Comparing to Prophet Murders Goodwin's knowledge of Istanbul gets only a D - Rated 
Just read two different thrillers on Istanbul with two similar heros. One the Snake Stone the other Prophet Murders. The Snake Stone takes Istanbul as a souvenir backstage as flat as a Hollywood movie made in 1930's when nobody had a knowledge of socalled exotic places. Whereas Prophet Murders, featuring a cool, elegant, Audrey Hepburn fan, classical music critic, aikido master transvestite night club owner turned detective in Istanbul is completely different; the city lives in the pages as vivid as pictures taken moment by moment. The difference is so clear; the writer of Prophet Murders is Turkish and lives in Istanbul. Fun and perfect for summer as well. Sorry Goodwin, you need to study harder to compete with the "girls"...
another breath of fresh oriental air - Rated 
Well, what can I say? Having read 'The Janissary Tree' a while ago and having found it a very enjoyable novel, I'm glad to say this second novel featuring Yashim is as good if not better. Yashim is an unlikely kind of detective, not so much because he is eunuch (although I'll grant there's probably precious few other eunuch detectives out there) but because his approach is so very subtle and stealthy. There's nothing hard-boiled about Yashim, he blends in with his surroundings, observes in silence the comings and goings, and then lets his formidable intelligence do the rest. This is not to say that every case is a breeze for Yashim, on the contrary. In 'The snake stone' as in 'The Janissary tree' he has to deal with formidable opponents who do not shy away from physical violence and the occasional gruesome murder.
Add to this the unusual setting of Istanbul in the 1830s (I was there a couple of years ago and oddly enough the descriptions given in this book instantly reminded me of the 21st century atmosphere of that city, no doubt much has changed but much has remained the same also), the colourful characters (the Polish ambassador Palewski!) and the subtle language in which this whole tale is told and what you end up with is a delightful detective novel, and one which I can heartily recommend.
Journey to Ottoman Istanbul... - Rated
Our favourite eunuch makes his next outing in declining Istanbul. This time it's a secret Hellanistic cult that needs thwarting. It's more of the same as the last book, intriguing mystery, another beautiful woman that causes emotional turmoil, various culinary experiences and another slightly fudged ending and all is well at the end. Of course the storyline is hardly paramount in the book, one reads this for the journey through Ottoman Istanbul, the experience the smells and sights and to learn its history. The atmosphere and background is beautifully described, one can really get the sense of the authors historical expertise coming in to play. The plot fades from memory almost instantly on completion, but the sense of old Istanbul lingers in the memory long after the books completion.
The Turkish impotentate returns! - Rated
Jason Goodwin's second book "The Snake Stone" sees the return of the Turkish, crime-solving eunuch Yashim Togalu. I'm pleased to report that Goodwin's second book was as fun to read as his first, The Janissary Tree: A Novel".
As befits a mystery set in Istanbul the plot of "The Snake Stone" is moderately Byzantine but not so complex that the reader gets lost. Yashim is approached by a French archeologist (of the plundering sort) who tells Yashim a story about some priceless antiquities. Shortly thereafter the man is found dead and since Yashim is the last man to see him alive he finds himself faced with the prospect of being a suspect in the murder. Yashim has no choice but to try to unravel the mystery.
Two aspects of the book deserve special praise. As noted, the plot revolves around the possible discovery of priceless antiquities and this is a perfect device for a book set in a city such as Istanbul one of the world's historic cross-roads. The plot gives Goodwin a great opportunity to `explore' Istanbul's rich and diverse history both archeologically and socially. Goodwin studied Byzantine history at Cambridge and has written books on the history of the Ottoman Empire (Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire and his writing evidences that knowledge. Goodwin puts his knowledge to good use as he paints a very readable picture of Istanbul that captures (for me at least) the sights, sounds, and smells of Istanbul's streets and alleys while also conveying a sense of the political and social backdrop that drove the characters in the book. Anytime a writer gives you the sense that you can almost get a visceral feel for the sights and sounds of a city that writer has done a good job.
Second, Goodwin has done an excellent job in developing the character of Yashim. Yashim is now, in the second book, a fully formed and very endearing character. The minor recurring characters are equally engaging. Last, Yashim isn't the first detective to be a gourmet cook but I have to say the descriptions of Yashim's recipes were very enticing.
In my review of "The Janissary Tree" I mentioned that Goodwin's Yashim reminded me of Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin novels (late 19th-century Russia such as The Winter Queen: A Novel (Erast Fandorin Mysteries)) and Arturo Perez-Reverte's Captain Alatriste stories such as Captain Alatriste (17th-century Spain). They all take the standard detective or mystery story and transport the reader to a different time and place. "The Snake Stone" confirms my original impression that Goodwin's books belong in that good company. "The Snake Stone" was an excellent story and anyone who likes a good detective story with a bit of an exotic twist should enjoy it.
" In this city of belonging, even the dead belonged somewhere" - Rated
Constantinople in the 1830's and French archeologist Max Lefevre has arrived in the city, reputedly to barter for some lost Byzantine relics in the hope that they will provide his way to wealth and glory. Meanwhile, local eunuch Yashim is welcome in a variety of social circles, content to live in his small apartment while also dining out in many of the cosmopolitan cafes and even shopping in many of the markets situated in the Grand Bazaar with their cornucopia of perfect fruits and vegetables.
Possessed of a fierce intellect and a real gift for listening and quiet questioning, Yashim has learned to separate himself from his emotions as he readily moves between the refined world of Topkapi Palace and the poorer streets of Constantinople, always on the lookout for sinister doings in this thriving city where Jews, Greeks, Muslims, and even Christians have lived peacefully together for years in an environment that is largely free of menace.
Times, however, are changing. The Sultan Mahmut II, who for thirty years has presided over many changes to the Ottoman state, lies in his palace dying of tuberculosis and cirrhosis of the liver, his illness causing a bitterness and uneasiness to circulate throughout the Empire. Against this backdrop of collective restlessness, a series of violent murders are committed, which echo throughout the communal alleyways of the city.
The first to die is Yashim's friend George, a friendly merchant trader who is found beaten and left for dead in the street, and then the elderly Goulandris, a native Greek who deals in old books and curiosities is found murdered in his shop. What could possibly be happening in this city that has suddenly become so overrun with mountebanks, schemers, and dealers of every nationality, the city "like a serpent intent to shed its skin." Perhaps both George and Goulandris were simply victims of the same unease that seems to be sweeping though Istanbul.
Meanwhile, the wife of Monsieur Mavrogordato invites Yashim to her house to tell him that the Frenchman Max Lefevre has recently visited asking for a small loan. In the course of the discussion the man made certain offers that were in some sense disquieting, apparently there was a proposal made to sell her husband something. Madame Mavrogordato would like Yashim to encourage Monsieur Lefevre to conduct his research elsewhere.
Determined to get to the bottom of Lefevre's motivations and perhaps discover whether he is connected to the murders, Stanislaw Palewski, the Polish ambassador and Yashim's best friend, invites Lefevre to dinner. But their evening together sheds little light on Lefevre's Machiavellian schemes, if indeed he has any. One thing is for sure: throughout the course of the meal Yashim decides that he doesn't particularly like this strange and enigmatic Frenchman who isn't being particularly honest with either him or Palewski.
Then one night Lefevre appears at Yashim's door, stumbling across the threshold, dragging a leather satchel into the room behind him, and appearing shrunken, and incredibly aged, his black eyes darting nervously from side to side, begging for help and fearing for his life... There was something rather terrible about being a stranger in a city where even the dead belonged. "Some people get the wrong idea, they think of me as a grave robber, but I bring lost treasures to light, I bring them back to life," he fanatically tells Yashim.
Taking pity on him, Yashim helps Lefevre escape on a boat bound for France, But when his body is later discovered back in Istanbul, savagely mauled, the accompanying report from the French ambassador changes everything and Lefevre's death taking on a terrible, public urgency, the report containing graphic details of a bizarre act of savagery, even as Yashim swears he caught a glimpse of the Frenchman again the next day, outside his local fish market.
As Jason Goodwin's complicated plot races along, Yashim realizes that his involvement with the archaeologist has at best been foolish, the slur marking him like a stain on his character, a faint question now hanging over his good judgment. The eunuch finds himself is thrown into a boiling pot of fervor, faith and political intrigue in a city where even the dead belong and where people are steadily casting off their skins like snakes as they move from one incarnation to another.
Yashim must match wits to unravel the strange mystery of these gruesome murders which hinge on tatty paperbound copy of book by the French author Balzac, one of the very books the terrified Lefevre had spilled out apologetically across the floor before he died; the confessions of the beautiful Madame Amelie Lefevre who has been of all things unexpected; and a secret society called Hetira, who despise the current kingdom of Greece, but are strangely devoted to the restoration of the Greek Empire. Mike Leonard December 07.
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