Error rating book. Welcome back. Couldn’t put it down. The atmosphere and intrigue is award worthy, while the dialogue and action is written sophmorically and seems out of place.

But still, it’s a ripping yarn featuring a secretive film star, German spies and a plot to assassinate the Turkish head of state. He is now in the full employ of the US Government, and yet still a war correspondent. . Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. .

The story took forever to tell, filled with lots of pretty irrelevant stuff that kept the story from making significant progress. The plot takes us via the Lusitania's last voyage (of course) via London and Germany to Istanbul, where the action plays out.Having read Butler's first historical thriller, Hot Country, I decided to give this one a go.

We were first introduced to Kit in The Hot Country and we will surely see him again as part of a trilogy of thrillers. The author is excellent at setting the stage and allowing his characters to inhabit it fully. Somehow he ends up in Constantinople, thanks to falling in love with a "Greek" actress while aboard. An enjoyable thriller set in WWI era. That only happened in 1942 with the founding of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Published The Star of Istanbul is set in spring 1915. He has supposedly learned enough German in a few weeks to pass as a native speaker, and the improbabilities just keep adding up from there. . It moved along briskly and never let me take my time. He is also now a more confident and competent killer, for better This is my first Cobb story. Brauer is a professor of what were then called "Oriental studies" in London. One of those spy/mystery novels that just so happen to take place at an auspicious moment in history, this time the sinking of the Lusitania and the imminence of WW I. Olen seems to me to be a frustrated man of letters, because there are many allusions to Shakespeare and other literary works.

First and foremost, there is far too little of Istanbul in a book called "The Star of Istanbul," and what little there is fails to inv Also, the author notably switches style when setting atmosphere and intrigue to dialogue and action. Be the first to ask a question about The Star of Istanbul The mystery is enriched by the real sweep of history as WWI takes hold, from U-boats in the Atlantic to massacres in Armenia, and an excellent description of the BOOK REVIEW: 'The Star of Istanbul': Continuing the Saga of Kit Cobb: Foreign Correspondent, Secret Agent ManImplausible plot again from a potentially otherwise decent writer. And given that the author won a Pulitzer Prize for a short story collection in 1993, one might hope for some literary heft behind the tale. And parts are nicely writ. I felt like I was watching a classic movie from the golden age of cinema telling a lost story of World War I. The atmosphere and intrigue is award worthy, while the dialogue and action is written sophmorically and seems out of place. A frustrating read at best. It is also the last one I will read. The action is never-ending, so it's a page turner.

We’d love your help. It's like the opposite of Alan Furst. To see what your friends thought of this book, . At the end I was just sorry I had wasted so much time to get to the end and the resolution of the plot, but...

Intrepid Chicago war-correspondent Kit Cobb, fresh from his exploits in Mexico, has been called upon by the US Government to act as a spy against the Germans in Europe, before the US has entered WWI. Good if you like spy novels. (Today in the US we call them Middle Eastern studies.)

An Independent Literary Publisher Since 1917“Nothing short of amazing. But still, it’s a ripping yarn featuring a secretive film star, German spies and a plot to assassinate the Turkish head of state. He sails to Europe on the Lusitania (is that forebodi Refresh and try again. Terrible ending. The Star of Istanbul is set in spring 1915. The Star of Istanbul (Christopher Marlowe Cobb Thriller #2)This series is becoming my latest guilty pleasure. . Gave an extra star for history lesson.A while back, I decided (again) that life is just too damn short to read easy, pop books, and that I would dedicate my reading and living only to challenge.