Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from netgalley. 

This story follows a gay couple, Fehmi and Şener as they live out their idyllic retirement years on the island of Büyükada. They have just celebrated their unofficial anniversary of 40 years, celebrating a love that was only ever allowed to exist in secret and behind closed doors. Their love is not idyllic or pure and they also have some issues, as any couple probably would, but it is very clear they have chosen well to spend their lives together. But when a family moves in to get their son Deniz away from his school, where he just beat up another classmate, their lives are soon changed, as Fehmi finds himself deeply attracted to the boy. 

I absolutely adored the lyrical writing of this book, obviously I only know the English translation, but I think it made for a really beautiful reading experience. The story also moves quite slowly, not at all what I expected from a book that’s marketed as a mystery and a thriller (in fact those aspects only start at 60%), but as a fan of contemporary fiction, I found myself enjoying that. However, I think you need to know what you’re getting into, because this is not a fastpaced thriller at all and sometimes the book does feel a bit overextended. The story examines the relationship between Fehmi and Şener, the issues they have with each other, the fact that Fehmi treats Şener badly and as if he was inherently more feminine and thus weak at points and the resentments that causes for Şener, the way Şener controls the house tightly as the only place he is allowed to be himself, the tension in how they talk with their neighbors and friends and the constant obfuscation of their relationship, as well as the atmospheric descriptions of the island and the people on it all made for incredibly interesting reading. While I did not care that much for Fehmi becoming creepily obsessed with Deniz (his age is never specifically mentioned, but we do know he is in school and celebrates a birthday After Fehmi starts creeping on him), it was still interesting to see how this would play out. 

My favorite part of the story began after the story takes a dark turn (as the summary promises!), since I deeply enjoyed the role reversal for the characters and the way they were forced to embody new roles and figure out a life so unlike anything they had even been able to conceive previously. It was also interesting to see how they would find their way out of their dilemma and so I really enjoyed reading that part. 

So, if you are willing to wait for the suspense, enjoy reading about people, who upon messing up find themselves forced to dig ever deeper, want to take a deep dive into a couples relationship, their highs and lows and other issues, or just want to feel like you are spending a quite eventful summer on an idyllic island in Turkey, then you should read this book! 

TW: drug use, homophobia, murder, stalking, violation of consent