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The Ruby Bird
The Ruby Bird is based on a true story. Its life began hundreds of years ago when the maharaja of India gave a ruby-and-emerald broach to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent as a gift for his third wife at an elegant marriage ceremony at his Topkapi Palace. For years, it lay in a jeweled box, untouched. When his new seventh bride found it, she immediately ran to the sultan and pinned it on his turban.
Several years later, the sultan passed away, and the palace became a museum, and his statue, garbed in his royal robes and turban, was displayed as a tribute to the glorious years of the Ottoman Empire.
A trusted night watchman, who had been with the museum for thirty years, stole the ruby bird from the turban and sold it in the black-market bazaar for a handsome price, then disappeared.
Several years later, the sultan passed away, and the palace became a museum, and his statue, garbed in his royal robes and turban, was displayed as a tribute to the glorious years of the Ottoman Empire.
A trusted night watchman, who had been with the museum for thirty years, stole the ruby bird from the turban and sold it in the black-market bazaar for a handsome price, then disappeared.
66 pages, Paperback
Published September 25, 2017
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July 30, 2018
The Ruby Bird by Billie Atamer begins with a glimpse into the mystery of a famed brooch, a jewel-encrusted ruby bird that had been gifted to Suleiman I of Turkey by an Indian Maharaja. Centuries later in the museum situated within the heart of Topkapi Palace, the brooch disappears from its place on Suleiman the Magnificent's turban, where it had perched as part of a gloriously robed effigy of the Ottoman ruler. Atamer then teases with a piecemealed history of the Ruby Bird as it shifts through the hands of unfortunate inheritors – both intended and unintended – and where possession comes with a heavy price as the reader follows it across the globe in a suspenseful journey to Istanbul.
Fresh off of a vacation to Istanbul myself where I toured Topkapi palace, its museum, and visited the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent, Billie Atamer's fictional story, The Ruby Bird, immediately piqued my interest. I appreciate that the narrative focused on the 20th century, following the aftermath of the theft and its curse, with all of the suspenseful twists and turns I hope for in a mystery...and one of the most spectacular aspects of this gem of a novella is the tension it offers up by the bundle. The story ends with the tying up of loose ends while still hinting at the possibility of a second installment, something I hope to be true, as finding a book that satisfies at the level that this one does can be as rare and valuable as a Ruby Bird.
Review written for Readers' Favorite.
Fresh off of a vacation to Istanbul myself where I toured Topkapi palace, its museum, and visited the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent, Billie Atamer's fictional story, The Ruby Bird, immediately piqued my interest. I appreciate that the narrative focused on the 20th century, following the aftermath of the theft and its curse, with all of the suspenseful twists and turns I hope for in a mystery...and one of the most spectacular aspects of this gem of a novella is the tension it offers up by the bundle. The story ends with the tying up of loose ends while still hinting at the possibility of a second installment, something I hope to be true, as finding a book that satisfies at the level that this one does can be as rare and valuable as a Ruby Bird.
Review written for Readers' Favorite.
Displaying 1 of 1 review