Effendi

June 20, 2005
In the entertaining second entry in Grimwood's Arabesk trilogy (after Pashazade
), Ashraf Bey is now the chief of detectives in the fictional Middle Eastern city of El Iskandryia, located in an alternate future where the Ottoman Empire still exists. While tensions between fundamentalism and nationalism roil the metropolis in a way that will be familiar to followers of current events, Bey must identify and thwart a vicious serial murderer who mutilates his victims. Suspicion attaches to the cryptic owner of Hamzah Enterprises, the father of the woman Bey has fallen for. Terrorist outrages rock El Iskandryia—kidnappings, arson, bombings—while the inquiry takes the sleuth on a journey through the seamy underbelly of his adopted society. As with Pashazade
, the book gains strength from its depiction of the warm if prickly relationship Bey has with a young girl he has assumed responsibility for, as well as from some surprising flashes of humor. Less of a classic whodunit than its predecessor, this unique blend of mystery, speculative fiction and political intrigue should attract readers across several genres. Agent, Mic Cheetham.

August 15, 2005
Detective Ashraf Bey struggles to see justice done in the metropolis of El Isk, a city of dreams and dangers in the center of a modern-day Ottoman Empire. Attempting to solve a series of brutal murders connected to an elusive businessman, Bey discovers that he must not only find the killer but also keep from becoming one of the victims. The second outing for hard-boiled, self-deprecating Bey (Pashazade) confirms Grimwood's reputation as a stellar creator of worlds and a master of contemporary alternate history. Filled with Middle Eastern atmosphere, in terms of both its danger and its beauty, this addition to the "Arabesk" trilogy belongs in most sf collections.

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