Belshazzar's Daughter

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 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-- show more 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

Belshazzar’s Daughter is the first book featuring Inspector Cetin Ikmen, and is set in modern day Istanbul, Turkey. Ikmen's wife Is pregnant with their ninth child, his elderly father lives with them, and he's just been called to the scene of a horrific crime. An elderly Jewish man has been tortured and murdered and it appears that a bloody swastika has been drawn on the wall with the victim's blood.

Ikmen is a strange character in that he works slowly and meticulously, reconstructing each victim's life in an attempt to understand why the crime was committed. This brings him into direct conflict with his superiors who just want the job done quickly.

I really enjoyed the multicultural characters that surround Ikmen, especially his second show more in command, Suleyman, who is incredibly handsome and a devout Muslim. Nadel has a real talent for letting her reader's feel and experience the authentic streets of Istanbul in both it's beauty and squalor. I didn't love this book, but I'm still planning to read the next book in the series. I think it has great potential and Ikmen is a character worth spending a little more time with. show less

i started out liking this from the get-go. the writing was good, the setting was atypical to me and well described, and the characters interesting (although mostly unlikable). so i enjoyed reading it, even as i wasn't so interested in the "why" of the murder; that part (which is major!) just didn't grab me. i should say that i was interested in the "why," until it was explained, and then it just felt a bit like a let down to me. and i saw no reason at all for maria to explain to robert the details of it all, which is how we learn it. that needed to be done some other way. but overall, this was pretty good. even if i almost choked on all of the cigarettes they smoke throughout.

I really enjoyed the characterisation of Cetin Ikmen, his colleagues and family. I also liked having Istanbul as the setting of a murder mystery. Pacing was great, as well not always being sure who was narrating the entry points (most of the characters narrate their version of the current circumstance). What I didn't like was the ending - not enough that it spoiled the book, but after such a strong set up, found it a bit lame. Nevermind, will still move onto Inspector Ikmen Mystery 2.

Since I read this for a book group I read it twice (otherwise I go so fast I tend to miss the details.) Would have given it 3 stars the first time, but liked it better upon re-reading. Beautifully written, love the characters of Inspector Ikmen and his constable Suleyman, just didn't care much for the other people, which was the way it was supposed to be. Also liked the fact that in the end you knew more than Ikmen, since you'd been hearing from the other characters, but still he was able to bring closure to the case. Ikmen lives in two worlds, where superstition and science meet, has realistic relationships with his father and his wife. I now need to read more in the series to find out whether Suleyman is able to escape his seemingly show more predestined fate. show less

This mystery, set in Istanbul, Turkey, features Inspector Cetin Ikmen and Sergeant Mehmet Suleyman. The body of a Jewish man is found, having been horribly mutilated by sulfuric acid with a swastika of the man's own blood painted on the wall. An English teacher appears to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He thought he spotted his girlfriend in the area and fears that she may have committed the crime. The girl's grandmother and family does have a tie with the man as does a prominent businessman who is a known Nazi sympathizer. The puzzle is quite perplexing. I loved this novel for its writing and Turkish atmosphere for about two-thirds of the novel, then it started getting a bit far-fetched. There are some sexual scenes and some show more minor foul language that I would have preferred to not be included. Still, I liked the novel well enough that I would probably read the second one in the series. show less

When an elderly Jewish man is brutally murdered in Istanbul's old Jewish neighborhood, Inspector Ikmen's investigation takes him to the few names in his address book – a local rabbi who provides some background, and two suspects - an elderly Russian emigree who lives a strange life shut in her home with her equally odd family, and an elderly German with Nazi sympathies. Also, on the list of suspects and odd characters is an Englishman who happened to be on the street outside at the times of the murder, and who happens to be involved with the granddaughter of the old Russian woman.
I mostly enjoyed this book, although at times it was cringe inducing because of the unbelievable behaviors of the characters. But, if you can suspend your show more disbelief, you should enjoy this. show less