Margaret Doody's Aristotle Detective has been on my bookshelf for years and I am heartily sorry I never got around to reading it before this; it's a corker of a mystery novel set in Classical Greece. Stephanos, a young man of about 22, is out for an early morning stroll when he comes upon a scene of confusion at the house of wealthy and prominent Boutades. The man has just been discovered shot to death with an arrow through the throat. Worse yet, Stephanos' exiled cousin Philemon is soon accused of the murder, even though he has not been seen in Athens since he fled two years before to escape a manslaughter rap for killing a man in a fight. To make matters even worse, Philemon is also accused of having fought for the hated Persians against Alexander's Greek and Macedonian forces.
As the only adult male in the family, Stephanos is tasked with defending Philemon during the legal inquiry into Boutades's death; feeling inadequate to the job, he consults his former teacher, Aristotle. With Stephanos doing most of the legwork and Aristotle feeding him questions and ideas to pursue, they are ultimately able to clear Philemon of the charge and reveal the real murderer. Grade: A+
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