The Kiss Murder

Title: The Kiss Murder
Author: Mehmet Murat Somer
Published: 2003, English translation in 2009
Genre: Crime fiction in high heels
Pages: 245 + Glossary


Number two in the Hop-Çiki-Yaya -thrillers! Our nameless heroine is out to have a good night at the club she partly owns, when one of the girls comes asking for help. Buse once had a serious affair with someone very important, and although she's not the type to kiss and tell, word of it somehow got out, and some very dangerous people are now after her letters and photos.

Mostly annoyed with the secretive Buse, our heroine mostly ignores her for now. Buse ends up dead, and the very dangerous people turn their attention to our heroine, believing that she now holds the photos and such. She doesn't, so you can see that there's a bit of a problem here.

As much fun as these books are -and they are!- the endings seem to be quite abrupt. It's best not to take them too seriously, and just enjoy the ride and the pretty outfits. Man, I wish I looked like Audrey Hepburn...


   As always, Hasan arrived to save the day. He wore his usual low-slung jeans. Hasan was every bit as macho as one would expect of a waiter who bared his butt crack in a transvestite bar. I apologized to Süleyman and turned to Hasan. As I did so, I kept my arms slightly extended, placing my hands one atop the other on my lap. My legs were parallel and my feet side by side. In other words, I was the picture of Audrey Hepburn perfection. Had I worn my gloves the effect would have been better still. But perfection is elusive. I lightly batted my false eyelashes, then raised my eyebrows as I opeed my eyes wide, confronting Hasan with a questioning look that also contained a hint of a smile. 
   "I didn't see you come in," he said. "Sofya called you twice. She said it's important."