A review by danilanglie
The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin

3.0

I'll say straight-up that it's not really the plots that draw me to these books. It's much more so the setting, and the compelling competence of Yashim, our leading man. But unlike in the first book, I found the plot in this book straight-up confusing. When we got the revelation about the identity of the supposedly murdered man, I felt like that was a good twist. But the additional twists that came after it felt like they were tacked on at the last minute. And Yashim's original reasoning for getting looped in - that he worried about his reputation - was pretty much dropped by the end.

That said, I still enjoy the vibrant characters and the incredibly intimate feel of the setting and atmosphere. We spend time with Yashim putting together clues and learning about the history of Istanbul, but we also spend time with him buying vegetables at the market, and cooking in his kitchen.

I also thought the action scenes in this book were just as good as in the last - the short chapters make for a very cinematic feel and pace.