The Snake Stone: Investigator Yashim Returns

I recently posted about the first book in this series by Jason Goodwin, The Janissary Tree, which I really enjoyed. It is 2 years later, 1838, and the Sultan is dying. Yashim is hired by a wealthy banker's family to investigate a French archaeologist, Max LeFevre, who has come seeking to find and sell ancient Byzantine artifacts. When LeFevre is brutally murdered, Jashim is quickly identified as being the likely perpetrator. He must find the real killer to avoid being disgraced and possibly jailed. We are once again immersed into the history, politics, architecture, cuisine, and  religious and cultural diversity of late Ottoman-era Istanbul. It's fascinating and evocative. Once again secret societies with agendas that challenge the status quo are believed to be at the heart of a series of murders, and again we get glimpses into the secrets and power of the trade guilds, in this case, the watermen, who keep the huge city supplied with life-giving water. As in the first novel, Yashim, a eunuch and former investigator for the Palace, taps his extensive network of contacts to try and solve the mystery. When LeFevre's young wife shows up and vows to revenge her husband's death, Jashim takes her in and they have a short intimate relationship before she disappears--only to take up the search allied with not-so-trustworthy parties. But is LeFevre really dead?
Reviews and more detailed summaries are available from Kirkus, The New York Times, NPR (with a link to an audio interview with Jason Goodwin), and Publishers Weekly.   I already have the 3rd Inspector Yashim novel on hold at the library: The Bellini Card.