The Black Monastery - Tapa blanda

A complex tale of greed, guilt and lust. (Sunday Telegraph)

Works like a charm... the evocation of place is wonderful, the themes - guilt, greed, and the islanders' suspicion and dislike of the tourists on whom they depend for their living - expertly handled, and the Indiana-Jonesy ending spectacular. (Laura Wilson Guardian)

A dark, disgusting, disquieting tale. (Literary Review)

Brilliantly conjures the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small island at the height of an intensely hot summer. ..The menace is palpable. (Daily Express) --Daily Express

A dark and compelling crime thriller which slowly unwinds the many strands of a murky, blood-streaked mystery - while also managing to graph the desecration of a former paradise ... a thumping good read. (Irish Examiner) --Irish Examiner

Atmospheric, faultlessly written, perfectly paced and thought-provoking... this is a story of regret, secrets and revenge ... The Black Monastery is a thriller of the highest quality. Stav Sherez's prose is at turns terse and lyrical and every word is in exactly the right place. (Crimesquad.com) --Crimesquad.com

When Nikos, a detective in the final years of his career, is persuaded back to his home town he is faced with the gory murder of a young boy near the old monastery. Echoing two murders committed 33 years previously in the exact same spot, and a mass cult suicide, it brings back a part of the island's history that it has tried hard to forget. There is a lot at stake - the island's lucrative tourist trade and the open secret of the drugs trade that goes hand in hand with the hordes of mainly young British holiday makers. As Nikos begins his investigation, two British crime writers arrive on the island. The best selling Kitty Carson, on a break from the pressures of writing and her strained relationship, and Jason an aspiring writer whose aim is to strike up a friendship with her and convince her to help him get published. As the two writers are thrown together in an unexpected way, another murder is committed and Jason and Kitty are drawn into an investigation of their own. As they discover more about the island's dark past what began as a diversion becomes a dangerous pursuit . . .