by Cynthia Chow

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Statue of Limitations. We also have a link to order it from Amazon, and from an indie bookstore where a portion goes to help support KRL.

Over ten years ago Athena Spencer fled from her meddling and boisterous Greek family in search of big city life and a definitively non-Greek husband. After gaining a son but losing both her career and her spouse, Athena is back home in Sequoia, Michigan, working as a bookkeeper and fill-in staffer for her father at Spencer’s Garden Center. While this is not the future she planned for herself, Athena’s protective instincts kick in when handsome stranger Case Donnelly breaks in and accuses their family of having a statute that he rightfully owns. Athena is able to put off Case’s demands for the sales receipt of the Treasure of Athena as she has a far direr threat looming over her family’s future. Although real estate mogul Grayson Talbot Sr. had agreed to table the condominium project that would demolish the entire block of Little Greece, after his death by bathtub drowning, Grayson Talbot Jr. is proceeding on it in just thirteen days. Since Athena’s maternal grandparents own The Parthenon restaurant right in the path of the bulldozers, she leads the charge in rallying Little Greece to halt the construction plans. Athena had only been dating Kevin Coreopsis in order to stop her mother from setting her up with other Good Greek Boys, but for once the downgraded attorney-turned-legal aide may prove to be helpful.

Athena had already felt that the senior Talbot’s death was just a little too convenient to be an accident, so the murder of his assistant inside the Talbot mansion only reinforces her suspicions. While the man caught on video fleeing the murder scene is a dead ringer for Case Donnelly, Athena can’t ignore the twinges of doubt she feels about his guilt. It doesn’t’ hurt that Case is charming, attractive, and willing to tease her even when in danger, but the convenience of clearing the path for Talbot Jr.’s greedy plans is undeniable. This leads to Athena making the iffy choice to disguise Case as a Greek fisherman-mystery writer, which not only allows them to question suspects, it yields hilarious scenes of Athena’s efforts to makeover Case without alerting the rest of the all-knowing Greek community. Together they investigate a shady doctor, try to outmaneuver a flirtatious trophy wife, and resist the temptations of business payoffs.

While Kate Collins hasn’t completely left behind her floral roots to her bestselling Flower Shop Mystery series, this debut series focuses on Athena and her exuberant Greek family. As a way to vent her frustrations with her expressive and intrusively relatives, Athena writes the “It’s All Greek to Me” blog, which her sisters Delphi, Maia, and Selene all love but hilariously are unable to see themselves in it. What is portrayed empathetically and entertainingly is Athena’s struggle with her Greek identity, which she once resisted but is growing to appreciate and embrace. That her son wholeheartedly accepts his Greek roots often has Athena facing off against her grandparents, who think they know best and often do. Athena is stubborn, quick to judge, and very protective when it comes to those she loves, so seeing her lower her guard to Case is a rewarding and satisfying delight. The strong bonds of the Greek family and Athena’s efforts to find her place within them are relatable and fascinating, which is only enhanced by descriptions of delicious pastitsio and spanakopita Greek cuisine. In Athena Spencer author Kate Collins gives readers a new heroine to root for, one surrounded by a family who exasperate, frustrate, and completely love her.

To enter to win a copy of Statue of Limitations, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “limitations,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen March 21, 2020. U.S. residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win, it will be deleted when the contest is over. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Click on this link to purchase this book & a portion goes to help support KRL & an indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Statue of Limitations (A Goddess of Greene St. Mystery #1)

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Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.

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