Barbara Nadel

First Line: A room.

Çetin İkmen. There's not another policeman like him in the world. Traveling from case to police station to home with his endless supply of brandy and cigarettes, he's the father of eight (with the ninth shortly to appear) and the son of a man described as "an atheist, an anarchist, an intellectual snob and a libertine". Since his father also lives with İkmen and his family, it makes for a very interesting household.

İkmen and his young, handsome sergeant, Mehmet show more Suleyman, have been put in charge of the particularly gruesome murder of an old man in the ancient Jewish quarter of Istanbul. Since a huge swastika was drawn on the wall above the body in the victim's blood, lots of people show an interest in the case-- including the Israeli embassy. İkmen is under pressure to solve the case quickly to get everyone off his superior's back, but the wily inspector knows that everyone's favorite suspect, Englishman Robert Cornelius, isn't the right one. The way the man was killed speaks of a very personal motive, and İkmen won't rest until he puts all the clues and the evidence together.

İkmen is the most amazing policeman I've come across in all the police procedurals I've read. He does his best work loaded to the gills with brandy, nicotine and no sleep. He knows his superior is beneath contempt-- and doesn't hide it. The only thing that keeps him on the job is the fact that he's damned good at what he does.

Nadel wove a tale that left me reluctant to come up for air. She may be British, but she's been visiting Turkey for over twenty-five years, and she knows the country. The setting of Belshazzar's Daughter is a richly woven tapestry of history, culture, sights, smells, narrow ancient streets, honking car horns, and the babble of many voices.

She can make characters come to life within a single paragraph, and the cast she creates is absolutely wonderful. İkmen and his family take center stage, but even the single appearance of an elderly rabbi is so well drawn and touching that the old man will live on in my memory.

İkmen calls this the nastiest case he's ever worked on "because there was absolutely nothing to like about any of the people involved in it. For one reason or another they were all absolutely selfish." He's absolutely right. With its overtones of Nazi sympathizers, the purges following the Russian Revolution, and just plain insanity, there's not much to like about all the suspects in Belshazzar's Daughter.

That doesn't matter. What matters is that the history, the culture, and the country of Turkey came alive as I read. What matters is that I discovered a fantastic cast of characters to follow in this series of mysteries. And finally... what matters is that İkmen settled for nothing less than the truth, and justice was served.

I can't wait to get back to Turkey. show less

This mystery set in the East End during WW2 has as it's lead character an undertaker who is half Indian and suffers from what we'd now call PTSD after having served in WW1. In this book, we find Frank Hancock burying a your gypsy woman, from a group of gypsies in Epping Forest. Her sister sees a vision of something and this is interpreted as the Virgin Mary by the people who are living in the forest to avoid the bombing. Mixed up in this is a Romany of German extraction and a relic. Someone show more wants to get their hands on Martin and the relic, but is there a more sinister motive? There is a lot going on in here, maybe a bit too much, and it gets a bit frantic at the end. show less

It's been much too long since I immersed myself in one of Barbara Nadel's Çetin Íkmen mysteries. The author always takes me right into the heart of the culture and history, not only of Istanbul but of Turkey itself.

Arabesk is the third book in this series, and the title is layered with meaning. It introduces readers to the world of Arabesk music, a magnificently vulgar, overblown world hugely popular with the masses, and it also refers to the complicated patterns of form or calligraphy show more known as Arabesque, a nod to the plot of the book.

If you're a reader who's allergic to even fictional cigarette smoke, you might want to give this one a miss because it seems as though everyone is constantly lighting one up. But if you're willing to brave the nicotine haze, you'll be greatly rewarded.

First, there's the strong plot that keeps you guessing. It's a mystery steeped in Turkish culture and history, and it's this look into another world that keeps me coming back for more. It's a world in which Kurds, Jews, Christians, and Muslims sometimes live together in harmony or sometimes brutally clash. If you're a police officer in Istanbul, you need to know the ins and outs of all these various factions.

Inspector Çetin Íkmen has an encyclopedic knowledge of the city of Istanbul, but he's been put on the sidelines due to stomach ulcers and other health concerns. He'd much rather be on the job than trying to bribe his sons to bring him forbidden alcohol... or trying to figure out why one of his sons is being so moody. Íkmen's easy-going personality as well as his knowledge serves him well. He's no bigot and can get along with people from all walks of life-- something very helpful for successful investigations.

On the other hand, the newly promoted Inspector Suleyman, who was trained by Íkmen, can antagonize others simply by sounding patrician. It makes his work harder, especially since he's trying not to bother Íkmen too much. He'd much rather solve this case on his own merit.

If you enjoy history, culture, strong mysteries, and nuanced characters, you really need to give this series a try. I suggest beginning at the beginning with Belshazzar's Daughter. Armchair traveling sleuths are in for a treat! show less

This cosy mystery has an original plot and characters. In London, during the Blitz of 1941, Francis Hancock, an undertaker of Indian origins - therefore considered an outsider even though he's a Londoner - is tasked with burying victims that have been mutilated and found in bombed ruins. It is believed that they were all White Feather Girls during WWI. Hancock suffers what was called "shell shock" that has affected him ever since that war so the idea of being given a white feather indicating show more cowardice is especially offensive. But when he discovers his sister was one of them, he is anxious to prevent her from becoming another casualty.

I've always liked mysteries with something unique and the protagonist Francis Hancock, Indian undertaker, satisfies that penchant. While the murder method is somewhat gruesome, the story is not funereal and the London patois and humour keeps things light. The mid-century funeral customs were interesting too. Nadel has done a top-notch job of describing wartime conditions. This is a re-read and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. I'm looking forward to re-visiting the rest of the series. show less