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Praise for Esmahan Aykol:
"Kati could be the love child of Miss Marple and NPR's Andrei Codrescu. It doesn't matter who done it. What matters is that Aykol uses the genre to tell us more about the world than we're used to."—Newsday
"An offbeat amateur sleuth with a distinctive narrative voice. Fans of Amanda Cross's Kate Fansler and Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher will find a lot to like."—Publishers Weekly
Kati owns Istanbul's only mystery book store and, as usual, gets involved in a case that is none of her business. Every day, a beautiful woman lunches alone in the restaurant next to the bookstore. When the woman is found dead in her apartment, Kati immediately recognizes the stranger from the restaurant in images in the newspaper photos. Although the police believe it was an accident, Kati suspects something more sinister has happened.
Sani Ankaraligil was an attractive young woman and a politically active ecologist in the middle of a divorce from her wealthy husband. So who would benefit from her death? The industrial companies Sani had accused of polluting the rivers of western Turkey, or her jealous husband seeking revenge through an honor killing, or a Thracian separatist group? The investigation pulls Kati into murkier waters: the marriage may have been a sham, designed to cover up Sani's husband's homosexuality . . . the role of her mother-in-law goes from distasteful to outright criminal.
‘The heroine could be the love child of Miss Marple and NPR’s Andrei Codrescu. It doesn’t matter much who done it. What matters is that Aykol uses the genre to tell us a little more about the world than we’re used to hearing from more commercial writers.’ Newsday
‘Aykol makes her English-language debut with Hotel Bosphorus her first mystery featuring Kati Hirschel, an offbeat amateur sleuth with a distinctive narrative voice. Fans of such female detectives as Amanda Cross's Kate Fansler and Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher will find a lot to like.’ Publishers Weekly
‘In Aykol’s impressive second Kati Hirschel mystery Baksheesh set in Istanbul (after 2011’s Hotel Bosphorus), Kati, a German expatriate “who loves reading detective stories and has a shop specializing… once again turns amateur sleuth with aplomb.’ Publishers Weekly
‘When you want to be more than a pretty wife, you may have to go above and beyond the call of duty. With characters all around her putting the pressure on her, Kati Hirschel pushes herself to keep her independence, until her interest becomes her business in more than one way. Baksheesh is a strongly recommended pick for lovers of international mystery, highly recommended.’ MBR Bookwatch
Esmahan Aykol: Esmahan Aykol was born in 1970 in Edirne, Turkey. She lives in Istanbul and Berlin. During her law studies she was a journalist for a number of Turkish publications and radio stations. After a stint as a bartender she turned to fiction writing. She has written three Katie Hirschel novels. Hotel Bosphorus is the first and has been published in Turkish, German, French and Italian. The others are Baksheesh and Divorce Turkish Style.
Ruth Whitehouse: Ruth Whitehouse worked as a violinist in Ankara. She pursued her interest in Turkish culture and literature by doing by obtaining a PhD in Turkish Literature at SOAS in London. This is her first translation of a full novel but her work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2010 in a series called Young Turks, featuring translations of work by young Turkish writers.