Archangel – A Novel Inspired by Actual Events in the Occupied Cyprus

“Archangel”: A Novel Inspired by Actual Events in the Occupied Cyprus

“Archangel” is a novel of historical fiction inspired by the theft of the Panagia Kanakaria mosaic from the Turkish-occupied village of Lythrangomi in Cyprus.

What happens when you’re faced with a deal too good to be true? If you’re almost-broke DC art dealer Juliana Petrescu, you may be willing to turn a blind eye to the questionable provenance of centuries-old relics. Juliana Petrescu becomes involved in the sale of mosaics from Cyprus. But all is not as it appears with the Byzantine icons, and Juliana discovers that within those venerated tiles, lies a world of danger, intrigue, obsession and mysticism. The antiquities business is not always as it seems. Shades of gray often color backroom deals. The rewards can be great and the temptations test the morals of even the most stalwart. Are the benefits on a transaction that may appear harmless worth the risk? Her adventure propels her across the globe and into the path of Father Petros Nicodemus, the fiery Abbot looking to reclaim the mosaics for the Church of Cyprus.

Maria Menico Sifniades

Author Maria Menico Sifniades was born in New York City but spent a major part of her childhood in Cyprus. In 1974, she and her family fled the invading Turkish army, returning to New York. She earned a BA and MS in Social Research from Hunter College and worked for many years at the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the UN at the Press Office. Afterwards she went on to a career as Health Services Researcher. “Archangel” is her first novel. She’s a writer, a blogger, a cook, and a traveler.

The book has received great reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and other outlets. The author was recently in Cyprus where she was invited by the Municipality of Kerynia for book presentations as well as at the June PSEKA Conference in Washington DC where “Archangel” was the featured book presented as a gift to Senators and Congressmen.

The novel is available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle book, both in English and Greek.