Hera’s Revenge: An Yvonne Suarez Travel Mystery by Wendy Dingwall

I like that a strong female character is the one solving the mystery with the help of a man.  The mystery involved a murder (sort of) and several art heists.  The idea of using a travel agent allows for Yvonne to have knowledge of the area and be in different places for future stories.  A great length for the beach or flight, not too long but long enough for characters to have some depth.

Yvonne left her abusive husband and is leading her first tour group for Pinkerton Travel Agency.  Her first tour gets off to a very rocky start when a baggage handler is found dead and valuable art goes missing from museums around the time her group is in the area.  David is using Yvonne’s tour to find out more about his business partner who might be embezzling money from the company.  An avid reader will know these two plots will combine somehow, and it is an interesting twist to see how it happens.  The tour group has some interesting characters and the author does a nice job of providing details but leaving enough blanks for the readers imagination to develop the characters or why they are doing something.  I think that Evelyn might be facing Alzheimer and that is why she chronicles everything, or maybe she is going to write a novel about the group’s crazy tour.  The side characters provide a nice distraction and possible suspects.

Character List (continuation of Book Summary):

 Yvonne Suarez = works for Pinkerton Travel Agency, leading a tour of Greece, first time as a tour leader, left her abusive husband, has daughter, hesitant to get into a new relationship, has a very curious nature

David Ludlow = bought tickets from Yvonne, likes Yvonne, owns a software company and thinks his partner is embezzling money

Dr. Daedalus = curator of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens for 13 years, hosting a private tour of the Museum for Yvonne’s group

Gino Gianetti = Yvonne’ ex husband, polite in public, violent in private

Christy = Yvonne and Gino’s 6 year old daughter

Debra Pinkerton = owner of Pinkerton Travel Agency

Nancy Suarez = Yvonne’ mother, “NaNa” to Christy, watching Christy while Yvonne hosts the tour in Greece

Eduardo = Nancy’s husband, Yvonne’s father, “PaPa” to Christy, one of Miami’s wealthiest Cuban Aristocrats

Bill Armstrong = on Yvonne’s tour, friends with the Fontinellis, retired, travels in style frequently, verbally abusive towards his wife on the tour

Janice = Bill’s wife, on Yvonne’s tour, brags about Bill’s ability to find art deals, “fell” at the Parthenon, faints at the museum, thinks her husband and friends are trying to kill her, goes to Yvonne for help

Todd Johnson = on Yvonne’s tour, celebrating his 10th wedding anniversary, wants a child

Melissa “Missy” = Todd’s wife, on Yvonne’s tour, celebrating her 10th wedding anniversary, does not want a child

Mark Rogers = on Yvonne’s tour, gay, works for Cynthia, hoping to find romance in Greece

Cynthia Forsythe = on Yvonne’s tour, owns a local beauty salon, hoping to find romance in Greece

Beverly Nystrom = on Yvonne’s tour, friend of Yvonne, takes a trip every year, a paralegal, wants to be powerful/wealthy, gets hit by a car that is tailing the group

Richard Malcom = on Yvonne’s tour, first trip without kids in 20 years, not in the best of shape, was a doctor, has 3 boys, wants his wife to be happy

Evelyn = on Yvonne’s trip, married to Richard, was going to be a psychologist but became a stay at home mom to her three boys, going to Greece was a lifetime dream of hers, first time outside of the USA, keeps taking notes on the trip

Demetrius Maverickos = David’s business partner, might be embezzling money, left Greece when he was a teenager

Aristotle “Ari” = Yvonne’s bus driver and tour narrator, gets along with Cynthia, leads the group when Yvonne had to leave to take care of Beverly and Janice

Nicholas Fontinellis = on Yvonne’s tour, often talking secretively with Bill

Rosanna = on Yvonne’s tour, Nicholas’s wife, gives Janice sleeping pills, might be having an affair with Bill, seems protective of Janice

Damian = man Bill and Nicholas were talking to after Janice fell, seems to be following the Armstrongs and Fontinellis

George = Demetrius’s brother, works for the family stores, Maverickos Antique Jewelry Store, going to the islands the same time as Yvonne’s group and bumps into David and Yvonne on the ferry.

Alexis & Loukas = George and Demetrius’s parents, running the family business and invite David to dinner when he first arrives in Greece