First published 2014
Three bumbling Italian revolutionaries have made a mess of their assignment in Ottoman Istanbul. They were supposed to assassinate a Polish prince, but instead they kidnapped him and fled to an abandoned farmhouse outside the city. The Italians don't know their revolutionary cell has been compromised by an enemy agent using the code name La Piuma. Yashim, the eunuch investigator who has solved mysteries across the empire, believes the prince still lives and sets out to find him. But Yashim faces complications beyond the usual dangers of his work. He has no clue who La Piuma really is, and his heart has been captured by love, leaving him distracted from the case. As he tracks the conspirators to their hideout and closes in on La Piuma's true identity, Yashim uncovers a shocking truth that puts him in the greatest peril of his career. This final case will test everything he has learned as a detective in the exotic, treacherous world of the Ottoman Empire.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, mystery, thriller, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Period: 19th-century
288 pages · Hardcover · Sarah Crichton Books