UK Edition
The Bellini Card
Istanbul, 1840. The new sultan sends Yashim to recover a lost Bellini painting, which may have resurfaced in Venice. Caught up in Ottoman palace politics, Yashim instead turns to his old friend Palewski, the Polish ambassador, who arrives in disguise in down-at-heel Venice - where a killer is at large, as dealers, faded aristocrats and other unknown factions seek to uncover the whereabouts of the lost painting.
But is it the Bellini itself that endangers them all, or something associated with its original loss? And how is it that all of the killer's victims are somehow tied to the alluring Contessa d'Aspi d'Istria? Will the Austrian overlords unmask Palewski, or will the killer find him first? Only Yashim can uncover the truth...
‘Goodwin's celebrated Ottoman detective Yashim has a third enjoyable outing’
Diplomat Magazine
‘Goodwin's prevous books took us into the alleys and byways of nineteenth century Istanbul. This is an equally vivid and well-informed account of Venice in 1840 .. the plot is lively and interesting: but the real delight in this book is the atmospheric portrait of a fascinating place.’
Literary Review
‘Escapism doesn't get much better than this.’
Blomberg.net