cover image The Serenity Murders

The Serenity Murders

Mehmet Murat Somer, trans. from the Turkish by Amy Marie Spangler. Penguin, $15 trade paper (272p) ISBN 978-0-14-312122-0

Somer's fourth Turkish Delight mystery (after 2009's The Gigolo Murder) starts with transvestite nightclub owner Bur%C3%A7ak Veral feeling nervous about appearing on a prestigious TV talk show to discuss transvestism. In a great meta-moment, the show's other guest is author Somer, "who had artfully augmented [Bur%C3%A7ak's] adventures, using them as fodder for his novels." All goes smoothly until a viewer phones in promising to put an end to the transvestite's "inner peace" by killing those near and dear to him. Bur%C3%A7ak desperately tries to protect those he loves as he searches for clues to the lunatic's identity, but not every reader will be charmed by a character who, however original a lead, fits the stock image of a transvestite as materialistic, vain, and drama prone. Some truly creepy moments, like the discovery of a revealing CD in a murdered man's apartment, compensate in part for a plot largely lacking in energy. (Jan.)