One of Greece's most popular novelists in recent decades, Menis Koumandareas, was found dead at his home in central Athens on Saturday.

Police suspected that the 83-year-old novelist, whose face was bearing extensive wounds, was murdered

Investigators inferred that he most likely opened the door to the burglar or burglars who fatally injured him.

Politicians, artists and ordinary Greeks expressed shock and deep sorrow over his death.

Born in Athens in 1931, Koumandareas had been active as a writer since 1961. He had won several national awards for his works, which have been translated into English, French and German.

With his distinct writing style of social realism, Koumandareas reflected in his novels the anxieties and struggles of his generation.

"With the tragic death of Menis Koumandareas, Greek literature lost one of its top novelists ... Koumandareas presented with unique sensitivity the expectations of Greek society," Greek Culture Minister Costas Tassoulas said in a written statement. Endi

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