The Star of Istanbul
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4.4 • 13 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
An intrepid reporter boards the Lusitania in a "vivid . . . ripping good" spy thriller from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author (The Wall Street Journal).
It's 1915, World War I is in full swing, and foreign correspondent Christopher "Kit" Marlowe Cobb is tasked with following a German intellectual and possible secret service agent who's just boarded the British ocean liner Lusitania. But Cobb is soon distracted from his mission by the sultry Selene Bourgani, a world-renowned silent film star who also appears to be working with German Intelligence. The secrets Selene harbors have the potential to set the whole international conflict further aflame—and they're about to be ignited by a German U-boat attack off the Irish coast.
From the perilous waters of the Atlantic, Cobb tails Selene into London's darkest alleyways, then on to the powder keg that is Istanbul. Across the war-torn stages of Europe and the Middle East, Cobb must venture deep behind enemy lines, knowing full well he may not return.
The second book in the Christopher Marlowe Cobb Thrillers, The Star of Istanbul "has it all: history galore, exotic foreign settings, a world-weary yet engaging protagonist, villains in abundance and a romance worthy of Bogart and Bergman" (BookPage).
"[An] outstanding work of historical fiction." —The Huntington News
"Butler . . . holds the reader transfixed, like a kid at a Saturday matinee." —Booklist, starred review
"An exciting thriller with plenty of action, romance, and danger . . . [a] fast-paced journey through a world at war." —Library Journal
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1915, Butler's busy second adventure featuring Christopher Marlowe Cobb (after 2012's The Hot Country) takes the intrepid reporter, who doubles as an American spy, to war-torn Europe. Cobb travels on the Lusitania, where he's watching Walter Brauer, a suspected German agent. Cobb also keeps an eye on hot-blooded film star Selene Bourgani, who attracts his amorous attentions, despite rumors that she, too, works for the Kaiser. When the Lusitania is torpedoed off the Irish coast, Cobb leaps into the ocean with Bourgani in his arms, but his job is far from over. He accompanies Bourgani to Turkey, where she has a score to settle involving two great empires. Butler impresses with his exceptional attention to historical detail, particularly aboard the Lusitania, but the heavy doses of melodrama may put off some thriller readers. Others may find Cobb's ego and fearless approach to danger tiresome.
