Mehmet Murat Somer (born 1959) is a Turkish author of crime fiction best known for his Hop-Çiki-Yaya series set in Istanbul and featuring an unnamed transvestite amateur detective.
[1] Somer was born in Ankara but moved to Istanbul in 1982, after graduating from technical university, and worked as an engineer for Sony, an experience he draws on in his writing.
"[2] Concerning his personal life, Somer has stated that, "When the [Hop-Çiki-Yaya] books were first published in Turkey, some of my friends thought that I was a drag queen or transgender.
Besides his My Name is Red being one of my favourite books, I believe the Nobel Prize Orhan Pamuk won, opened the international door for Turkish writers, including me.
"[3] He wrote the first three novels of the Hop-Çiki-Yaya series back-to-back but had trouble finding a publisher as, "The Salman Rushdie story was still relatively young and they didn't want to risk anything.
"[2] İletişim Yayınları finally agreed to publish the series starting with the second volume The Prophet Murders and Somer credits the stamp of approval from the prestigious company (previously responsible for publishing Orhan Pamuk's My Name is Red) with protecting the books from a hostile reception.