Shayne’s Reviews > My Name Is Red > Status Update

They go together to Olive’s home, but he is away. As they search through his things, they discover a horse painting that was undoubtedly rendered by Stork.

After the raid of the coffeehouse, Black attempts to take Butterfly hostage to his home to question him. Butterfly is able to turn the table and pin Black to the ground. After Butterfly relishes in the resemblance of this moment to illustrations of violence he has beheld but before he murders him, Black reveals Osman’s intentions of denouncing the miniaturists.

Esther takes Black to Hasan’s home where Shekure and the children have gone after the second night of Black’s absence out of fear and her husband’s alleged return. Black amasses a mob to attack Hasan and the home, but Hasan is not present. Shekure willingly returns with Black to takes the family to a clandestine location. The coffeehouse storyteller recounts a time in his youth when he dresses like a woman.

As they continue to study illustration after illustration, Black begins to realize the Osman is becoming blind. Finally, Black identifies a signature on a painting of a bridal procession: a horse’s clipped nostrils. Osman confidently identifies the artist as Olive but asserts he cannot be the murderer, and pins the acts on Stork. Black later quits the Treasury and discovers his family is missing.

Black and Osman, unable to deduce anything from the three horse illustrations, enter the Sultan’s treasury to search for a clue. A painting of two dervishes recounts its creation.

The murder spends the night at various haunts, including a “soup kitchen” and a coffeehouse telling stories about style, blindness, and horses. Satan tells of his origins, makes two refutations of his involvement with evil, and refutes the Frankish style—he chose not to bow down to Man. Shekure sneaks into Black’s room in the middle of the night, questioning his involvement in the murder, and hears a sound.

The three miniaturists each make their depiction of a horse.

Black and Osman continue going through illustrations looking for a “signature” to give away the murderer. The illustration found on Elegant’s body is delivered to them from Shekure, where they find an irregularity in the nose. They pore through piece upon piece looking for a matching inconsistency.

Master Osman and Black begin the work of locating the consistent “signatures” of each miniaturist across the various paintings. Master Osman gives a history and personality traits of each.

After returning from the funeral, Black is summoned by the Sultan and is briefly tortured (tested) and charged with discovering who the real murderer is.