The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou - Eleni Kyriacou - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR: Eleni Kyriacou

GENRE: Historical Mystery-Drama

RATING: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A historical crime-drama with some amazingly complicated characters. Covers quite a few intense themes. Has minor flaws, but the overall impact is so good that I am willing to overlook the shortcomings. Strongly recommended!

Story Synopsis:

1954. London. Zina Pavlou, a Cypriot woman in her mid-fifties, has been accused of murdering her daughter-in-law brutally. Zina can’t understand much English, so while she is in the custody of the police, she can only take wild guesses at what’s unfolding around her.

Eva Georgiou works as a freelance Greek interpreter for the Metropolitan police. As an immigrant herself, she understands how lost Zina might be feeling. The common language makes their bond grow, and Eva is determined to save Zina, even though she has her suspicions about the truth.

The story comes to us in the limited third-person perspectives of Zina and Eva, in multiple timelines that include flashback glimpses of Zina’s life prior to her arrest.

Bookish Yays:

😍 The novel dives into the action from the first page itself. I loved how it started directly with the crucial scenes. No frivolous build-up.

😍 The characters, though typical in some cases, are fascinating. It is tough to know whom to trust. If you are the kind of reader who wants to have likeable characters you can root for, this book isn’t for you This is a set of humans who are very flawed, and their complexity makes them perfect for such a story.

😍 Other than the crime and its related elements, the book also has a minor track of Eva and her husband Jimmy, and the struggles in their marriage after Eva’s miscarriage. Jimmy seemed to have the patience of a saint. Their track highlights how tough it is for a marriage to sustain after a tense incident.

😍 Through Eva’s work with the Met, we get to see the tricky work of translation and interpretation, and the myriad complications. This is the first time I have read a book covering translation for criminals – very interesting.

😍 The book seems to capture the 1950s vibe well. I could have done without the repeated references to characters’ smoking, but that counts as authentic to the era, so I won’t dock off points for it.

😍 The timelines go back and forth multiple times, but due to the clear chapter indicators with a mention of the timestamp, there's no confusion at all.

😍 The plot covers some really hard-hitting themes such as racism, misogyny, patriarchy, infidelity, mental health, xenophobia, domestic abuse, miscarriage, and grief. Despite this plethora of heavy-duty topics, it never feels overloaded with issues as all are tackled at the right level of coverage.

😍 Imagine being arrested in a foreign country where you don’t know the language, you have been abandoned by your family, and your only hope is a woman compatriot who understands your language! Zina’s struggles to understand her new reality are written excellently. Especially during the court scenes, the book easily helps us visualise the complications in comprehension when we don't know the language.

😍 I can't say I was surprised at what happens in the climax, but despite my guess being correct, I still love the way it was written. The entire plot is executed well, with all events serving a purpose.

😍 There is excellent representation of the historical Greek diaspora and the antagonistic attitudes of the Londoners with respect to “outsiders.” Hedy’s arc also gives a minor glimpse of the same hostility towards Germans.

😍 The author’s note at the end took me by surprise. I had totally forgotten that the blurb mentions this as being inspired by a true story. The details of the original crime as written in the author’s note are harrowing. It added an even greater aura of sobriety to the proceedings.

Bookish Nays:

😒 I didn’t like the Bert track, though I later saw why that was somewhat needed in the story.

😒 The miscommunication trope comes up often in the Jimmy-Eva track, which is somewhat frustrating.

All in all, I simply couldn’t keep this book aside. Had I not been having a busy week, I am sure I would have read this in a single sitting. Though there are some predictable portrayals and events, the novel is gripping.

Heartily recommended to all lovers of true-crime-based fiction, historical fiction, and legal drama. Though they are elements of legal thriller and mystery, the essence of the plot is strictly dramatic, so pick it up when you want a mystery-based drama and not when you want a mystery thriller.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through The Pigeonhole. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.