Such a strange concept

This review of The Ionia Sanction just appeared in the Sunday Herald Sun, an excellent Melbourne newspaper: 

SUCH a strange concept — a murder mystery set in ancient Athens — yet it works so well in history buff Gary Corby's second Hellenic mystery, The Ionia Sanction. 

The year is 460BC and Nicolaos, the only investigating agent in Athens, is called on by the city's leader, Pericles, to investigate the suspicious death of an Athenian official. 

But after tracking the killer and letting him slip through his fingers, Nico finds himself on his boss's bad side and desperate to make amends. 

Nico's quest to solve Thorion's murder takes him across the oceans to the Persian Empire. There he runs into his ex-girlfriend, meets the infamous Greek traitor Themistocles and uncovers a Persian plot that threatens to destroy Athens. 

This fascinating book blends historical events and figures with fiction to create a funny, gripping and satisfying mystery you won't be able to put down. 

SAMANTHA LANDY 

VERDICT  ★★★★☆ 

It occurs to me people might not know how newspaper reviews come to be.  The simple answer is: I don't have much of a clue myself.  

What happens is Heidi the Publicist, who's extremely good at this sort of thing, sends  the book out to known quality reviewers and then waits to see who's interested.  The first I hear of a review is when Heidi or some other responsible adult lets me know it's out there.  My contribution is absolutely zero, if you don't count writing the book in the first place.  I have no idea what any review is going to say until it appears.  

Reading your own reviews is a slightly nervous process; I read the first paragraph, then I read the last paragraph to see if I'm doomed.  Then with a feeling of relief I read the whole thing; at least three times.