Blog tour: The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou

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Welcome to the blog tour for The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou by Eleni Kyriacou!

More about the book…

London, 1954. Zina Pavlou, a Cypriot grandmother, waits quietly in the custody of the Metropolitan police. She can't speak their language, but she understands what their wary looks mean: she has been accused of the brutal murder of her daughter-in-law.

Eva Georgiou, Greek interpreter for the Met, knows how it feels to be voiceless as an immigrant woman. While she works as Zina’s translator, her obsession with the case deepens, and so too does her bond with the accused murderer.

Zina can’t speak for herself. She can’t clear her own name. All she can do is wait for the world to decide...

IS SHE A VICTIM? OR IS SHE A KILLER?

More about the author…

Eleni Kyriacou is an award-winning editor and journalist. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, Grazia, and Red, among others. She’s the daughter of Greek Cypriot immigrant parents, and her debut novel, She Came To Stay, was published in 2020. Her latest novel, The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou, is inspired by the true-crime story of the penultimate woman to be executed in Britain. Follow her on and www.elenikwriter.com.

My impressions…

Wow. What a hard-hitting novel. Where do I even begin?

Inspired by the true story of Styllou Christofi, the penultimate woman to be hanged in the UK, this book explores the social and legal system of 1950s London as we learn of Zina, a Greek Cypriot grandmother accused of murdering her daughter-in-law.

Did she do it? Sadly, because of her poor origins, her gender, and her inability to speak for herself, the powers-that-be, i.e. the men in charge, decide early on that she is culpable. The only person who seems to care is Eva, the Greek interpreter who is called to work on the case.

This novel is fascinating and the issues it highlights, such as social inequality and prejudice, are still relevant today as they were in the period in which the events are set. This is a great work of historical crime fiction.

Three words to describe it. Gripping. Thought-provoking. Atmospheric.

Do I like the cover? Yes, I love it.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, not yet.

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