Halcyon Days
Following the warm reception, the excellent reviews and the 2017 Public Award for Best Greek Novel won by Eftychia Giannaki’s first crime novel ‘In the Back Seat’, the author returns with the second part of the Athens Trilogy, starring Inspector Haris Kokkinos.
A young woman from Ghana is found murdered in a pool of blood in Athens’ largest shopping centre. Inspector Haris Kokkinos and his team are called upon to unravel a case that winds around them like a tangled web, whilst the clock is ticking. The maelstrom in which the inspector finds himself, his past, and his relationship with his imprisoned son will force him to walk a tightrope in order to shed light on the case and, ultimately, on himself.
In a society that fails to protect the weak, no one can be considered innocent.
The Halcyon Days is the second part of the Athens Trilogy, starring Inspector Haris Kokkinos.
- Pages: 424
- ISBN: 978-960-572-171-8
- Publication: 2017
- Dimensions: 13,3 x 20,5 εκ.
- Categories: Literature, eBooks, Greek Literature
"...I’m holding back – if I wrote it down, the surprise would be lost page by page, as Giannakis crafts his writing with the bluffing logic of an experienced card player. It is one thing, it appears another, and it takes you elsewhere! From crime to interpersonal relationships, to the concept of the stranger and their reception, to the disintegration of the social fabric due to the prolonged economic crisis, to the unknown Athenian mural of our times where violence has firmly established itself in our lives, acquiring a presence of its own. Haris Kokkinos is here to stay!"
– G. K. Karatzas, Proto ThemaEftychia Giannaki, a guest on Nikos Kourmoulis’s programme “Perichemena”, spoke about her new crime novel “Alcyon Days” and refreshed listeners with poisonous drops of noir désir.
– Amagi"...In 'Alcyon Days', a young black girl is found stabbed to death in the toilet of a shopping centre. The victim’s introductory internal monologue as she draws her last breath is superb."
– Athos Dimoulas, KathimeriniListen to the book’s soundtrack, curated by Stamatia Parigora.
– Nakasbookhouse.grAmong the 25 best crime noir novels for the summer
– Hilda Papadimitriou, BookpressWatch Eftychia Giannaki on Nova’s CityLife programme, talking about _The Halcyon Days_ and the new case that Inspector Haris Kokkinos and his colleagues will be called upon to solve.
– CityLife, Nova"...A gripping crime novel... _The Halcyon Days_ is full of light and darkness. A book that keeps the reader hooked, a superbly crafted plot, a crime story full of social lessons and examples brimming with truth that are right on our doorstep."
– Eirini Demirtzoglou, Artharbour.gr"...Yiannaki attempts to explain to us how the murderer comes to commit the crime, not to justify him, but to understand—and for us to understand—what drives us to violence and revenge. She helps us to ‘read’ the soul of a (fictional) man who, from being a victim of society, becomes its avenger. [...] If Yannaki’s first crime novel made an impression, the second makes us say with certainty that we have struck gold when it comes to the Greek crime novel."
– Alexandros Stergiopoulos, The Magazine"...A surprise for me, as someone who enjoys crime fiction and reads quite a few foreign authors of the genre, was that Eftychia’s penetrating and sufficiently sharp pen carved paths through places I recognised; though difficult to navigate, since the situations described and analysed are not the best, were more ‘familiar’ as we unfortunately encounter them daily in the news."
– Mytripsonblog"...I am struck by the way the author captures the details of objects, settings and the environment, but above all by how closely she follows the innermost thoughts of her characters. It is as if she were opening their brains with a scalpel and, surgically, extracting every thought from their minds. I take my hat off to her."
– Alexandra Papadaki, Allyou.gr"...Inspector Haris Kokkinos, the guardian of law and order who listens to David Bowie and reads Thomas Bernhard, rushes to the crime scene to solve a case in a race against time."
– Xenia Georgiadou, Gynaika Magazine
"...The ‘black fate’ of the black girl meets the black fate of the white labourer, and this is what Eftychia Giannaki wishes to emphasise: in life, but also in literature, death is sometimes a matter of coincidence."
– Filippos Filippou, To Vima"...Following the techniques of the crime novel, Eftychia Giannaki masterfully narrates her story and draws readers into the world of Haris Kokkinos smoothly and naturally."
– Eleni Kitsou, Diavasame.gr"Six favourite detectives of crime fiction, including Eftychia Giannaki’s Haris Kokkinos. Archetypal heroes with their own personal style and code of ethics."
– Dimitris Mastrogiannis, Athens Voice"Yiannaki’s literary power is evident in her insight into people’s psychology... One of the best books written about the crisis, alongside Rea Galanaki’s _Extreme Humiliation_."
– Vasilis Vasilikos, Nea Selida Newspaper
"...It is striking how fascinating it is to study the path that leads to something as repulsive as a crime against life. Violence is like a half-asleep beast we carry within us. How does this beast awaken? What happens when it decides to show its power?" Read the interview given by Eftychia Giannaki to Elpidoforos Intsembelis and diastixo.gr, on the occasion of her new crime novel ‘Alcyon Days’.
– Diastixo.gr"...‘The Halcyon Days’ is a far better book than many Scandinavian crime novels. In answer to the question posed by the title—whether Greek crime fiction has reason to rejoice at the publication of ‘The Halcyon Days’ and Inspector Haris Kokkinos—we answer with certainty: YES."
– Dimitris Mastrogiannis, Athens Voice"...Realistic characters, profound reflections, a clear insight into human behaviour, a digression dedicated to the father-son relationship, rich yet fluid prose—these are just a few of the additional elements that, in my opinion, make *The Halcyon Days* a consummate work of crime fiction."
– Maria Diakantoni, Mommy Jammi"...The plot of the book is, once again, extremely engaging, fast-paced and free of unnecessary pauses or rambling, ensuring maximum suspense. The compact structure and skilful storytelling are, in themselves, enough to keep the reader turning the pages non-stop. Every word in the narrative has a purpose and contributes to the tension."
– Georgia Souvatzis, Debop"...Powerful writing, a captivating pace, the familiar backdrop of modern-day Athens, in a book that makes you want to read the first part of the trilogy and look forward to the sequel."
– Angeliki Lalou, Beauté Magazine
Eftychia Giannaki
Eftychia Giannakis was born and raised in Athens. She studied computer science, music and communication. In recent years, she has been teaching creative writing workshops.
Her books, published by Ikaros, include In the Back Seat (2016), Halcyon Days (2017), City in the Light (2018), The Little God’s Illness (2020), In the Hippocampus’s Nest (2021), The Shipwrecked of August (2022), A Wonderful War (2025), and the children’s mystery series Pitsibouinoi: My First Mysteries, which has sold over 60,000 copies.
She has published, under a pseudonym, the novel Hardcore (Okeanida, 2000), which was adapted for the cinema, and wrote the screenplay for the crime TV series The Scarab (Alpha TV, 2024).
You can find out more about her at www.giannaki.com
