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Published Mar 2009
306 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Istanbul, 1840: the new sultan, Abdulmecid, has heard a rumor that Bellini’s vanished masterpiece - a portrait of Mehmed the Conqueror - may have resurfaced in Venice. Yashim, our eunuch detective, is promptly sent to investigate, but - aware that the sultan’s advisers are against any extravagant repurchase of the painting - decides to deploy his disempowered Polish ambassador friend, Palewski, to visit Venice in his stead. Palewski arrives in disguise in down-at-the-heel Venice, where a killer is at large, as dealers, faded aristocrats, and other unknown factions seek to uncover the whereabouts of the missing Bellini.
But is it the Bellini itself that endangers all, or something associated with its original loss? And how is it that all of the killer’s victims are somehow tied to the alluring Contessa d’Aspi d’Istria? Will the Austrians unmask Palewski, or will the killer find him first? Only Yashim can uncover the truth to the manifold mysteries.
"Once again, Goodwin skillfully blends deduction, action sequences and period color." - Publishers Weekly.
"Beautifully evocative and filled with characters whose thoughts and deeds are as much a mix of Italy and the Orient as the city itself, this is a book to be savored. Series fans will not be disappointed, and new readers will find themselves seeking out Goodwin's earlier works." - Library Journal.
"Starred Review. Intrigue, treachery, and murder infuse early-nineteenth-century European society ..." - Booklist.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jason Goodwin studied Byzantine history at Cambridge University – and then returned to an old obsession to write The Gunpowder Gardens: Travels in China and India in Search of Tea, which was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Award.
When the Berlin Wall fell, he walked from Poland to Istanbul to encounter the new European neighbours. His account of the journey, On Foot to the Golden Horn, won the John Llewellyn Rhys/Mail on Sunday Prize in 1993.
Having always wanted to write fiction, he wrote The Janissary Tree which won the coveted Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2007. Translated into more than 40 languages, the currently 5-book series features a detective, Yashim, who lives in 19th century Istanbul. The Baklava Club (2014) is the fifth and possibly last installment in the series.
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