The strengths of The Bellini Card are the sense of place, characterisation, and historical detail. Goodwin places the reader in both Istanbul and Venice -- the landscape and architecture, the sights, sounds and smells, and the social strata and living conditions. The descriptions are wonderfull...
“The Janissary Tree” is an Ottoman detective thriller reminiscent of Orhan Pamuk’s wonderful “My Name Is Red,” though Pamuk’s novel is far more complex. This novel is set in early 19th century Istanbul, ruled by Sultan Mahmut II. It is 1836 in Istanbul and Investigator Yashim Togalu, a eunuch i...
Lefevre, a French archaeologist, has arrived in Istanbul determined to uncover a lost Byzantine treasure. Yashim is commissioned to find out more about him. But when Lefevre's mutilated body is discovered outside the French embassy, it turns out that there is only one suspect - Yashim.
He brought two orderlies along with a stretcher and a canvas cover. There was no sign of the Italians. No sign of Ghika, either. The young kadi went very white when he saw the corpse. “This is a crime of Nazarenes,” he said, as the orderlies maneuvered the body onto the stretcher. “It is not in o...
the valide snapped; but she shifted a little uneasily on the divan.The egg rolled across the surface of the oil.The soothsayer drew a sharp breath. “I see … blood.”“Your eggs are not fresh enough,” the valide sniffed.“But it is not your blood, valide efendi,” the soothsayer replied, comfortably; ...
-Jason Goodwin A few years ago, I experienced a relationship that really brought out the abused inner child within me. The woman I was with reminded me of my abusers. She was cold and distant. She treated me like a child, and I began to act like one. I found myself feeling needy and afraid of aba...