First published 2026
In the blazing summer of 447 BCE, Athens trembles on the knife's edge of transformation. Pericles leads an ambitious project to rebuild the Acropolis, but someone wants to stop the Parthenon's construction—and will kill to do it. A series of mysterious deaths target the project's key architects and workers, threatening not just a building, but the entire political structure of the city-state. As tensions rise between rival political factions and foreign powers circle like vultures, a lone investigator must unravel a conspiracy that reaches into the highest levels of Athenian society. With the plague already weakening the city and external enemies watching, every murder brings Athens closer to potential collapse. One wrong move could destroy everything Pericles has built—and change the course of Western civilization forever.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, political-thriller, ancient
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-mystery, political-intrigue
Setting: Athens
Period: Ancient
416 pages · Hardcover · Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press