2008-07-19 Assumes you have a great deal of background knowledge

Yashim the Eunuch is called in the help investigate the murder of a young concubine in the Sultan's harem and also the assumed abduction of four young cadets from the New Guard (the Ottoman Armed Forces.) The book starts well enough but it was disconcerting that the author appeared to assume that the reader would come to the novel with prior knowledge. I thought this book would be an interesting murder-mystery and that I would learn something about a period of history I know nothing about. Instead, I became lost in the many references to historical events; the differing roles of the characters; and how the general hierarchy had significance.

The characterisation is also quite poor. The reason why Yashim is approached to investigate is never explained satisfactorily and then one-dimensional characters are introduced and never referred to again. The plot isn't too bad, but between the more interesting chapters there are a number of sections that drag.

I am willing to admit that I might not have enjoyed this book as much as I could have because of my lack of knowledge; but this would have easily been remedied by the inclusion of an author's note or short glossary. After all the hype and the awards, this was a real disappointment.