The Bellini Card - Softcover

Goodwin, Jason

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571239919 ISBN 13: 9780571239917

Publisher: Faber And Faber Ltd., 2009

Synopsis

Charged by the Sultan to find a stolen painting by Bellini, Yashim the detective enlists the help of his friend Palewski, the Polish Ambassador, and goes undercover. Venice in 1840 is a city of empty palazzos and silent canals, and Palewski starts to mingle with Venetian dealers - but when two bodies turn up in the canal, he realises that art in Venice is a deadly business, and it is up to Yashim to attempt to rescue his intrepid friend from forces bigger than they had ever imagined...

About this title

Review

Jason Goodwin’s series featuring his Ottoman detective Yashmin has quickly established itself as a readers’ favourite. Of course, having a eunuch investigator at the centre of your narratives is a fairly surefire guarantee that your series will be particularly memorable, but that basic concept has to be shored up by solid, atmospheric writing -- and that is just what Goodwin delivered in The Janissary Tree and The Snake Stone. Those books were crammed full of fast-moving narrative incident (including chases and even heady erotic episodes), not to mention elegant plotting and writing -- elements that are well to the fore once again in the new book, The Bellini Card.

Here, Yashmin travels from sultry Istanbul to the darker place of Venice, employed by the Sultan to track down a lost painting by Bellini. Assisted by his old friend Palewski, the Polish ambassador, Yashmin immerses himself in a world of shady dealers, down-at-heel aristocrats and reckless pleasure seekers.

Needless to say, the stakes are higher than simply finding a missing painting, and people soon begin to die violently. This is richly entertaining writing, delivered with the intelligence and flair that we have come to expect from Jason Goodwin. --Barry Forshaw

Review

Daniel Philpott is as convincing as the intrepid and subtle Yashim as he is as the headily sexy Contessa d'Aspa. --Christina Hardyment, The Times

Full of compelling historical detail and excellent cooking tips, this old-school mystery of beautiful aristocrats, loyal courtesans and bumbling bureaucrats is an enjoyable read. --The Big Issue

Yashim is a scholar, fighter, master chef and sex machine. But he's a reluctant eunuch, serving the Sick Man of Europe and a pervading sense of loss and decline suffuse these rich romps with melancholy intelligence. --The Daily Telegraph

Edition details

• Publisher: Faber And Faber Ltd.
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0571239919
• ISBN 13: 9780571239917
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 308