The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou | Eleni Kyriacou

pick

This was really good!
In 1950s London, Cypriot grandmother Zina Pavlou is accused of brutally murdering her daughter-in-law. As she speaks no English, interpreter Eva Georgiou is brought in to translate.
The result is a gripping courtroom drama combined with a thoughtful character driven portrait of these two women. It also confronts zenophobic and class issues within the justice system in a nuanced way that never feels too heavy-handed.

LeahBergen Great review! I want to read this one. 3mo

squirrelbrain I loved this when I read it - I only found out about it when it was on the BBC Between the Covers programme and I don‘t think I‘d have read it otherwise. 3mo

TheKidUpstairs @squirrelbrain this is the second Between the Covers 2023 selection I've read (probably both due to your reviews 🤣). Loved both, so I think I'm going to have to start paying attention to their lists! When do the selections come out? 3mo

squirrelbrain They just came out this weekend! This year‘s are: All The Colours of the Dark, Glorious Exploits, There Are Rivers in the Sky, Butter, Whale Fall and The Kellerby Code. I read Colours this last weekend, and I‘ve read the last 3 too. I own Rivers plus I‘ll listen to Glorious Exploits on Audible. 3mo

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Tamra

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou | Eleni Kyriacou

Heads-up! $1.99 on Kindle in the US. 😁

Based on the blurb and reviews, looks to be a compelling read.

squirrelbrain It‘s a great book! 10mo

Tamra @squirrelbrain I saw you liked it. 😄 10mo

MicheleinPhilly I loved this one too! 10mo

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Tamra @squirrelbrain @MicheleinPhilly did you see she has a new novel out? I think that is why this one is on sale. (edited) 10mo

Aimeesue Sounds excellent! Just picked it up! 10mo

Cathythoughts Oh I really enjoyed this one. Great deal for you 👍🏻❤️ 10mo

Cathythoughts A new novel out ? I must investigate immediately ❤️ 10mo

Tamra @Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain @MicheleinPhilly my mistake! So sorry to get your hopes up, I misread the date! 😏 10mo

Cathythoughts Sounds just like something I‘d do 😁 10mo

Tamra @Cathythoughts 😅 I‘m so glad I‘m not alone! I didn‘t see you had already read this one. That‘s funny because I thought you might like it when I read the blurb. 😆 10mo

Tamra @Aimeesue 👏🏾👏🏾 10mo

Cathythoughts I didn‘t put up a review at the time… I have a few reviews I must catch up on 🙈 but you thought right , I liked it 😘 10mo

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Caroline2

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou | Eleni Kyriacou

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A true crime story of the penultimate woman hanged in Britain in the 1950s. It kept me guessing right up to the end. Fascinating and gripping. Thanks for getting this for me Helen @squirrelbrain

squirrelbrain Glad you loved it too! 10mo

Tamra Thanks for posting - sounds great! 10mo

Breanne1 Just bought this bc of your review. Also it‘s currently $1.99 for those interested. 10mo

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MicheleinPhilly

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou | Eleni Kyriacou

pick

A true crime fictionalization that rather snuck up on me. I knew nothing about the case itself (and recommend going in blind) but the care with which Kyriacou drew these characters was really something. It‘s a gripping page-turner but it‘s also just a really lovely character study and a damning indictment of the British justice system. 👍🏼

squirrelbrain Such a good book - and definitely don‘t try to read about the real-life case beforehand. 11mo

TrishB I enjoyed this one too 👍🏻 11mo

LeahBergen Stacked! And I know nothing about this case, so 👍 11mo

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TrishB

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou | Eleni Kyriacou

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Put this on my Christmas list after @squirrelbrain review! Really enjoyed it, yes it‘s a crime novel, but there‘s a lot more to the story.
Based on a true story, but I hadn‘t heard of it anyway. But have read up on since finishing.

squirrelbrain Glad you liked it. I didn‘t read about the actual events until after, but they did a huge spoiler on Between the Covers on BBC2! 12mo

TrishB @squirrelbrain glad I didn‘t see any spoilers! 12mo

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squirrelbrain

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou | Eleni Kyriacou

pick

I only requested this from #netgalley as it features on the upcoming BBC series of Between The Covers. I thought from the cover that it would be a fairly standard crime novel and wasn‘t overly inspired to read it. (But #listcompletist here! 👋)

Once I started it though, I couldn‘t put it down. Based on a true story (don‘t Google it though…spoilers!) we see Zina, a recent Cypriot immigrant to London who hardly speaks any English, accused of a ⬇️

squirrelbrain ….terrible crime. Eva, also an immigrant Greek speaker, becomes her translator and starts to grow closer to Zina. Both women have traumas in their past which we learn about as we follow the court case right through to its conclusion. Highly recommended. 1y

squirrelbrain Published in the UK 9th Nov. #unspeakableactsofzinap 1y

TrishB Looks good 👍🏻 1y

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BarbaraBB Definitely looking good! 1y

squirrelbrain @Caroline2 @MicheleinPhilly 1y

Cathythoughts Sounds good. Stacked 1y

Caroline2 Looking forward to getting to this one!! 😀 1y

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