GREED, LUST AND BETRAYAL LEAD TO MURDER in Barbara Nadel’s twenty-third Ikmen mystery, as Ikmen and Süleyman work to uncover a tragic tale of dark secrets and double lives…
In the early hours of the morning, Turkish TV star Erol Gencer is found dead at his home on the outskirts of Istanbul. But he is not alone. Beside him lies a Syrian refugee whose stomach has been split open with a cheese knife. Did Gencer kill his guest before committing suicide, or are they victims of a sinister double murder?
The dead Syrian is soon identified as Wael Al Hussain, whose wife, Samira, is in prison for attempting to kill Gencer a year ago. At the time, no one believed Samira’s story that Gencer’s wife had planned the attack, but now Samira’s sister begs Çetin Ikmen to re-examine her claim.
Meanwhile, Inspector Mehmet Süleyman is on leave with his teenage son, Patrick, who is visiting from Ireland, but when Detective Kerim Gürsel’s transsexual ex-lover, Pembe, is also murdered, shortly after confessing that Wael Al Hussain had used her for sexual favours, Süleyman knows he must help Kerim solve this complex case.
Entering a world of the Syrian diaspora, where tales of mythical storytellers abound, Ikmen and Süleyman uncover a tragic tale of dark secrets and double lives where nothing is at it seems…
In the early hours of the morning, Turkish TV star Erol Gencer is found dead at his home on the outskirts of Istanbul. But he is not alone. Beside him lies a Syrian refugee whose stomach has been split open with a cheese knife. Did Gencer kill his guest before committing suicide, or are they victims of a sinister double murder?
The dead Syrian is soon identified as Wael Al Hussain, whose wife, Samira, is in prison for attempting to kill Gencer a year ago. At the time, no one believed Samira’s story that Gencer’s wife had planned the attack, but now Samira’s sister begs Çetin Ikmen to re-examine her claim.
Meanwhile, Inspector Mehmet Süleyman is on leave with his teenage son, Patrick, who is visiting from Ireland, but when Detective Kerim Gürsel’s transsexual ex-lover, Pembe, is also murdered, shortly after confessing that Wael Al Hussain had used her for sexual favours, Süleyman knows he must help Kerim solve this complex case.
Entering a world of the Syrian diaspora, where tales of mythical storytellers abound, Ikmen and Süleyman uncover a tragic tale of dark secrets and double lives where nothing is at it seems…
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Reviews
Ikmen is one of modern crime fiction's true heroes
Complex and beguiling: a Turkish delight
Ikmen is one of modern crime fiction's true heroes, complex yet likeable, and the city he inhabits - Istanbul - is just as fascinating
Barbara Nadel's distinctive Istanbul-set Inspector Ikmen thrillers combine brightly coloured scene setting with deliciously tortuous plots - the resourceful Ikmen is always struggling with intractable cases
Fans of Barbara Nadel's Inspector Çetin Ikmen have had a front-row seat for the social and political changes that have been happening in Turkey, and revealing insights into the way they've affected the lives of the city's richly diverse inhabitants
Inspector Çetin Ikmen is one of detective fiction's most likeable investigators, despite his grumpy and unsociable character . . . think of him as the Morse of Istanbul
Ikmen and Süleyman form an easygoing if tense partnership as ever, and Nadel has no equal when it comes to summoning the dark side of her fictional environment, behind the glossy image of tourist brochures
Gripping and unusual detective story, vivid and poignant
The delight of Nadel's books is the sense of being taken beneath the surface of an ancient city . . . We look into the alleyways and curious dark quarters of Istanbul, full of complex characters and louche atmosphere