The Tomb of Zeus

Barbara Cleverly is justly famous for her novels featuring Joe Sandilands oof Scotland Yard but in The Tomb of Zeus she introduces a heroine, Laetitia Talbot. In 1928 Mis Talbot, an aspiring archeologist, arrives in Crete to join the famous Theo Russell who is second only to Sir Arthur Evans as an expert on Minoan civilisation. Russell has spent his life, and his wife's fortune, in a search for the fabled Tomb of Zeus and has only accepted Laetitia into his team because of her father's wealth and connections. Things soon begin to go wrong and the past of the small group of English people round Russell looms as large as the ancient Cretan civilisation that they have come to explore. The aptly named Miss Cleverly has given us another enthralling read and I, for one, look forward to her next Laetitia Talbot novel promised for 2009.