Readers' rating:
Published Mar 2011
304 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
When the admiral of the Ottoman fleet defects to the Egyptians, Yashim attempts to uncover the man's motives. But Fevzi Pasha is no stranger to Yashim: it was Pasha, in fact, who taught the investigator his craft years ago. He is the only man whom Yashim has ever truly feared: ruthless, cruel, and unswervingly loyal to the sultan. What dark secret has led his former mentor to betray the Ottoman Empire?
While unraveling Pasha's curious history, Yashim is drawn ever deeper into the closed world of the sultan's seraglio, an intimate household populated by the young ruler's women, children, slaves, and eunuchs. It is a well-appointed world dominated by fear, ambition, and deep-seated superstitions - a lap of luxury where talented girls hold sway in the ladies' orchestra.
But as the women of that orchestra inexplicably grow ill and die, Yashim discovers that his investigations into the admiral's defection have their roots in the torturous strictures of the sultan’s harem, where every secret is sacred: a place where the normal rules are suspended and where women can simply disappear.
"Starred Review. While Goodwin excels at plotting, the book's main strength lies in the assured depiction of a nation restrained by a corrupt leadership far removed from the old traditions of transparency and justice. The details of how Yashim prepares meals may amuse Robert Parker fans." - Publishers Weekly
This information about An Evil Eye was first featured
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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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