are thrown together, as the gruesome secrets of the past
begin to emerge. Brilliantly paced, and featuring a memorable cast of
characters, The Black Monastery is a blistering portrait of paradise
gone wrong.
Stav Sherez is a freelance journalist and music critic. The
Devil's Playground, his 2004 debut novel, was described by the
Observer as 'ambitious, audacious and powerful'. His most recent
story, 'God-Box', featured in Perverted by Language, Peter Wild's
collection of stories inspired by The Fall.
