Aristotle Detective

 Aristotle Detective (1978) by Margaret Doody

Synopsis (from the back of the book): When a violent murder leaves a prominent citizen dead and a falsely accused suspect in exile, a master philosopher turned part-time sleuth is drawn into the baffling mystery. The scene is Athens, 332 B.C.; the murder weapon is a bow and arrow; the investigator, an in inexperienced young boy. There is only one mind capable of putting together the puzzling pieces--that of the great and wise Aristotle. Stephanos does the legwork, exploring the ins and outs of the city, and the master ponders the clues and weighs the evidence in a splendidly dramatic trial before the supreme tribunal of Athens. Aristotle unmasks the villain in a dazzling display of deductive logic.

My take: This was just a snooze-fest for me. We have Aristotle set up as a Holmes wanna-be with Stephanos acting as his active Watson. Though Stephanos has more of a stake in the mystery since the wrongly accused man is his relative. I'm afraid that I didn't find any "splendidly dramatic" moments nor "dazzling display[s] of deductive logic." The villain of the piece is pretty obvious very early in the book and viewing all of this through the eyes of Stephanos was excruciating. He may be filling the shoes of Watson in this story, but the original Watson is far more appealing. 

Others on Goodreads have rated this much more highly--so perhaps one needs a more philosophic mind to really appreciate it. I guess I'm just not a philosophic girl. ★

First line: It was in the month of Boedromion in the waning of the third moon after the summer solstice that the terrible deed was done that was to have so long and arduous a consequence.

Last line: "Polygnotos commanded the best rhetoric of all."
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Deaths = one stabbed