Janissary Tree - Softcover

Goodwin, Jason

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571229220 ISBN 13: 9780571229222

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2006

Synopsis

Yashim is no ordinary detective. It's not that he's particularly brave. Or that he cooks so well, or reads French novels. Not even that his best friend is the Ambassador from Poland, whose country has vanished from the map. Yashim is a eunuch. As the Sultan plans a series of radical reforms to his empire, a concubine is strangled in the palace harem. And a young cadet is found butchered in the streets of Istanbul. Delving deep into the city's crooked alleyways, and deeper still into its tumultuous past, Yashim discovers that some people will go to any lengths to preserve the traditions of the Ottoman Empire. Brilliantly evoking Istanbul in the 1830s, "The Janissary Tree" is a fast-paced literary thriller with a spectacular cast, from mystic orders and lissom archivists to soup-makers and a seductive ambassador's wife. Darker than any of these is the mysterious figure who controls the Sultan's harem.

About this title

Review:

The richly detailed evocation of the period, which gives The
Janissary Tree such an authentic feel, is combined with a playful humour
and a hero unconventional enough to rival Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin. -- The Times, June 2 2007

This congenial murder mystery, blending historical scholarship and
deft characterisation, is upmarket crime fiction with a smile on its face. -- Sunday Telegraph, June 3 2007

From the Publisher:

The Janissary Tree has been named as the Best Novel of the
Year at the 2007 Edgar Allen Poe Awards in New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0571229220
• ISBN 13: 9780571229222
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 250