The snake stone
(Book)

"When a French archaeologist arrives in 1830s Istanbul determined to track down a lost Byzantine treasure, the local Greek communities are uncertain how to react; the man seems dangerously well-informed. Yashim Togalu, who so brilliantly solved the mysterious murders in The Janissary Tree, is once again enlisted to investigate. But when the archaeologist's mutilated body is discovered outside the French embassy, it turns out there is only one suspect: Yashim himself." "Yashim finds himself racing against time once again, to clear his name and uncover the startling truth behind a shadowy society dedicated to the revival of the Byzantine Empire, encountering along the way such vibrant characters as Lord Byron's doctor and the sultan's West Indies-born mother, the valide. Never has the age-old fight between Christianity and Islam taken place amid such thrilling intrigue. Armed only with a unique sixteenth-century tome, the dashing eunuch ushers us into a high-stakes world of betrayal, death, and exhilarating mystery."--BOOK JACKET