The Sultan’s Seal by Jenny White

It’s my understanding that this is Jenny White’s first jaunt into the mystery genre. It is a very good first attempt, and it offers a glimpse into a world that is not often visited by mystery writers. It is uneven at times, and the switch between storytellers a bit jolting in places, but overall it is an enjoyable read and a good mystery.

The Sultan’s Seal takes place in nineteenth-century Istanbul, where a young English woman has been found on the shores of the river, stripped of her clothes and drowned. It looks like murder to Kamil, the magistrate, who enters into an investigation that might end in more than the loss of his job. He discovers the murder might be tied to a prominent family, or perhaps even as high as the Sultan’s household, and also might be tied to another English woman murdered 12 years before. Sybil, the daughter of the British Ambassador, her cousin Bernie, and his coroner, Michel, aid Kamil in his investigation.

I like that the mystery is slowly uncovered, with the perspective switching between Sybil, Kamil, and another woman, Jaanan, who has some connection to the murdered women, although you don’t know how they are connected until almost the very end. It’s the best-kept mystery of the book, and adds depth to the story that other popular, M is for Murder type mysteries don’t usually have. You are slowly introduced to the world where these murders have taken place, and you get a good sense of the struggle the Ottoman Empire was having at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The new world and customs from England and the like are butting heads with the traditional Muslim and transplanted Jewish customs, and Kamil tries to straddle those worlds and solve the mystery.

Kamil is a more rounded character than what you regularly find in mysteries, and so is Jaanan, but Sybil is not very fleshed out. Her character feels two-dimensional, especially in comparison with the other two. It was a disappointment, because she is a very important character, but just seems lacking. The tone of the book was uneven at times, and switching between the perspectives of Jaanan, Kamil, and Sybil was sometimes not very smooth.

Other than that, I really enjoyed The Sultan’s Seal. It took me to a place I hadn’t visited, the mystery (or at least the deeper one) wasn’t obvious from the first. If you are looking for a mystery with a little more to say than say, a top 10 type like Sue Grafton, you should try Jenny White’s The Sultan Seal. It’s rich in history and details, with some really beautiful prose.

Rating: 4 Purrs