The Baklava Club

April 7, 2014
Edgar-winner Goodwin’s absorbing fifth and final novel set in the waning days of Ottoman Turkey (after 2011’s An Evil Eye) finds the eunuch Yashim far from pleased when the sultan’s mother appoints him as tour guide to the visiting Natasha Borisova, who’s more interested in obtaining a pardon for her Russian revolutionary father than in seeing the sites of Istanbul. Yashim also is uneasy about his friend, Polish ambassador Stanislaw Palewski, who seems to be embroiled in dangerous intrigue with a relative, Prince Czartoryski, and local official Midhat Pasha. In addition, the ambassador is associating with dubious characters such as a tippling Irish priest and some idealistic Italian youths, who may be answering to a higher authority. Soon the prince is snatched, Palewski is wounded, and the girlfriend of one Italian is killed, with Yashim left to connect the dots and struggle with feelings for Natasha. Goodwin well illustrates the complex crossroads of cultures, politics, and religions that mapped 19th-century Istanbul. Agent: Sarah Chalfant, Wylie Agency.