The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou

 Featuring on BBC 2’s Between the Covers,  (if you watched this weeks episode, you would have  seen a copy on the shelf behind Sarah Cox! )The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou is an historical crime novel based on a true crime from the 1950s. It’s dark reading.

Zina, a  Greek Cypriot, has very limited English, so when she is accused of murder she requires an interpreter and translator in the form of Eva Georgiou who works for the Met police. Eva’s job really was to merely interpret and translate, but she becomes deeply involved with the case and forms an attachment with Zina. This offers a compelling story that covers prejudice, immigration, the media, the place of women in different cultures and questions of morality.

 What I found particularly fascinating was the nature of Eva’s attachment with Zina. Knowing that it was almost certain that the older woman had committed murder Eva still felt concern and compassion for her fellow country woman and in the novel we see her becoming increasingly obsessed. To her credit she wants to see Zina get a fair hearing even if she is guilty, and she works tirelessly to try and make sure that no stone is unturned. But it takes its toll on her and her marriage to the ever patient Jimmy, who is one of the most endearing characters in the book. The characterizations are strong, and we get a very clear picture of Zina and Eva. We also get a very clear idea of the legal system and the prison system in the 1950s. I found the courtroom sequences utterly gripping. And I also think it highlights the fact that nothing is ever completely clear cut. On the one hand you can argue that Zina murdered so she must be punished, but the novel seeks to look at the mitigating factors that might have led to Zina’s unspeakable acts and whether, some leniency might be appropriate. And so doing the book also offers the reader much food for thought. I’ve often wondered what it is that drives people to commit acts of unspeakable violence. Up to a point I can see where crimes of passion could occur, but to take the life of another in a premeditated way is beyond my comprehension.

Historically it creates a very palpable picture of 1950s London, both socially and the penal and legal system of the time. Some thorough and excellent research has been undertaken. There are moments of tension within the well paced narrative and cleanly structured story. We care about the characters including Zina

It’s not a feel good read by any means, but it is an extremely absorbing one. My thanks to Tandem Collective for a copy of this book.

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