The Honourable Thief – Meaghan Wilson Anastasios

The Honourable Thief – Meaghan Wilson Anastasios

‘Achilles? Because…?’
‘Obsession of mine. Half man, half god – and his own worst enemy. 
My kind of man.’ He laughed.

Istanbul, Turkey 1955

Benedict Hitchens, once a world-renowned archaeologist, is now a discredited – but still rather charming – shell of his former self.

Once full of optimism and adventure, his determination to prove that Achilles was a real historical figure led him to his greatest love, Karina, on the island of Crete and to his greatest downfall, following the disappearance of an enigmatic stranger, Eris.

He has one last chance to restore his reputation, solve the mystery of Eris and prove his Achilles theory. But it is full of risk, and possibly fatal consequences…

In her breakout novel, Meaghan Wilson Anastasios weaves an action-packed tale of honour, passion, heroes and thieves across an epic backdrop of history.

My Review of The Honourable Thief

(3.5 / 5)

Disgraced archaeologist Benedict Hitchens attempts to salvage his extremely damaged reputation quite a lot in this historical action/adventure by Aussie Author Meaghan Wilson Anastasios. Dr Hitchens gets himself involved in some archaeological dealings that are not entirely ‘above board’, and finds himself on the wrong side of the Turkish authorities. Then, following a spontaneous decision to accompany a beautiful woman off a train to inspect her families ancient artefacts, things get even worse when the beautiful woman, and the artefacts, disappear without a trace. Can he figure out what happened to her and retain any of his professional reputation? And through his adventures, can he prove his long held theory that Achilles was a real man?

I have to start off my review with a comment on the cover. I LOVE IT! It is just gorgeous! I love the gold theme and the shield. It definitely captures the atmosphere of the novel.

The book is set in Turkey and Greece predominantly and jumps back and forth in time up to the 1950’s. It gives an interesting insight into the world of archaeology in a time and culture that I have not thought to read about before. The Turkish culture and the impact of the Second World War on the Greek island of Crete were especially interesting.

I enjoyed Benedict’s obsession with Achilles and his mission to prove that he was real. I learned a bit about Greek mythology throughout this book!

It took me a while to get used to the writing and the shifts in date and time. I was a little confused in the beginning, and it wasn’t until the story began to take form that it became much easier to follow the timeline and events, and the whole thing took shape.

Now I feel I have to talk about Benedict… I had a lot of trouble warming to him. I disliked his personality, his manner, and his decisions at just about every turn. It was hard for me to cheer him on most of the time. He did have some upstanding moments though that I enjoyed, especially in the earlier times in Crete.

There were some good twists and turns, although I felt that there were not quite enough characters to choose from to make some of the twists entirely surprising. I found the ending quite abrupt, but am wondering if that’s because there is a second story in the works??

There was some lovely romance in the story, although it was hard for me to get swept up in the romance because I didn’t understand some of Benedict’s motivations at times. There were also some good action scenes, a touch of violence, driving fast in dodgy cars, and some Indiana-Jones-style discoveries.

Would I recommend An Honourable Thief?

If you are a fan of historical fiction, perhaps a touch of greek mythology, a not all together likeable hero, and some action/adventure then it was an enjoyable read. It did take me a while to get into, but I’m glad I stuck with it and enjoyed it overall.

Massive thanks to Pan Macmillan for an advanced copy of The Honourable Thief in exchange for an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Meaghan Wilson Anastasios spent her formative years in Melbourne before travelling and working as an archaeologist in the Mediterranean and Middle East. She holds a PhD in art history and cultural economics, has been a lecturer at the University of Melbourne and was a fine art auctioneer. Meaghan now uses her expertise to write and research for film and TV. She lives in inner-city Melbourne with her husband and their two children. The Water Diviner was her first novel, which she co-wrote with her husband Andrew. The Honourable Thief is her first solo novel.

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