The Invisible by Peter Papathanasiou

Publisher's Synopsis

Burnt-out from policework, Detective Sergeant George Manolis flies from Australia to Greece for a holiday. Recently divorced and mourning the death of his father, who emigrated from the turbulent Prespes region which straddles the borders of Greece, Albania and North Macedonia, Manolis hopes to reconnect with his roots and heritage.

On arrival, Manolis learns of the disappearance of an 'invisible' - a local man who lives without a scrap of paperwork. The police and some locals believe the man's disappearance was pre-planned, while others suspect foul play. Reluctantly, Manolis agrees to work undercover to find the invisible, and must navigate the complicated relationships of a tiny village where grudges run deep.

It soon becomes clear to Manolis that he may never locate a man who, for all intents and purposes, doesn't exist. And with the clock ticking, the ghosts of the past continue to haunt the events of today as Manolis's investigation leads him to uncover a dark and long-forgotten practice.

My Review of The Invisible by Peter Papathanasiou

This is the second book featuring DS George Manolis and follows on reasonably soon after the investigation chronicled in The Stoning. Manolis is traumatised by a shooting while on a job back in Sydney and decides he needs a break. A return to Greece appears to be the perfect chance to recharge and recover. The pace of The Invisible is slower with a greater emphasis on providing rich detail about the beautiful but troubled Prespes region of northern Greece.

Although Manolis’ plan was to reconnect with his father’s homeland and to return a set of worry beads, a family heirloom, to an old friend named Lefteris (Lefty) he finds himself drawn into a secret search for the man who appears to have gone missing. His good friend Stavros believes that Lefty, who sometimes operates outside the law, particularly when moving goods across the nearby borders, may have met with some kind of foul play.

Manolis agrees to help try to find Lefty, but how do you find someone who, officially, doesn’t exist? 

“Stavros went on to describe how Lefty was what Greeks called ‘an invisible’ - someone who lived without a scrap of official paperwork. The Florina police didn’t have a single record of him in their system, even though he was someone with whom they often spoke, socialised and did business. No-one had any record. Not a government office or a hospital or a private corporation or a charity or even the local public library.”

In the search for the missing Lefty, Manolis uncovers a great deal about many of the villagers of Glikonero. The unrest that comes from living so near the borders of Albania and North Macedonia, the traditions of sworn virgins, the prevalence of smuggling and the way in which the disabled are treated within the community all form crucial parts of a complex puzzle he slowly builds.  

This book marks a complete change of pace by Papathanasiou by taking Manolis out of the rural Australian locale in which The Stoning was set and plonking him in a vastly different situation in the north of Greece. The clandestine investigation itself is a rather ponderous, halting affair with little in the way of progress made for significant stretches. But this doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting or compelling. On the contrary, the deep embrace of the culture of the area combined with the unusual hidden stories of some of the local people and the beautiful landscape all shine. Add to that a few nasty encounters with some of the local wildlife and there’s a lot going on that simply entertains.

Peter Papathanasiou has managed to introduce me to a region of Greece, its history and culture, all of which I knew nothing about and, to be honest, had no interest in, and it had me fascinated and curious to learn more. 

There were many aspects involved in the course of The Invisible that combined to make this a particularly enjoyable novel. The mystery, although pushed into the background for the most part, turns out to be one of the most thought provoking parts of all.