A mysterious, holy grail–like object, a document with the potential to bring about peace between the different peoples of the world, is at the center of White's erudite second novel set in late 19th-century Istanbul and featuring city magistrate Kamil Pasha (after The Sultan's Seal). The minister of justice, Kamil's boss, orders him to find the thieves who are looting Istanbul of its religious relics and selling them to unscrupulous dealers in London. Kamil's friend Malik, the caretaker of a local mosque, has a specific task for him—locating a stolen reliquary, a silver box that contains a secret message known as the Proof of God. Kamil—smart, brave and compassionate—proves an appealing sleuth. Intriguing love interests include the daughter of the leader of the strange Abyssinian sect to which the reliquary belongs. White, a professor of anthropology, clearly knows her period and place, though some readers may wish that she had toned down the esoteric knowledge and upped the thriller quotient. Author tour. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Turkish magistrate Kamil Pasha, featured in anthropologist White's fictional debut, The Sultan's Seal (2006), returns in another whodunit set in late-nineteenth-century Istanbul. When thieves zero in on valuable religious relics, Pasha is commissioned to expose and break up the smuggling ring before another extremely valuable reliquary is sold on the lucrative European market. As he searches for a mysterious silver box revered by an unique Abyssinian sect, he gets more than he bargained for as he trolls the backstreets of Istanbul in search of a holy object purported to contain a secret message known as the “Proof of God.” White infuses this mystery with both historical detail and suspense, artfully conjuring up an irresistible adventure set in an exotic time and place. --Margaret Flanagan
A mysterious, holy grail–like object, a document with the potential to bring about peace between the different peoples of the world, is at the center of White's erudite second novel set in late 19th-century Istanbul and featuring city magistrate Kamil Pasha (after The Sultan's Seal). The minister of justice, Kamil's boss, orders him to find the thieves who are looting Istanbul of its religious relics and selling them to unscrupulous dealers in London. Kamil's friend Malik, the caretaker of a local mosque, has a specific task for him—locating a stolen reliquary, a silver box that contains a secret message known as the Proof of God. Kamil—smart, brave and compassionate—proves an appealing sleuth. Intriguing love interests include the daughter of the leader of the strange Abyssinian sect to which the reliquary belongs. White, a professor of anthropology, clearly knows her period and place, though some readers may wish that she had toned down the esoteric knowledge and upped the thriller quotient. Author tour. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Turkish magistrate Kamil Pasha, featured in anthropologist White's fictional debut, The Sultan's Seal (2006), returns in another whodunit set in late-nineteenth-century Istanbul. When thieves zero in on valuable religious relics, Pasha is commissioned to expose and break up the smuggling ring before another extremely valuable reliquary is sold on the lucrative European market. As he searches for a mysterious silver box revered by an unique Abyssinian sect, he gets more than he bargained for as he trolls the backstreets of Istanbul in search of a holy object purported to contain a secret message known as the “Proof of God.” White infuses this mystery with both historical detail and suspense, artfully conjuring up an irresistible adventure set in an exotic time and place. --Margaret Flanagan