The Baklava Club

Yashim the Eunuch #5

by Jason Goodwin

In nineteenth-century Istanbul, a Polish prince has been kidnapped. His assassination has been bungled and his captors have taken him to an unused farmhouse. Little do they realize that their revolutionary cell has been penetrated by their enemies, who use the code name La Piuma (the Feather).

Yashim is convinced that the prince is alive. But he has no idea where, or who La Piuma is - and has become dangerously distracted by falling in love. As he draws closer to the prince's whereabouts and to the true identity of La Piuma, Yashim finds himself in the most treacherous situation of his career: can he rescue the prince along with his romantic dreams?

Jason Goodwin's bestselling 'Yashim' series has been published across the globe and received huge critical acclaim. In The Baklava Club, Goodwin takes Yashim on an adventure like no other, through the stylish, sensual world of Ottoman Istanbul.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Crime, Historical Mystery, Mystery Thriller

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2014

About the author

Jason Goodwin's latest book is YASHIM COOKS ISTANBUL: Culinary Adventures in the Ottoman Kitchen.
He studied Byzantine history at Cambridge University - and returned to an old obsession to write The Gunpowder Gardens or, A Time For Tea: Travels in China and India in Search of Tea, which was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Award. When the Berlin Wall fell, he walked from Poland to Istanbul to encounter the new European neighbours. His account of the journey, On Foot to the Golden Horn, won the John Llewellyn Rhys/Mail on Sunday Prize in 1993.

Fascinated by what he had learned of Istanbul's perpetual influence in the region, he wrote Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire, a New York Times Notable Book. 'If you want to learn,' he says, 'write a book.' Lords of the Horizons was described by Time Out as 'perhaps the most readable history ever written on anything.'

Having always wanted to write fiction, he became popular as the author of the mystery series beginning with The Janissary Tree, which won the coveted Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2007. Translated into more than 40 languages, the series continues with The Snake Stone, The Bellini Card, An Evil Eye and The Baklava Club. They feature a Turkish detective, Yashim, who lives in 19th century Istanbul.

YASHIM COOKS ISTANBUL is an illustrated collection of recipes, inspired by the cookery in his five published adventures.

Reviews

[Antigone · Rating 3 out of 5]

So ends the thoughtful tale of Yashim, the eunuch detective, and our five-volume sojourn to Istanbul in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. It has been an atmospheric series of mysteries, equipped with the delicate melancholy that often attends the diminishment of an age. Elegance achieved and abandoned as civilization makes its way.

To see us off are three foolhardy Italian liberals; young men whose heads are filled with the romance of revolution. Also in attendance is a Russian girl, fresh from caring for her father in his Siberian exile and hopeful a meeting with the aging valide will lead to the composition of a letter to the tsar. Palewski, Yashim's close friend, is also plotting from his perch at the Polish embassy. How these diverse characters and subversive schemes interact, and to what conclusion they come, is left for Yashim to discover between preparations of those fabulous meals his acquaintances so covet.

There is a sixth volume to be had and, amusingly, it turns out to be Yashim's cookbook. (No mysteries there, I suspect, beyond the quality of ingredients currently on offer at the local farmer's market.) Aside from this, it has been a wonderful, comfortable and quiet reading time with the talented Mr. Goodwin. My appreciation is genuine.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed all of the Yashim novels in the series because it takes place in one of the most magnificent cities in the world . . . ISTANBUL! It is easier to picture some of the places as I have gone twice over the years but I'll never had such an intimate knowledge.

And being a bit of a small time foodie, I like the sections where he buys and prepares the food. It always makes me hungry for the cuisine that I enjoyed while in Istanbul and wishing that I had more patience and ability to reproduce it.

Visits to the Spice market are lovingly portrayed. I want to go back to smell the spices again. It is still a great place to visit even if they have added more touristy stuff. Buy pepper there!! so many varieties.

Yashim is one of my favorite characters. I was sad at the end but I won't be a spoiler. I would love to read more novels with him.

[Wayner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the premise of this book but found the ending a bit disappointing. It could have used a bit more detail and effort to bring the story to a more satisfying conclusion - it felt a bit rushed.

[Stacy Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to give this three stars but I was quite bored while reading this even though I wanted to see how everything would get tied up. I think parts of this book went right over my head-especially the ending. Perhaps someone can clear some questions I have up for me: Did Natasha kill Rafael as well or was it just Birgit? Was she just playing at being La Piuma-I mean is there a La Piuma out there who is the real mastermind? I mean I think she did even though she didn't say it out right...I guess the way she reacted should have made it obvious to me but like so many parts of the book, this scene left me confused. Maybe I would have liked this more if I knew more about the country that it's set in? I don't know. Or maybe I'm confused because I was so bored by the story and so didn't pay much attention to what was going on...like I'd be reading it and be like so they're do this because of ...what? huh? Like I'm still trying to grasp what the 3 Italians thought they would achieve...did they really think that they would have a huge effect on history or were they just deluded youths looking for a thrill? Ok I think I've spent enough time trying to wrap my head around this book. On to the next...

[Tuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

author is cambridge dude in byzantine hist. he also wrote good hist book of ottoman empire Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire
this 5th yashim-the-eunuch-detective is all in the international intrigue of 1842 europe as they use the hospitality of istanbul lazzie faire (sp?) attitudes to misfit euros to manurver to a more civil rights based europe (italy, russia, poland [well, wanna be poland anyway], belgium, even england) , aaaand something very surprising and unique happens to yashim , something that one wouldnt think would happen for a eunuch. a good procedural, and historical mystery series. lots of foodie bits too.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the last book in the Yashim the Eunuch series, which are set in 19th century Istanbul and are a really fun little jaunt through that period in the history of the Ottoman empire, and this 5th book came out in mid June. And I was sooo excited to get my hands on it when it came out and then I was soooo sad when I finished it, because man, this book is just really grim.

Those who are fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide series probably know its last book (Mostly Harmless) is also really grim, and DNA at one point apologized for the book and said he’d been having a bad year when he wrote it and always meant to go back and write another that wasn't so depressing. And then he died while he was working on what may have been a continuation of the Hitchhiker's Guide series (Salmon of Doubt), which is a loss to literature I don’t often like to dwell on too much.

Anyway. I really think Goodwin was having a bad year in 2013. This book is a bad-year-book. I don’t want to spoil things, but the ending can be summarized as “rocks fall, everyone dies.” I’m not even joking. Lots of sads happen before the ending too. In the afterword he mentioned people close to him (i.e. his wife and editor) had to talk him out of killing Yashim himself. Wahhh! If you’re considering finishing up your fun little historical mystery series with the violent death of your lead, it’s time to take a step back from life and come back to your book later.

I hope he comes back to the Yashim series even though he says this is the last one, because this is one unbelievably glumbum ending to what was otherwise a super fun series.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and I suppose it was a fitting ending to the Yashim series...but did Palewski have to go too!? Sigh.

Only 2 stars because I had problems with the series overall. I went to Istanbul last October and by a chance meeting learned about the Yashim books. When I got home I started in on them. While I loved Yashim and all the other characters and the descriptions of Istanbul and loved it whenever Yashim started cooking....I still had a problem with Goodwin's writing style. Lots of the time things were quite clear but often they were not. I don't think of myself as stupid but there were times (in all the books) when I stopped and thought "wait, what's going on?"

I am a Yashim fan (and Palewski, and the valide, and Marta, and etc) but not so much a fan of Goodwin.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 but overall the series is a definite 4.5

[Halley Sutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of historical detail that was well rendered. No real idea of what happened here, plot-wise. Did involve a lot of googling of items, including, "Can eunuchs have penetrative sex as the active party?" This was the last book I'm reading for grad school.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Yashim the Ottoman, eunuch detective in 1840's Istanbul. Its noir historical fiction. Although, I bought this novel 5th in the series, not realizing I had not read An Evil Eye the 4th in the series.

Writing is always good. Although, Goodwin does not include many action scenes, they are well done, like the dialog. A problem I have with this story's dialog is the international cast of characters. What language do they all have in common when they're together? An Ottoman, Pole, Irishman, several Italians, a Dane, and a Russian all end-up speaking English to each other through some not-so-deft handwaving. Descriptive prose is sparse. I've always wished it would be more detailed. Since the The Janissary Tree there has been progressively less prose spent on description, and more on backstory.

Plotting is the long game. Its unusually long. I think the author wanted a sense of atmosphere, but did not succeed. In addition, in the rather rushed ending there was a weak succesion of red herrings. These were all resolved with a torrent of expository prose. It was all rather unsettling to read.

Venue is exotic. When I first started reading the series, I was unfamiliar with the mid-1800's Istanbul. I've since read more about it in fiction and non-fiction. Recently, I've begun to wonder if Goodwin's characters are too postmodern? I would expect that life and ways of thinking in the Ottoman Empire at that time would almost be feudal in most ways, even in Istanbul.

Like many thrillers, Goodwin has an Edutainment component to his stories. Most modern thrillers embed information on high-tech, weapons, or the minutia of a dubious lifestyle to parallelly engage the reader. You would think the historical setting would be enough? However, Goodwin successfully bundles in an odd cooking component. The plots are regularly pushed along by Yashim preparing a meal (under primitive conditions). Reading this story I learned the technique of "rolling the pepper" to de-seed a chili pepper. The middle-eastern food he prepares is interesting and compliments the story. There is even a 'spin-off' cookbook: Yashim Cooks Istanbul: Culinary Adventures in the Ottoman Kitchen.

This is not the best Yashim story. ( I think that was The Janissary Tree.) The pacing of this story was 'off'. In addition, serendipity was too important an element in the plot. However, the recipe for celeriac and artichoke salad looked really good.

I will be reading The Evil Eye in the near future, likely more for the recipes than the whodunit value.

[Steven Bragg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, the author shows a great deal of descriptive skill, not only concerning Istanbul, but also when he gets going on one of those unearthly culinary feasts. If he ever wants to switch careers, just do restaurant reviews. The author brings back all of the old characters and expands on Yashim's personality a bit more. The plot does not contain quite enough characters, so you can begin to guess who "did it" a ways before the end. Still, there are enough twists to make this a seriously interesting read.

This also appears to be the end of the series, which is accomplished with quite a dark ending. Still, there may be a little wiggle room to bring Yashim back?

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It appears that this might be the last of this series (deduced from author's note)but i have not doubt Jason Goodwin will continue to bring us wonderful tales, well-told, of his beloved Istanbul and Turkey.

Since reading the previous Yasim mystery we have BEEN to Istabul ourselves...even more of a treat to read these books. So many aspects - the environs, the cooking to start the list; the history straight out and the 'politics' of the time always well presented and thought out into the tale. And truly the kind of 'I didn't see THAT coming' ending one likes in a mystery!! I will say no more...

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A visit to Yashim's Istanbul is always a treat - the city is a vital character and the sounds, smells and scenes on the streets and the water are wonderfully described. I really like Yashim, his friend the Polish ambassador and his patron the elegant Valide and am sorry to hear that this is the last book in the series.

The plot is full of interesting 19th century political tidbits (the Decemberists are not just an indie folk band, the Papal States were a militant anti-democratic force in Europe at the time - there's a shocker) and Yashim's love life takes a turn for the strange.

[Murat Aydogdu · Rating 4 out of 5]

What, no more Yashim?

This seems to be the last installment of a 5-book series which I thoroughly enjoyed. Yet another mildly thrilling, very entertaining, educating, hunger-provoking (all that detailed description of food) tale from Goodwin, where Yashim investigates a case, finds the killers, and gets the girl (well, kind of). I am tempted to go back and read all the books in a marathon.

Highly recommended, especially to those who like a novel in a historic setting.

[Kimberly Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as soon as it came out... very twisted plot, red herrings.... I'm not sure I liked it that much

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this book is a mystery set in the 1830s in the Ottoman Empire. The sleuth is a eunuch so he has access to the harem. So interesting and exotic location. Likeable sleuth and fairly fast paced and interesting plot - I kept on reading through to the end. I would try another book in the same series so thats positive. I didn't find the sex scenes very realistic - would people really have gone skinny dipping in the 1830s in mixed company? If you are in the forest and afraid that someone is going to shoot you are you going to suggest a quick dive into the bushes? And I have to say I found the resolution of the plot very confusing - what are all these people doing in Istanbul anyway, and what is the motive? I know who did it but I don't really know why, and I don't know why it happened and I'm not sure who the actual target was.

[Barbara Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this book. Better than Evil Eye. Wonderful descriptions of Ottoman life with a murder or two and a few delightful plot twists.

[A Bushra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have endured the first half of this book with more pain than is necessary for a recreational read. I disliked the book strongly, for the following reasons (to name but a few):

1) The pace is incredibly slow. For the first 100 pages nothing of any significance happens. E.g. a whole chapter explaining in meticulous detail how food was prepared. Another describing a rather pointless and irrelevant picnic in the Istanbul countryside. At the end of each chapter one can't help but reflect that the plot would have been just as complete and slightly less boring had the chapter been omitted.

2) The author insists on including quotes and vocabulary in Latin, French, Italian, Danish, Arabic, Turkish, and Russian. They serve no purpose at all other than bore and frustrate the reader. I could happily concede the fact that a group of boys were Italian, I did not need to read half their conversations in Italian.

3) And most importantly, there is no mystery in the book. After 100 pages of slowly trying to build up some tension, you instantly know who committed the crime and why. So you are left presumably following how the detective slowly unravels the mystery. It looses the thrill element completely.



In conclusion, I found the characters to be improbable and random, the writing style annoying and frustrating, the plot devoid of any mystery. It could have been due to the narrator exposing the crime as it happens - a forbidden rule as far as crime novels go. I would not recommend this book to anybody.

[Ampersand Inc. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, this is the 5th and final (?) book in the series about Yashim the Investigator. I really hope it isn't because I just love the stories. Again, they're set in Istanbul in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire and have historical detail that doesn't get in the way of a good story. I sincerely hope the author finds that he must write another book about Yashim.

[Natasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the Investigator Yashim novels are a treat. A historical mystery needs to be foremost, good ‘history’ with accurate settings and location descriptions and plausible treatments of any real historical figures who may wander into the story. Goodwin is a master at this, to which he adds his obvious love of the food and markets of the late Ottoman empire. 

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its hard to be objective when I love entering the world of these books so much. The mystery in this entry is weaker (more John LeCarre than Agatha Christie) but I didn't care so much. This is a series in which I would gladly read a non-mystery entry.

[La Strega · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non è il primo libro della serie, ma si legge volentieri e senza grossi problemi lo stesso.
Più dell'indagine in sé e e della trama, ho apprezzato particolarmente la descrizione dei luoghi e delle usanze e l'atmosfera da Mille e Una Notte che si respira.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best yet !!

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not up to par with past Yashim stories

[David Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Baklava Club unfolds slowly. There is seemingly no mystery, no body left lying in the streets and nothing out of the ordinary for Istanbul. Yashim's duties to the palace and the valide (mother of the Sultan) introduce us to young Natasha, an emissary from old Russian royalty now exiled in Siberia. Tea with Palewski introduces us to a pack of young, naïve and foolhardy Italians bent on revolution and finally Palewski's thirst for good booze brings us the final major player, Doherty an Irish priest sent from the Vatican. It's clear that each character has their own ambitions but The Baklava Club carefully distracts the reader with the intoxicating sights, tastes and sounds of Istanbul. Even when blood is first shed, it seems to be more of an accident than anything else but very quickly the veneer of a summer vacation is chipped away revealing a sinister plot. One that does not care for picnics in the country and laughter in the late evening but instead leaves the innocent spread eagle with a sliced throat.

Goodwin dazzles in this conclusion to Yashim's adventures. I had to read the final few chapters at least three times in order to decipher all that took place and to see if I could go back in time to pinpoint the moment in which the true character of different players were briefly revealed. I'll miss him and Istanbul dearly.

[Mark Seemann · Rating 2 out of 5]

My late father-in-law left a collection of crime novels and science fiction in what is now my wife's summerhouse, and instead of lugging seven or eight books here and back again, I've begun to instead make a point of going through this small library.

I'd hoped that this 'historical' and 'exotic' novel would be a more intelligent mystery than it turned out to be. Alas, due to its shifting narrative perspective, there's never much mystery to what's going on. On the other hand, the author tries to keep suspense going by the old trick of ending each short chapter on a cliffhanger and then jumping to another thread of the narrative. When done right, this can be an extremely effective way to produce a genuine pageturner, but here, it just wore me down. Every chapter seems to end with a scream, someone entering with blood on their clothes, or passing out, etc. At the end, my reaction to most of these events were incredulity: Oh, for fucks sake, just get it over with already!

In general, I had trouble with suspension of disbelief. The book seems to be well-researched, I suppose, and I can't say that I know much about 1840s Istanbul, but even so, I found most of the characters and their actions unbelievable. This also extends to the plot and the final twist, which struck me as implausible.

[DaniLanglie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think one one of the reasons why this book gets a lower rating from me is that it felt more episodic than the others. Don't get me wrong, each story stands on its own in the Yashim series, but this one... think about it. There are so many new characters. Giancarlo, Rafael, Fabrizio, Birgit, Natasha, Father Doherty. All of them get a lot of screen-time, so to speak... and when the dust settles at the end of the novel? Every single one of them is dead.. I also wasn't particularly compelled by the double-cross twist at the end? It felt like it was there just to be surprising, not because it was narratively earned. Really, the ways in which the separate plot-lines and motivations of these characters intersected sometimes felt really forced.

But as with the rest of this series, I wasn't really reading it for the story. I don't read a lot of mystery novels for this exact reason... it's not my jam. Why I really liked these books was because of the atmosphere, the setting, Yashim cooking a picnic, Yashim visiting the aging Valide (although her lack of a proper send-off was really disappointing), the warm friendship between Yashim and Palewski. And all of those things were still here in full-force, meaning I still enjoyed my reading experience!

[Mike White · Rating 3 out of 5]

“At sixteen, Aimee Dubucq de Rivery had left her home on the tiny Caribbean island of Martinique to go to Paris, like many girls of her age and class. The Dubucq de Rivery were minor nobility, living as planters on their Caribbean estates. It was no place for a girls to find a well-connected husband. The expectation was that she would learn polite accomplishments in Paris and find a man; which in a sense, she did. But she never went to Paris; her ship was captured by Algerian pirates and the young Dubucq de Rivery, with her fair hair and dazzling white skin, was sent to the sultan in Istanbul. Topkapi had been her home ever since.”
Istanbul, 1842. Yashim, the eunuch detective is give the task of bear-leading the daughter of a Russian exiled to Siberia. His friend is ambassador of Poland, a non-existent country, having been divided up between its neighbours in 1815. A group of naïve Italian revolutionaries, the Baklava Club, are under control of the mysterious La Piume. Murder and cooking ensue.
This is the fifth of a series of stories about the Ottoman detective. I enjoyed the earlier ones and still use one of the recipes, but this one, not as much.

[Sevim Tezel Aydın · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Baklava Club is the fifth book of Jason Goodwin’s Investigator Yashim mystery series. The series took place in 1830s and 1840s. Yashim is intelligent and resourceful investigator who works for the Palace. He can also walk with ease in the harem, because he is a eunuch.

I really enjoyed the series. I like the mystery aspect. Also, it is a pleasure to visit Ottoman İstanbul. The description of political and social life, characters are satisfying.

The Baklava Club has an good plot. Although it’s a murder mystery, it’s full of interesting 19th century political events. Rich variety of characters is another merit; three young Italians who believed that they are part of a revolutionary international spy operation; a young Danish girl who accompanies the Italians; a mysterious Russian beauty who’s a protege of the Sultan’s mother; an Irish priest who likes to drink and many more... On the other hand, Istanbul is an important character of the book with its people and streets.

I need to admit that I found the ending unsatisfying. There should have been more detail for a clear conclusion.

[Katherine Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was good, but I listened to the audiobook version read by Gemma Dawson. The audiobook publisher (Tantor) should be hanging their heads--there were repeats of many phrases, when the reader failed to pronounce a word correctly and was apparently trying to correct the mistake but left the original recorded phrase in--very distracting. Worse, the reader is not well-educated, evidenced by many mispronounciations that were not corrected. For mademoiselle: Madam Wazelle. For Byzantine: Bye'-zantine. For idolater: idle-ate-er. The list goes on. Aren't there editors for these things?

Probably better to read the paper copy. If you do, you can follow the cooking instructions for what sound like delicious Ottoman recipes.

One other error in historical accuracy. The book is set c. 1842. At one point the popular writings of Edward Gibbon are referenced as having been influencing readers for a hundred years. Gibbon published his first volume of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in 1776.