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This week’s topic is Mainstream Popular Authors That I Still Have Not Read, a topic suggested by Rissa at Pretentious Reader. Prepare yourself for a shock horror list.
Stephen King –I’m a scaredy cat, why would I want to give myself nightmares?
J K Rowling – Books involving magic don’t appeal to me although I can see myself – possibly – reading one of her Cormoran Strike books
Richard Osman – Just too cosy for me
Lee Child – I’m partial to an action thriller now and again but have never read one of his
Taylor Jenkins Reid – Never say never…
Ken Follett – As a fan of historical fiction I probably should have read one of his books but I can’t get past the fact they’re doorstoppers
Colleen Hoover – Not a fan of contemporary romance
Matt Haig – This is my guilty one because I think I actually might enjoy his books
Lisa Jewell – I just know people will be screaming, ‘No way, you must try one of her books!’
Suzanne Collins – Knock forty years off my age and there might be a chance, but not now
Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou by Eleni Kyriacou. My thanks to Andrew at Head of Zeus for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy. Do check out the post by my tour buddy for today, Wendy at wendyreadsbooks.
About the Book
THEY HAVE TOLD SO MANY LIES ABOUT ME…
London, 1954. Zina Pavlou, a Cypriot grandmother, waits quietly in the custody of the Metropolitan police. She can’t speak their language, but she understands what their wary looks mean: she has been accused of the brutal murder of her daughter-in-law.
Eva Georgiou, Greek interpreter for the Met, knows how it feels to be voiceless as an immigrant woman. While she works as Zina’s translator, her obsession with the case deepens, and so too does her bond with the accused murderer.
Zina can’t speak for herself. She can’t clear her own name. All she can do is wait for the world to decide…
IS SHE A VICTIM? OR IS SHE A KILLER?
Format: Hardback (384 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus Publication date: 9th November 2023 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime
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My Review
The savage killing of Hedy Pavlou is an unspeakable act. The woman charged with her murder, her mother-in-law Zina Pavlou, protests her innocence but since she speaks almost no English she cannot be understood and is effectively silenced. She feels powerless but that’s a situation she’s experienced before in her life.
For Eva, the translator assigned to Zina’s case, initially the job is just some useful extra income. But increasingly she finds herself moved by Zina’s plight, abandoned by her son and her family back in Cyprus. Because Eva knows what it is to feel alone. Soon, merely translating the questions Zina is asked and Zina’s responses to them doesn’t seem enough, particularly as it becomes clear that Zina doesn’t really understand the consequences of being found guilty of the crime. Zina believes she is innocent and all the evidence to the contrary isn’t going to change her mind. So much so, that when offered a possible way out, she rejects it. Her sole wish is to be reunited with her granddaughter, Anna, the only person who has shown her any affection since she came to England.
Given Eva’s role is to speak on behalf of another, it’s ironic that her relationship with her husband, Jimmy, has descended into one in which thoughts and feelings are no longer expressed. Their long walks talking over plans for the future have fallen by the wayside and given way to meals eaten in virtual silence. Because of their different working patterns, they’ve become like ships that pass in the night with no opportunity to talk – to really talk – about the significant thing that has happened in their life. This is increasingly so as Eva becomes progressively more involved in Zina’s case. I found I became just as much invested in Eva’s and Jimmy’s story as I did in Zina’s.
The way the story unfolds means I found myself constantly revisiting the question posed in the book: is Zina a victim or a killer? Could it be possible for both to be true? When we eventually discover what happened on the night of the murder, I think I found my own answer to that question. Even when events earlier in Zina’s life are revealed, I believe you would have to possess a heart of stone not to be moved by the final chapters of the book.
Such is the gripping nature of the story, The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is a book I could have easily devoured in a day if it weren’t for annoying things like having to eat and sleep. The fact that it’s inspired by a true story made it even more compelling, and ultimately tragic. Expect to hear a lot more about The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou because it’s been selected as one of the books to feature in the new series of BBC2’s Between the Covers.
Eleni Kyriacou is an award-winning editor and journalist. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, Grazia, and Red, among others. She’s the daughter of Greek Cypriot immigrant parents, and her debut novel, She Came to Stay, was published in 2020. The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is inspired by the true-crime story of the penultimate woman to be executed in Britain.
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