Murder in Byzantium

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In this suspenseful novel, Julia Kristeva masterfully blends social satire, medieval history, philosophy, psychoanalytic theory, and autobiography within a gripping murder mystery. The narrative shifts from the turmoil of eleventh-century Europe during the First Crusade to present-day Santa Varvara, a cultural wasteland beset by religious cults, gangs, and a serial killer targeting members of the New Pantheon sect. The killer leaves a mysterious figure eight on the victims’ corpses. Meanwhile, Sebastian Chrest-Jones, a professor of human migrations, vanishes while researching an ancestor who journeyed to Byzantium during the Crusade, as he secretly writes about the Byzantine princess-historian Anna Comnena. Detectives Northrop Rilsky and journalist Stephanie Delacour become entwined in both the investigation and a budding romance as they attempt to unravel the dual mysteries. Kristeva, in the tradition of Eco, Sontag, and McEwan, intricately weaves philosophical ideas into her narrative, offering a vivid portrait of Santa Varvara, where political and corporate corruption lurks beneath a sunny facade. Her evocative depictions of the First Crusade and Byzantine Empire resonate with contemporary issues like immigration, fundamentalism, and the East-West divide. This novel also marks Kristeva's exploration of her Bulgarian heritage, presenting interlocking character portraits grappling with loss and emptiness in their lives.