The Janissary Tree

 This very enjoyable read is the first in a series of mysteries by Jason Goodwin that feature Yashim the Eunuch, a kind of free-lance investigator who is loosely affiliated with the court of the Sultan Mahmud II in 1830's Istanbul. 

The rise of the Ottoman Empire was fueled by the conservative Janissary Corps, which had been founded in the 1300’s.  But over the following 500 years, while Western Europe modernized its military organization and technology, the Janissaries became a reactionary force that resisted all change.  Sultan Mahmud II, whose reign began in 1808, introduced extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms and, recognizing that Turkey needed a modern military force, abolished the Janissaries in 1826, executing 6,000 or more, during the so-called Auspicious Incident.  There was substantial opposition to these changes by conservative forces, which underlies the (fictional) events of 1836 described in The Janissary Tree. (My thanks to Wikipedia, which helped this description and my understanding of the setting of The Janissary Tree!)

Yashim is admirable and likable - he is calm but game for action, speaks several languages, and is a good pick-up cook (Goodwin has also written The Yashim Cookbook, which includes recipes for Yashim's intriguing concoctions!)  

    "So it seems," Yashim mused, "that junior attaché Potemkin springs into a coach with four of the brightest New Guard cadets - and they're never seen alive again."  

    Palewski's eyebrows shot up. "Meet a Russian--disappear--it's a common phenomenon. It happens all the time in Poland."

   .......

Fine cities whose contented citizens support an intelligent administration do exist, containing not a single dilapidated public building, a solitary wood-strewn building lot, or even a crumbling palazzo; but a great city must have them all, for decay too, is a sign of life. In the right ear, dereliction whispers of opportunity.  In another ear, of delinquency and corruption.

The Janissary Tree is excellent: enlarging and entertaining!