The Invisible (DS George Manolis Book Two) by Peter Papathanasiou

 

The Invisible (DS George Manolis Book Two) by Peter Papathanasiou.

Published 1st September 2022 by MacLehose Press.

From the cover of the book:

Burnt-out from policework, Detective Sergeant George Manolis flies from Australia to Greece for a holiday. Recently divorced and mourning the death of his father, who emigrated from the turbulent Prespes region which straddles the borders of Greece, Albania and North Macedonia, Manolis hopes to reconnect with his roots and heritage.

On arrival, Manolis learns of the disappearance of an 'invisible' - a local man who lives without a scrap of paperwork. The police and some locals believe the man's disappearance was pre-planned, while others suspect foul play. Reluctantly, Manolis agrees to work undercover to find the invisible, and must navigate the complicated relationships of a tiny village where grudges run deep.

It soon becomes clear to Manolis that he may never locate a man who, for all intents and purposes, doesn't exist. And with the clock ticking, the ghosts of the past continue to haunt the events of today as Manolis's investigation leads him to uncover a dark and long-forgotten practice.

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After a drug bust goes horribly wrong, DS George Manolis takes an enforced holiday in the remote Prespes region of northern Greece, the homeland of his late father before he emigrated to Australia, where the borders of Greece, Albania and North Macedonia meet. Although Manolis has been cleared of any wrong doing the incident has left him with PTSD at a time when he is coping with his recent divorce and in mourning for his father, but he hopes this trip will ground him by allowing him to connect with his roots.

When Manolis arrives in the rugged Prespes region, he discovers that Lefty, one of the old friends he has come to visit, has gone missing and he is reluctantly persuaded to work undercover to see if he can find him. Lefty is one of the 'invisibles' who lives his life without the benefit of official paperwork, which makes finding out what he has been up to very difficult. Manolis begins to realise that this is an area that has its own codes and customs that have nothing to do with the law, and he needs to tread carefully in these tiny villages where feuds run deep and the old ways hold sway if he is to find his friend.

I absolutely loved Peter Papathanasiou's stunning debut The Stoning, which told the gripping story of DS Manolis' complex investigation in Cobb, the tiny Australian Outback town of his childhood. so I could not wait to see what lay in store in this follow-up The Invisible.

Instead of Outback Australia, this time around Papathanasiou sends Manolis, after a brief catch up with his city troubles, into the wilds of northern Greece, for an unofficial investigation that appears on the surface to be very different to the one which consumed him in The Stoning. Manolis must now keep his identity as a police officer secret if he is to make any headway with the search for a man that has not only lived his whole life outside of the law, but who seems to have made a lot of enemies along the way. He has to learn to bend his police procedural skills to fit a new set of values, the result of which allows him to unexpectedly connect with the history of his father's homeland in ways he could not have foreseen.

This is an area of Greece I am not familiar with and I really enjoyed how Papathanasiou creates the most delicious 'bad lands' atmosphere throughout the story, making the absolute best of the geographical location, landscape, history, wildlife, and insular ways of its people to conjure up an unsettling backdrop for an investigation that is just as complex as the one Manolis had to solve in the first book, even if it has a different feel. There are similarities to the first book in the way the small town residents here do not take kindly to outsiders, and the links to Manolis' own family heritage, which allows Papathanasiou to explore the themes of belonging, identity and immigration in the way he did so well in The Stoning. There is a lovely dimension in this book too that plays up the wealth of history, hardship and sorrow that has shaped the people of this region of Greece that is really poignant, and I would love to wax lyrical about it, but to do so would lead to spoilers so I will leave you to discover it for yourselves.

My favourite thing about Papathanasiou's books is the way he wraps you up in a compelling story that twists and turns in the most spellbinding of ways, mixing a darned good crime story with a hard look at human nature. He has a striking ability to force you to think about the things that motivate people to behave as they do, which gives surprising insight into their actions - even the most disturbing ones. There are layers upon layers of themes here, some beautiful interplay with many facets of 'invisibility', and references to discomfiting past events that often pulled me up sharp and sent me down fascinating rabbit holes. This combination of intelligent writing and story craft is really addictive, and I cannot wait for more!

The Invisible is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to MacLehose Press for sending me a hardcover copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to take part in this social media splash.

About the author:

Peter Papathanasiou was born in northern Greece in 1974 and adopted as a baby to an Australian family. His debut book, a memoir, was published in 2019 as Son of Mine by Salt Publishing (UK) and Little One by Allen & Unwin (Australia). 

His debut novel, a work of crime fiction, was published in 2021 as The Stoning by MacLehose Press (UK) and Transit Lounge (Australia), and in 2022 by Polar Verlag (Germany). 

Peter’s writing has otherwise been published by The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, The Guardian UK, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Good Weekend, ABC and SBS. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from City, University of London; a Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences from The Australian National University (ANU); and a Bachelor of Laws from ANU specialising in criminal law.