The Saffron Manuscript: An Ink & Incense Mystery (The Ink & Incense Mysteries) - Softcover

Varnham, D L

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798199411363

Publisher: Independently published, 2026

Synopsis

A priceless manuscript. A murdered merchant. A truth hidden in ink.

Istanbul, 1540s.

Züleyha bint Yusuf is a master calligrapher and manuscript authenticator in the great imperial library of Süleyman the Magnificent. Trained by her father in Aleppo and respected for her rare eye, she knows how to read more than words. Ink, vellum, pressure, spacing, silence — all of them speak, if one knows how to listen.

When a treasured Quran manuscript arrives from Cairo, it should be the finest acquisition in the library’s growing collection. Instead, Züleyha discovers something impossible: the manuscript itself is genuine, but its colophon — the record of its origin — has been carefully removed and replaced.

Then the merchant who delivered it is found drowned in the Golden Horn.

As officials rush to close the matter with a convenient arrest, Züleyha follows the evidence through the docks, the Grand Bazaar, the hammam, and the hidden networks of Istanbul’s book trade. A Venetian collector knows more than he admits. A customs official has been paid to look away. And Omar Efendi, the brilliant head librarian who once gave Züleyha her place in the library, is far too calm for an innocent man.

To uncover the truth, Züleyha must decide which is more dangerous: the lies written into the record, or the truths powerful men believe should never be recorded at all.

Rich with Ottoman atmosphere, manuscript lore, quiet humour, and a fiercely intelligent heroine, The Saffron Manuscriptis the first book in The Ink & Incense Mysteries — a historical cozy mystery series for readers who love books about books, layered puzzles, and women who notice what others overlook.

Edition details

• Publisher: Independently published
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798199411363
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 230