The Snake Stone (ISBN 9780312428020) is the second in a series of detective novels by Jason Goodwin, featuring the eunuch Yashim.
In his palace on the Bosphorus, Sultan Mahmud II is dying and the city swirls with rumors and alarms.
The unexpected arrival of a French archaeologist determined to track down lost Byzantine treasures throws the Greek community into confusion.
As the body count starts to rise, Yashim must uncover the startling truth behind a shadowy society dedicated to the revival of the Byzantine Empire, encountering along the way such vibrant characters as Lord Byron's doctor and the Sultan's West Indies–born mother, the Valide.
With striking wit and irresistible flair, Jason Goodwin takes us into a world where the stakes are high, betrayal is death—and the pleasure to the reader is immense.