Summerhouse
A Gay Thriller
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected May 27, 2025
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- $14.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A gay couple’s 40-year relationship is imperiled by a new arrival to their sleepy island paradise: The Birdcage as done by Highsmith.
Fehmi and Şener have been together forty years—no small feat for any pair, but especially admirable for a gay couple in Turkey. Behind closed doors, their life on Büyükada, an idyllic island near Istanbul, is like a powder keg that needs only one spark to blow. That spark soon comes in the form of Deniz, the wildly handsome and troubled teenager next door, who immediately catches Fehmi’s eye.
This “harmless” crush immediately raises Şener’s hackles; although he doesn’t think Deniz would ever reciprocate Fehmi’s feelings, it’s not a risk he’s willing to take. But when one betrayal leads to another, Deniz hatches a plan, and the sultry summer takes a dark turn as the couple’s relationship is put to the test like never before. Will lust or love win the day? One thing’s for sure: not everyone will be getting out of this love triangle alive.
Dishy, suspenseful, and boiling over with black humor, Yiğit Karaahmet’s debut makes a fierce political statement about supporting “gay wrongs” while also introducing a shockingly lovable pair of antiheroes who could be Tom Ripley’s grandfathers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Though it takes the form of a crime novel, Laraahmet's melancholy English debut is, at its core, a story about the contours of long-haul monogamy and the difficulties of being gay in a conservative community. Obsessive pianist Şener and his translator husband, Fehmi, have planned a quiet summer in Büyükada, an island retreat outside Istanbul, for their 40th anniversary. Their vacation is shaken up by the arrival of Deniz, a beautiful, troubled teen who moves in with his parents next door. At first, Fehmi tries to deny his intense crush on Deniz, but Şener is quick to notice changes in Fehmi's behavior, and wonder what it may mean for their relationship. Eventually, passions boil over. Though Deniz sets the plot in motion, Karaahmet is far more interested in the balance of intimacy and autonomy that Şener and Fehmi have had to strike across their decades as a semi-closeted couple in repressive Turkish society. Equally impressive are Karaahmet's evocative descriptions of Büyükada, which is as physically large as it is socially insular. With three-dimensional characters, poignant social observations, and simmering sexual tension, this queer thriller is perfect for poolside reading.
