The Star of Istanbul

Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award-winning author Robert Olen Butler exploded onto the thriller scene with The Hot Country, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year and the first in his series featuring American war correspondent Christopher Marlowe Cobb. Now Butler raises the stakes with The Star of Istanbul, in which Cobb crosses paths with a sultry and mysterious actress hiding a secret agenda that may be the key to saving—or toppling—two empires. World War I is in full swing. Christopher Marlowe “Kit” Cobb has been asked to follow a German intellectual and possible covert SS Brauer into perilous waters aboard the ship Lusitania, as the man is believed to hold information vital to the war effort. Aboard the Lusitania on its fateful voyage, Cobb becomes smitten with famed actress Selene Bourgani, who appears to be working with German Intelligence. Soon Cobb realizes that this simple actress is anything but, as she harbors secrets that could pour gasoline on the already raging conflict. Following the night of the infamous German U-Boat attack on the Lusitania, Cobb must follow Selene into the darkest alleyways of London, then on to the powder keg that is Istanbul. He must use all the cunning he possesses to uncover Selene’s true motives—which could bring down some of the world’s most powerful leaders. On his own across the war-torn stages of Europe and the Middle East, Cobb must venture deep behind enemy lines, cut off from his only allies, knowing full well he may not return. A classic tale of adventure, romance, and war, The Star of Istanbul mixes page-turning fiction with revealing fact, firmly cementing Robert Olen Butler’s place as one of the great historical thriller writers today.