Songs My Mother Never Taught Me

This intelligent thriller from Altun, his first to be published in the U.S., nicely evokes modern Istanbul. After Arda Ergenekon's domineering mother dies of cancer, the well-to-do 27-year-old seeks to learn more about his illustrious mathematician father, Mürsel, who was murdered when he was 14. In a postmodernist touch, a character named Selçuk Altun assists Ergenekon in his inquiries into the past. Meanwhile, Bedirhan Öztürk, whose backstory is more compelling than Ergenekon's, is considering retiring from his career as an assassin. What Ergenekon discovers leads him to devote himself to tracking down Mürsel's killer, who, unsurprisingly, turns out to be Öztürk. While some readers may be disappointed by what happens when the two main characters finally meet, the lean prose and deft pacing make this more than a routine revenge tale. (Apr.)