Book Reviews

Another job for Levent Pasha, his friend joining him as they drink by the Golden Horn of Istanbul. He is anxious, eager to get back to his son, Mehmet. Dulled by the Raki, he takes to the job, alone, sluggish. His mistakes have piled up and he is caught for the last time. His friend, back from drinks, is made a part of the plan to tie up the loose end of the fool’s life and, the next day, Mehmet is left without a father.

With no family left to rely on, Mehmet must rely on himself in the dirty, […]

The Dead Bank Diary by Anna Shlegel is an intense, true to life (maybe true!) look at the bank fraudsters of Russia in the 00s, at a point in history where the police and government of Moscow were deeply corrupt, and old money and new oligarchs were investing their riches in “pocket banks,” small private holdings run by provincial managers – this meant that banks could be bankrupted by one transaction from their richest customer, and bought out on debts from anyone else in a few hours, even people that had no real money, just by a little bit of […]