The Pericles Commission by Gary Korby

I was so happy to find this series of historical fiction set in classical Greece!  And although it doesn't match the mastery of Ken Follett's works, I enjoyed this action packed mystery.

The story is of the fictitious Nicolaus who witnesses the murder of Ephialtes in the opening sentences of the book.  Up walks Pericles, who commissions Nicolaos, an unknown citizen of Athens, to find Ephialtes' killer.

Much of the story takes place in the Athenian Agora and the adjacent Areopagus, Panathenaic Way and Acropolis.  And with every mention of these historic places I mentally kick myself for not hiring a guide to explore them during our (first!) trip to Greece.  An epic mistake of mine.  How could I not shell out the extra few hundred bucks for an insightful guide to show us around one of the most historic locations in the world?

That's a mistake I won't make a second time, as I'm just now starting to plan our next trip to Athens.

And now I see that there are a wide range of historical fiction series set in ancient Rome as well.  Amazing that I'm just now discovering these books!