The savage killing of Hedy Pavlou is an unspeakable act. The woman charged with her murder, her mother-in-law Zina Pavlou, protests her innocence but since she speaks almost no English she cannot be understood and is effectively silenced. She feels powerless but that’s a situation she’s experienced before in her life.

For Eva, the translator assigned to Zina’s case, initially the job is just some useful extra income. But increasingly she finds herself moved by Zina’s plight, abandoned by her son and her family back in Cyprus. Because Eva knows what it is to feel alone. Soon, merely translating the questions Zina is asked and Zina’s responses to them doesn’t seem enough, particularly as it becomes clear that Zina doesn’t really understand the consequences of being found guilty of the crime. Zina believes she is innocent and all the evidence to the contrary isn’t going to change her mind. So much so, that when offered a possible way out, she rejects it. Her sole wish is to be reunited with her granddaughter, Anna, the only person who has shown her any affection since she came to England.

Given Eva’s role is to speak on behalf of another, it’s ironic that her relationship with her husband, Jimmy, has descended into one in which thoughts and feelings are no longer expressed. Their long walks talking over plans for the future have fallen by the wayside and given way to meals eaten in virtual silence. Because of their different working patterns, they’ve become like ships that pass in the night with no opportunity to talk – to really talk – about the significant thing that has happened in their life. This is increasingly so as Eva becomes progressively more involved in Zina’s case. I found I became just as much invested in Eva’s and Jimmy’s story as I did in Zina’s.

The way the story unfolds means I found myself constantly revisiting the question posed in the book: is Zina a victim or a killer? Could it be possible for both to be true? When we eventually discover what happened on the night of the murder, I think I found my own answer to that question. Even when events earlier in Zina’s life are revealed, I believe you would have to possess a heart of stone not to be moved by the final chapters of the book.

Such is the gripping nature of the story, The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is a book I could have easily devoured in a day if it weren’t for annoying things like having to eat and sleep. The fact that it’s inspired by a true story made it even more compelling, and ultimately tragic.

London, 1954 and Zina Pavlou, a Cypriot Yiayia (grandmother), waits in the custody of the Metropolitan police - she has been accused of the brutal murder of her daughter-in-law Heddy, with whom she was living alongside her son Michalis and their two children.

It’s true; there was tension between Hedy and Zina, and it seemed to be growing with each passing day. But with many cultural differences (Heddy is German) and both having limited ability to converse with the other, is that so surprising? Is it motive enough for murder?

Zina has very little English and becomes heavily reliant on Eva Georgiou, a Greek interpreter for the Met, who knows only too well how it feels to be voiceless as an immigrant woman.

Conversely, as Zina’s dependency increases, Eva’s obsession with the case deepens, and so does her bond with the accused murderer.

Whether victim or killer, Zina cannot speak up for herself. Her family effectively abandons her. She cannot work to clear her own name, which is all too convenient for some unsavoury characters. But how far will Eva go for a woman she barely knows?

The build-up to the crime and events within the family are interspersed through the narrative, but the story is predominantly focused on the observations and experiences of Zina’s interpreter

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is a propulsive thriller, made even more chilling as it’s based on a little known true crime (I’ll tell you no more for fear of spoilers).

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the story of these two women, who have both suffered many traumas over the years and for whom you cannot help but feel a strong emotional connection, though thoughts on guilt will sway as the book progresses.

Eleni Kyriacou writes cleverly, with pitch perfect dialect and including period details, which only helps to build authenticity (showing post-war British society and legal system, with all its prejudice and inequality), as the taut, morally complex plot increases in tension and vibrant complexity. Highly recommended reading! 5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.

This is a book that everyone should read, this is my top read of the year. I was glued to the pages, not knowing how this story was going to end. I had read it was based on a true story with some fiction added to it. But it is heartbreaking, I cried at parts and reading afterwards which parts were true and which was fiction didn’t make things much easier.

It’s 1953 Zina Pavlou has been invited to London by her son Michalis and his German wife Hedy, they want her to help with the housework and looking after the children. Zina is excited to meet her grandchildren especially the older one Annie the other is still a baby. But when she arrives things don’t go as well as planned. Zina cannot read or write Greek, and she speaks no English. Which means she can only communicate fully through her son. But she does try to learn words in English.

When one night Hedy is murdered, the only person that is looked at is Zina. But she claims she is innocent, she has no idea what has happened. Is she telling the truth?

Eva Georgiou is a translator the police ask her if she will translate the questioning they need to do with Zina. She agrees, but it’s not just the one time she translates Eva begins to care about Zina, she gets too close, she has no idea if she is guilty of what she is charged or not. But she is determined to be by her side and translate.

Despite both being Greek Zina and Eva’s lives have been so different. Zina had been married at 14, she had 5 children by 21 and a husband who cheated on her. As Eva gets to know her better she learns something from the past, but only a snippet not the full story and she keeps it to herself.

This story is heartbreaking in many ways, I felt such sympathy for Zina I had no idea if it was misplaced or not until the end. But even then life had been tough.

If you think of all the modern technology we have now DNA, crime Scene Analysis, psychiatrists, this case may have been solved quicker and the sentence would have been different.

Because someone cannot read or write doesn’t make them stupid, because they are not the most beautiful woman doesn’t make you stupid. Zina is only 53 but from the work she has done since 14 she may as well have been 73.

This is my top read of this year, I have read a number of books but none so far this year have stayed with me like this one. A book that makes you think, that brings out emotions in you. I was holding my breath as the court case came to an end. Gripped to know what was going to happen. The injustices of some of the trial.

The story is told gradually and jumps back and forth in time to when Zina was young, to when she arrived in London. Going back before the murder and before the murder gradually leading to the trial.

I found the whole story compelling reading and found myself looking up the real case after reading what the author had said which parts were fiction and which were fact.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #HeadofZeus for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

A very interesting look at the British justice system in the 1950s from the viewpoint of a non-English speaker. Zina Pavlou has been charged with murdering her daughter-in-law. The Police evidence seems solid, but to her interpreter and translator it is not so clear cut. To her it is clear that Zina is unwell and should be pleading insanity.
This was a bit of a slow starter, but held my interest and my loyalties kept swinging in different directions right until the end.

This is a tragic story of a woman who comes from Greece in 1954, to visit her adult son in England with his new wife and their two children. Zina is desperate to be loved and needed by her family and feels that she has no one left in Greece to turn to. She works hard to support her son but does not like his wife. She’s quite judgemental about the way that Hedy lives, dresses and acts.
The two women do not get on at all. There is mistrust and disrespect. When Hedy’s body is discovered in the garden on fire, there is an arrest and Zina is taken into custody.
The trial does not seem fair at all with Eva, herself, a Greek girl who works for the police as an interpreter, being put in a very uncomfortable position, interpreting the words of the lawyers to Zina even though they are harsh and unjust, patronising, and mocking Zina for being an immigrant, who does not speak English.

Wow what a book. I had no idea what to expect but damn I was hooked. I got so immersed in the trial and for a while I definitely thought the son had something to do with the case but how wrong was I. Definitely recommend if you like a murder trial.

A compulsive tale of murder, finding a place in the world and family ties. Zina is a Greek Cypriot accused of murdering her daughter in law and she is assigned an interpreter as the case is built against her in 1950s London. Fascinating in detail and time and place, this drips out the story with clear eyes, complex characters and compassion.

No spoilers

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is a powerful novel that will manipulate emotions and thoughts right up until the final pages.

Based upon a little known true crime of the 1950s, the story follows the story of Zina Pavlou accused of murdering her daughter-in-law. Zina - a Cypriot lady - who speaks little English - finds herself caught within the English legal system of the time and it is this that makes this book such a fascinating read.

The build up to the crime and events within the family are interspersed through the narrative but the story is predominantly focussed through the observations and experiences of Zina’s interpreter- Eva Georgiou.

Zina cannot speak for herself and Eva finds herself drawn closer to the woman and the need to ensure she is given a fair trial even when Zina’s character begins to deteriorate in confined conditions.The characterisation and the relationship between the two women is what makes this book excellent

The pace of the story is good and the “is she or is she not guilty ?” compels you to read on. Eleni Kyriacou cleverly plays with our sympathies. The period details are not overly played which helps the authenticity and the tautness of the plot grips.

This is a book that needs to be discussed and it would be hard not to compare how the legal system would approach such a crime today - especially in relation to the toxicity of social media and reporting .

A fascinating read - one of the best books of 2023

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is a character driven story, focusing on a very unusual friendship, between Zina and Eva, which rhymes with clever.
The two women are thrown together when Zina becomes the chief suspect in Hedy’s, her daughter in law’s, murder. Zina is a Greek Cypriot, living in London in 1954. Eva is the translator brought in for the case. Little do they know, the impact that each woman will have on the other.

Many other reviews of this book have spoken more about the plot. To do that, I would have to give away what I consider to be huge spoilers. So I will say no more, and just recommend that you read it yourself.

Some of the chapters take us back in time, to see the events unfolding before Hedy’s death. The tension between Hedy and Zina growing with each passing day, while Michalis, the husband and son respectively, plays piggy in the middle. As a reader, I could see these situations from both sides of the widening divide.

The book made for compulsive reading. Even as the story was nearing its conclusion, I was eager to read what became of Zina, still hopeful. Zina and Eva are such wonderful, complex characters, they are vivid and so alive in my mind; so human.

I found the book to be moving, which was heightened by the details Eleni Kyriacou provided in the author’s notes. I had no idea that this book was based on a genuine case in UK legal history. For me, the book is about injustice, assumptions, mental health, racism and the long reaching effect of trauma.

This compelling book is dark, morally complex and thought provoking all at once. 4.5⭐️ from me.

I enjoyed the intertwining of truth and fiction. It felt very different rt9 read a book that weaves both together.

I didn't realise that this was based on a true story until I'd finished reading. I felt catapulted into 1950s London through Eleni's writing. I can't say I was 100% onboard with the main character Eva and felt frustrated at some of her actions. I was gripped with the story and I didn't know if I was coming or going with Zina, my mind changed page by page. A really compelling book.

Although a tale of fiction, this story is based on a real murder and trial in the 1950s. The two main characters, Zina and Eva, are so well portrayed by the author, they are equally important. One would expect Zina to be central stage but Eva has her own demons and feels great empathy for Zina. She suspects her guilt but nevertheless stands by her throughout - not only doing her job of translating but being Zina's only friend and visitor. A compelling story.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Eleni Kyriacou/Aria & Aries, Head of Zeus for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

The unspeakable acts of Zina Pavlou was a hard hitting, emotional roller coaster full of grit and resilience.

Zina has been arrested for the murder of her daughter in law. She doesn't speak English, and we are in 1950s London.

So basically she is screwed. Her only hope is the interpreter she has been assigned.

We learn about Zina's tough life and how she has to deal with a society unwilling to accept someone from another country. The abuse she gets and the hardships she faces.

I read this one very quickly, as I just couldn't put it down once I'd started. Absolutely recommend for something a bit different and something that will leave you thinking long after it's finished.

‘The English don’t like hanging anyone any more. They think it makes them look uncivilised, to the rest of the world. And as for hanging women, well that’s even more unpopular.’
Zina frowns. ‘Not even foreign ones?’ she asks.
Eva doesn’t speak for a few moments... [loc. 1458]
Zina Pavlou speaks very little English. She has come from Cyprus to stay with her son Michalis and his wife Hedy, caring for their children and working as an unpaid housekeeper, but Hedy wasn't happy with the arrangement. Now Hedy is dead, Zina is awaiting trial for her murder, and her family seem to have abandoned her: she has brothers, sisters and nephews, but none visit during her imprisonment. Her son (who was the translator when Zina was first arrested) believes her guilty of the murder and will have nothing to do with her. Eva Georgiou, the translator appointed by the police, is Zina's only hope, and her only friend: but Eva doesn't know if she can, or should, believe Zina's protestations of innocence

This is a powerful novel: it's about the ways in which Zina (old, unattractive, unloved, of low social class and minimal education -- and foreign) is dismissed by most of the men involved in her case, about her lack of agency -- not just in London, but back in Cyprus -- and her disintegrating grasp of the truth about what happened on the night of Hedy's death. 'She’s told the truth throughout, she wants to say, and really doesn’t know how Hedy died, or what happened that evening all those months ago. She is almost certain she had nothing to do with it.' [loc. 3964]. Eva has made a British life for herself: she speaks and writes English, has a career, and is 'respectable': but she still lacks the privilege of even a working-class Englishman. She's paid less than a man doing the same job would be, she's regarded as fair game by unscrupulous journalists, and she's struggling to understand why she's so invested in Zina's case.

This novel is based on the story of Hella Dorothea Christofis (née Bleicher), who was murdered by her mother-in-law, Styllou Pantopiou Christofi, in London in 1954. Eleni Kyriacou's afterword describes the facts that inspired the story, and it's harrowing reading. 'Seven months after Styllou’s execution, there was a huge public outcry when Ruth Ellis was hanged for the murder of her abusive lover, David Blakely. In his autobiography, the executioner to both women, Albert Pierrepoint, noted the lack of press interest in Styllou’s fate. He said, ‘One wonders if it was because she was middle-aged, unattractive and foreign?’ [loc. 5141]. In The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou (hmm, why plural 'Acts'?) it's clear that Zina is suffering from some form of mental illness. Even today, though, this is not always recognised or treated as a mitigating circumstance. Kyriacou's evocation of the early 1950s post-war British society with all its prejudice and inequality is vivid and bleak. And I grew up closer to that time than to 2023...

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this full honest review. UK publication date is 09 NOV 2023.

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 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.

An amazing story that once I began i just could not stop reading. Eleni has captured London in the 1950's so well with the attitudes to women and to the immigrant population. Women were certainly badly treated and both Eva and Zina portray this very clearly . The story gradually evolves at a superb rate which kept me wanting to read more each time I had the chance yo sit down. Until the very end I had no idea whether Zina was guilty or innocent. I loved the way that the book intermixed the previous events with the current events in a totally non confusing manner. Both the two main characters were so well described that it was easy to feel both their emotions and to feel their pains trying to cope with such a terrible crime.
This is a well written, compulsive read that bcause it is baased upon a true story is so realistic throughout. I would like to read more by this taleted author who obviously does great research before she writes.

An amazing read. A sympathetic novel based on the life and death of the penultimate w9man to be hanged in the uk and of her translator. The main character is an illiterate Cypriot woman who killed her daughter in law under duress caused by mental illness. Today, she would have been treated wit( much more sympathy, but after a difficult abused life, she blurred the boundaries of fantasy and reality. The translator was amazing. Sympathetic, understanding yet realistic.

This must have been such a difficult book to write, but the story should be told. The establishment was guilty of looking down on her lack of education and the fact she was foreign. There was no justice here. Law should be colourblind but this was clearly not the case.

This is a book that I could not put down. Once I started it, I was immersed in the 1950s London, where foreigners are barely tolerated unless they work hard and try to make themselves as English as possible, shedding anything that marks them as not from there.

So the cards are already stacked against Zina Pavlou. Not only is she accused of of murdering her daughter-in-law in a shockingly violent way, there is also the additional crime of not being able to speak English.
It certainly seems that Zina did it, but the blatant xenophobia that she faces leaves room for lingering doubt about if all the evidence being presented in accurate. The interactions between Zina and Eva are complex, as it seems that most of Zina's relationships are. Although Eva is there strictly to interpret for Zina and to make sure that she understands all the charges against her and give her the opportunity to speak in her defence, Eva - against her better judgement - is pulled deeper into Zina's world.

The prison life and courtroom scenes are so deftly drawn, so that I didn't feel like I was reading about Zina and Eva. I was in that world with them.The author resists the attempt to make Zina either completely unlikable to match the heinous nature of her alleged crimes or a suppliant reed blown here and there by the vagaries of the hard life she has lived. Zina swings between rage, despair, and resignation. And you recognise that being unable to understand and speak the language of your accusers is very much like being a woman in a patriarchal culture. In both, you have no voice and no agency to stand-up for yourself.

What I appreciated most of all about this book is that it did not pull any punches in showing the hard reality of life for women and immigrants, while also peeling back the stereotypes to show the humanity that lies beneath.

I received the ARC from NetGalley to review.

When I find out this book was base in real events it made the whole book more enjoyable. The multiple timelines make my reading a bit difficult to. Catch up with. But the plot and the narrative where the element I enjoyed most of the book. The characters develop and the evolve of the plot was something very enjoyable too. I am so happy about be avalible to access this ARC thanks to NetGalley

This was a really thoughtful fictional retelling of a true story about a gruesome murder in the 1950's. The author's portrayal of London and the lives of Greek Cypriot immigrants was well told and the topic of otherness and poor language skills remain a contemporary issue.
I found using the viewpoint of an interpreter a good one to highlight
points, although at times it felt Eva should have had a book of her own and maybe slightly detracted from Zina's story.
Thank you to netgalley and Head of Zeus for an advance copy of this book