The Snake Stone Jason Goodwin Farrar Straus and Giroux Oct. 07 $25

Edgar Award winner Jason Goodwin brings back Yashim Togalu in The Snake Stone. The year is 1839. The Sultan of Turkey lies dying. Yashim's investigatory and consulting services not needed; he is comfortably well off and awaiting but not expecting the call of the new Sultan when he comes to power. Yashim's friend, Palewski, the Ambassador from a conquered and consequently nonexistent Poland, brings along to dinner a French archeologist, Max Lefevre. Archeologist as Palewski and Yashim see it reads, fortune hunter and the ancient fortunes of Eastern Byzantium and Western Constantinople lie hidden in Istanbul.

Lefevre leaves, only to return to Yashim's house the following night much more worried and apparently in some danger; from whom he doesn't say, directly. He begs Yashim to get him on a non Greek owned ship back to France. Yashim, as a courtesy, does this and by the next evening he is standing at the dock waving goodbye.Yet, within hours, Lefevre is found mutilated just outside the French embassy. Yashim is the last person to have talked to Lefevre. It has been the custom of the city to allow the embassies of the foreigners to deal with their various citizens in Turkey. Yashim fears the French report will sully his reputation. He's forced to conduct an investigation into Lefevre's death in order to clear himself.

Jason Goodwin has worked his lyrical magic again. Old Istanbul comes alive under his pen. The Snake Stone reads just as strong and is as enjoyably unique as his Edgar winning, The Janissary Tree. The only discontent a reader might have with this series is that the new Sultan won't call on Yashim soon enough.

Dave Biemann