Nick & Julia Lambros

So Dear to Wicked Men is a debut mystery novel introducing Nick and Julia Lambros, who trade in their aprons for detective gear when a customer is poisoned in their restaurant. After several years of hard work, Nick and Julia Lambros have made a real success of the Oracle Cafe in the college town of Delphi, Georgia. That is, until one of their regular morning customers keels over in his coffee. Someone in the group of local businessmen who meet daily for breakfast has poisoned unlucky Glenn Bohannon and made it look as though Nick's cooking is to blame. With their livelihood-and then their lives-on the line, Julia and Nick must find out who killed Glenn and why, in order to save themselves.

In their knockout debut set in Delphi, Georgia, So Dear to Wicked Men, husband-and-wife restaurant owners Nick and Julia Lambros were forced into the roles of amateur sleuths when a patron died eating one of their breakfasts. But now, the Oracle Café is facing another problem: an audit from the IRS. As if that weren't frustrating enough, Nick and Julia soon become embroiled in more serious trouble. A young acquaintance of Julia's comes to the two for help when her life erupts in controversy. April Folsom, barely more than a girl, and her husband, Davon, are grieving the death of their stillborn son. But, this simple tragedy is complicated when the congregation of their small-town church becomes divided over the issue of whether April and Davon can bury their son in the church cemetery, for the congregation is predominantly white, like April, and Davon is black. Nick and Julia, along with their close friend, the genteel and "very" senior citizen Miss Alma Rayborn, attend the funeral and burial, which is where April's real troubles begin. Deacon Walter Fry, one of the church's leaders, leads a protest at the cemetery, and in front of all the mourners, April threatens Fry with a gun. Three day later Fry is found dead, and April finds herself charged with murder. The capable, charming, and popular Nick and Julia, along with Miss Alma and Nick's cousin Spiros, take to sleuthing once again in order to help this young woman clear her name.

When Nick and Julia Lambros hang the "Closed for Vacation" sign on their Delphi, Georgia, restaurant, what they've planned is a joyful trip to Tarpon Springs, Florida, for the wedding of Nick's godchild Kate to Alex Kyriakidis, the son of a wealthy hotel owner. A reunion with Greek friends and family and a week's stay at the beautiful Mediterranean-style hotel couldn't be more needed-or deserved. But, from the moment Nick and Julia arrive in Florida, it seems like rest and relaxation are just not in the cards. First, they witness a car swerving out of control and into the bay, forcing Nick and his cousin Spiros to rush to the sinking passengers' rescue. Then, as a series of ominous warning signs and small disasters begin to close in on the wedding party, superstitious family members insist the pending nuptials are cursed and must be canceled. Nick and Julia, responding to a desperate plea from Kate's father, once again resume the role of detectives as they try to uncover, which of the young couple's family or friends will stop at nothing-not even murder-to stop Kate and Alex from exchanging vows. For Nick and Julia, it's a race to clear the innocent, expose the guilty, and hopefully save a wedding that seems destined for catastrophe. Takis and Judy Iakovou's colorful cast of characters and authentic Greek atmosphere make There Lies a Hidden Scorpion a captivating mystery that promises to keep readers spellbound until the very last page.