This week, Susie Black’s Saturday Author Spotlight shines on prolific romance author J. Arlene Culiner.
About the author: Writer, artist, and teller of tall tales, Jill (J.) Arlene Culiner was born in New York and raised in Toronto. She has crossed much of Europe on foot, has lived on the Great Hungarian Plain, in a Bavarian castle, a Turkish cave dwelling, and a haunted house on the English moors. She now resides in a 400-year-old former inn in a French village where she protects spiders, snakes, and weeds. She delights in hearing any nasty, funny, ridiculous, or romantic story, and when she can’t uncover gossip, she makes it up. She won the Tanenbaum Prize in Canadian Jewish History for Finding Home in the Footsteps of the Jewish Fusgeyers, the 2024 Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Memoir for her book Those Absent on the Great Hungarian Plain, was shortlisted for the Foreword Magazine Prize, and twice for the Page Turner Awards. Her latest fiction book, Words for Patty Jo, has won the Bookish Magazine Award and the Bookish Reader’s Pick Award.
The Turkish Affair is one of Culiner’s most exotic and interesting stories. Here is a blurb to whet your appetite:
Priceless artifacts are disappearing from the ancient Hittite site of Karakuyu in Turkey, and the site director has vanished. Called in to solve the mystery, archaeologist Renaud Townsend is hindered by both his inability to speak the language and the knowledge that the local police are corrupt. His attraction to translator Anne Pierson is immediate, although he is troubled by her refusal to talk about the past and her fear of public scandal. But when murder enters the picture, both Anne and Renaud realize that the risk of falling in love is not the only danger.
Here is what readers have to say about The Turkish Affair:
Stace: “With a first chapter as good as this one has, it made it hard not to read on. Ms. Culiner had me hooked. The book is an interesting mix of mystery and romance. The plot is told from Anne Pierson’s point of view and in an informal style that is well-suited to readers who love these genres. There are good descriptive narratives of the town, the archaeological site, and the weather. I could almost feel the heat, visualize the sights, and smell the Turkish spices. Lots of work has also gone into ensuring the historical facts and archaeological details are spot on. This is an excellent book that was an easy read. The pace was steady, and the whole mystery kept me gripped to the unexpected ending. I would certainly recommend this book, and I definitely would read more by this author.”
Alexa Adams: “I really enjoyed this romance set in Eastern Turkey. It has three of my favorite things: history, an intriguing and detailed setting, and a lush love story. I liked how the author wove the local culture and customs into the narrative, how the setting was brought alive, and the suspense was just the right amount to keep you turning pages without being overwhelmed by constant action. The characters were equally delicious - deep and flawed, they each had great story arcs. I especially enjoyed it when Anne finally decided to stop hiding who she really was. A great read for the armchair adventurer.”
Jean Livingstone: “After thoroughly enjoying her three previous novels - mature romances, as she calls them (”All about charming Alice”, “A swan’s sweet song”, and “Felicity’s power”), I was really looking forward to her next one. And luckily for me, and all her other avid readers, Jill doesn’t hang about - she is a compulsive and imaginative writer with a clean, clear and precise style, lively and sensitive, her ideas flow onto the page, and it doesn’t take long for her next book to appear. The heroines in her stories always strike a chord in me. Her ladies are real and alive and all very different, but I can put myself in their place and identify with them because of her vibrant, lively dialogue. And of course, I always fancy the pants off her heroes. I reckon we have the same taste in men?
In The Turkish Affair, we are in an archeological dig in Turkey, and from her descriptions and knowledgeable detail of how a dig team works, and her understanding of how a single woman must behave in a small village environment in Turkey, it is clear the author has used a lot of her own personal experiences here.
Buried pasts and questionable reputations, vulnerable hearts and fragile feelings, stubbornness, suspense, fear, and intrigue - they are all here. I didn’t want to put it down. Roll on the next book. They get better and better!”
Judi Easley: “Ms. Culiner has created a story with such drama and so many twists that it captured my imagination almost immediately. Everyone has secrets and secret agendas, so nothing is straightforward. This story has a lot of twists and turns as well as a hotter-than-the-desert love affair. And the desert is very hot. Ms. Culiner makes sure that we know just how hot it is. Her descriptions of the surroundings, the people, and the shimmering heat are absolutely marvelous. You can almost taste the teas and coffees and smell the spices used in the cooking. You want to wipe away your own sweat along with the characters in the book. And this book is alive with other things, too. Corruption, jealousy, and murder. This is an exciting, twisty romantic mystery that I highly recommend from a favored author. Wow! Intrigue, archeology, cultural clashes, lusty love! All that tied up in one book set in the hot sands of Turkey with corrupt police and a woman with secrets to keep. It was great! Here’s hoping this author writes more of this sort of book! Highly recommended!”
Judy and Marianne from Long & Short Reviews: “This is my one hundred and fifty-fourth review. Yet, I’m sitting here intimidated to write my thoughts and feelings about The Turkish Affair. I typically don’t get awestruck, but this is my third J. Arlene Culiner novel, and I’m dumbstruck. She is a marvel. A cut above the rest. A class act. Hopefully, you get my point that she’s a brilliant writer and has led an admirable life. I’m not feeling worthy to write a review for The Turkish Affair, but here goes nothing. Above all else, though, I have to say… go buy the book! To quote NIKE, “Just do it”. There isn’t a book of the past 153 that I’ve read that compares to the quality and quantity of research presented realistically and entertainingly that I found in The Turkish Affair. The details provided are eloquently implemented with such polish that one can’t help but feel like they are present with the characters.
Regarding the characters, they are splendid. I had to read slowly and pay attention to follow the suspense/mystery. I was riveted to my seat from beginning to end, trying to guess who was stealing the artifacts because I was suspicious of everyone. The best thing – I was surprised at the end. I didn’t find the plot predictable at all because I was too busy trying to figure out why certain characters were hostile to others and who could be trusted.
There are many plot threads woven in synchrony between who is corrupt, who is telling the truth, and the desire for Renaud and Anne to be together. I was thoroughly engaged in trying to comprehend and anticipate what would happen next. Now that I’ve finished reading it, I’m still thinking about certain scenes. In conclusion, I will repeat myself. Go buy the book!”
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49173855-the-turkish-affair?from_search=tru
Thanks for presenting The Turkish Affair, a story close to my heart and based on the time I lived in that country, and on the archaeological sites I was familiar with.