Intrigue in Istanbul

Set in 1926, Agatha winner Neubauer's diverting fourth Jane Wunderly mystery (after 2022's Danger on the Atlantic) takes Jane home to Boston. There she learns that her father--"a professor of history, with a specialized interest in the Ottoman Empire"--to whom she was planning to introduce her fiancé, Redvers, has taken out a large bank loan and fled to Istanbul in search of an ancient artifact, the heart of Sultan Sulieman the Magnificent. Jane and Redvers embark on a voyage to Istanbul, where she hopes to locate her father and ensure that he returns the money to the bank, but their task proves far from simple. In Istanbul, instead of her father, the pair encounter a host of unsavory characters. When her father's translator and confidant is killed in an elevator in their hotel, Jane realizes she could be in grave danger. The action builds to a satisfying resolution as Jane and Redvers follow clues that lead them to Budapest, Hungary. Suspenseful twists and turns more than compensate for a culprit astute readers may pinpoint early on. This fast-paced, adventure-filled mystery should win Neubauer new fans. Agent: Ann Collette, Rees Literary. (Apr.)

Neubauer moves further away from the retro whodunits of her franchise's previous installments and closer to the hidden-treasure search beloved of interwar movie serials. The long-awaited 1926 meeting between Redvers, a fiance with a mysterious past, and Jane Wunderly's father is put on hold by the disappearance of Prof. Henry Wunderly, who's left behind no forwarding address, a mountain of debt that's coming due in a matter of weeks, and no message for his daughter. Has he been the victim of foul play? Probably not; instead, the best evidence is that he's traveled to Turkey in quest of Suleiman the Magnificent's heart, which was separated from the rest of the sultan's body centuries ago and is buried in an undisclosed location. Jane, frantic to mortgage back her father's home before hungry creditors seize it, takes off in hot pursuit along with Redvers, their inquiries complicated by the interference of Millie Stanley, Henry's wealthy sister, and her fiance, Lord Edward Hughes, who've followed them to Istanbul; Maral Aslanyan, the restaurateur's daughter who turns out to be Henry's sweetheart; and singer Katerina Semenov, an exiled Russian aristocrat who's one of a number of unexpected acquaintances Redvers has in Istanbul. Every time the lovers seem to be closing in on Henry, he turns out to have gone still further afield--though he does begin leaving behind notes asking Jane to quit looking for him and go home. The pace is leisurely, the structure episodic, the mystery slight. Fans of the series can trust their guesses about whether Jane catches up with her father and if Henry finds that noble heart. Globe-trotting piffle. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.