My name is Red

 Is it a murder mystery? Is it a love story? Is it a period drama? 

It is all of the above and much more. The book I have been reading currently is "My name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk. 

The story revolves around lives of miniature artists in 16th century. The traditional form of such arts involved depicting religious events with central focus being God. "HE" is the creator, greatest of all, so any artist who is trying to 'create' an art is doing a sin. 

The paintings were used for illustrated books. But the kings and noble men who paid for such artwork did also want some kind of immortality. And they wanted their resemblance depicted in some part of these paintings. 

And there is a murder of one of such painters. Who is the killer and why did he commit such heinous act? 

And there is also a maiden Shakira - a pretty young widowed daughter of head painter. Black is attracted to her and is willing to marry her. So is the brother of her husband, Hasan. 

Shaykh Baha'al-Din Veled preaching in Balkh - Jami' al-Siyar, 1600

But the obstacle is Shakira's husband went for a war and never returned. So unless his death is confirmed, she can't remarry. 

The book is quite good. If you want to cross the borders of space and time and be transported to another era, and if you like Orhan Pamuk's work
- read the book.