Summerhouse - by Yigit Karaahmet (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A gay couple's 40-year relationship is imperiled by a new arrival to their sleepy island paradise: The Birdcage as done by Highsmith.

Fehmi and Şener have been together forty years--no small feat for any pair, but especially admirable for a gay couple in Turkey. Behind closed doors, their life on Büyükada, an idyllic island near Istanbul, is like a powder keg that needs only one spark to blow. That spark soon comes in the form of Deniz, the wildly handsome and troubled teenager next door, who immediately catches Fehmi's eye.

This "harmless" crush immediately raises Şener's hackles; although he doesn't think Deniz would ever reciprocate Fehmi's feelings, it's not a risk he's willing to take. But when one betrayal leads to another, Deniz hatches a plan, and the sultry summer takes a dark turn as the couple's relationship is put to the test like never before. Will lust or love win the day? One thing's for sure: not everyone will be getting out of this love triangle alive.

Dishy, suspenseful, and boiling over with black humor, Yiğit Karaahmet's debut makes a fierce political statement about supporting "gay wrongs" while also introducing a shockingly lovable pair of antiheroes who could be Tom Ripley's grandfathers.

Review Quotes

Praise for Summerhouse

One of PEOPLE's Best Books of May 2025
A Publishers Weekly Summer Reads Mystery Pick

"Riveting . . . Summerhouse is redolent of the Mediterranean atmosphere of a Highsmith plot: sharp, spicy and humor black as night."
--Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times

"A stunning love story, a thrilling mystery, and a luscious ode to a gorgeous landscape."
--CrimeReads

"For fans of The White Lotus and Patricia Highsmith!"
--Book Riot

"A sultry debut from Yigit Karaahmet, brings dark humor and political rebellion to a gay love triangle and thriller set in Turkey."
--Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

"Sultry, sinister, and absolutely compelling. Summerhouse lures you in with its gorgeously evocative writing and immersive setting, but as the shocking reality is revealed, this seductive page-turner evolves into a twisty and surprising Hitchcock-meets-Highsmith thriller. I gasped at the ending--honestly gasped! And I am still haunted by it."
--Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author

"A gorgeous, thrilling tale of gay lovers celebrating their fortieth anniversary on an idyllic island when a handsome teenager moves next door. Beauty abounds in the world and prose, arresting the characters, and this reader too, as the forces of homophobia, desire, and jealousy conspire to alter our lives forever. Summerhouse is an unforgettable novel about the explosive nature of lust in a violent society."
--Kyle Dillon Hertz, author of The Lookback Window

"Each turn in this twisted romp of a novel caught me by surprise. And yet, every time the island's inhabitants dug themselves into and out of another hole, I found myself nodding along. What is a gay summer, after all, if not a series of regrettable choices fueled by lust, longing, music, drugs, and jealousy? In wry, beautiful prose, Summerhouse suggests that just beyond the limits of what we thought we could do and endure might lie an unexpected freedom."
--Craig Willse, author of Providence

"With flair, Summerhouse skewers the supposed safety of the closet and the faux tolerance of wealthy Turkish society, serving up a pair of elder-queer antiheroes whose passions are as ungovernable as their taste is exquisite. I loved this bleakly funny thriller!"
--Katharine Beutner, Lambda Award-nominated author of Killingly

"A queer noir gem . . . Summerhouse is a noir tale, but it's one that never overlooks the humor that can exist even in the darkest moments . . . The way Yiğit Karaahmet introduces the subtle undercurrent of discord into the narrative is palpable and highly effective. Readers will know they are headed towards some type of collision, but few will anticipate where this storyline goes."
--The BOLO Books Review

"This black comedy thriller about gay love, lust, and lies will captivate you . . . Suspenseful and fun, Karaahmet's debut offers a love story of supporting gay rights, but also their wrongdoings."
--GCN (Gay Community News) Magazine

"Though it takes the form of a crime novel, Karaahmet's melancholy English debut is, at its core, a story about the contours of long-haul monogamy and the difficulties of being gay in a conservative community . . . With three-dimensional characters, poignant social observations, and simmering sexual tension, this queer thriller is perfect for poolside reading."
--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"A thriller reminiscent of The Talented Mr. Ripley, complete with antiheroes who manage to be a combination of empathetic, charming, and abhorrent . . . This darkly funny tale will be devilishly entertaining for fans of the genre and complex characters."
--Booklist

"A riveting thriller about a love triangle turned lethal . . . The plot is suspenseful and fast-moving, its palpable tension initiated by the arrival of Deniz. As the men cope with Deniz's presence, their private contemplations on love, individuality, and deception propel them toward action."
--Foreword Reviews

About the Author

Yiğit Karaahmet was born in the small Black Sea town of Giresun, at a time when disco, glitter, and shoulder pads were sadly on the wane. He later moved to Istanbul where he studied journalism and went on to write about nightlife, popular culture, and lifestyle for prominent newspapers and magazines. Openly gay, Karaahmet has been targeted by the fundamentalist press many times. Summerhouse is his first novel.

Nicholas Glastonbury is a writer, translator, and editor from the Florida backwaters. His translations of Turkish and Kurdish fiction and poetry have appeared with or are forthcoming from Tilted Axis Press, Comma Press, Soho Press, Sandorf Passage, Nightboat Books, and elsewhere. He holds a PhD in cultural anthropology and lives in New York.