Bride Price (Inspector Ikmen Mystery 24)


Book Description

Every relationship comes at a cost in this tense and gripping Turkish mystery from award-winning crime writer Barbara Nadel and featuring Ikmen - 'one of modern crime fiction's true heroes' The Times When jeweller Fahrettin Muftugolu is found dead in his apartment in the Istanbul district of Vefa, it looks like suicide. Searching the jeweller's home, Inspector Mehmet Suleyman and his team come across a hoard of extraordinary artefacts including solid gold religious relics and a mummified human head. But are they real and, if so, who owns these priceless possessions? As his colleagues begin their investigation, Suleyman is distracted by troubles of his own. His wedding to Gonca Serekoglu is days away, but when Gonca receives her bridal bedcover from a Roma haberdasher and discovers that it is covered in blood, she sees this as a curse on their marriage. Suleyman asks his old friend Cetin Ikmen to help him uncover the truth, but the task is not that simple... Meanwhile, as the stories swirling around Muftugolu become increasingly sinister, the dead man's wife appears, laying claim to his valuables, and Suleyman is drawn into a dark and dangerous world of smuggling and savagery . . .







Forfeit (Ikmen Mystery 23)


Book Description

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...




To Love and Be Wise


Book Description

A witty and sophisticated mystery featuring bestselling author Josephine Tey's popular Inspector Alan Grant, a beloved character created by a woman considered to be one of the greatest mystery writers of all time.Literary sherry parties were not Alan Grant's cup of tea. But when the Scotland Yard Inspector arrived to pick up actress Marta Hallard for dinner, he was struck by the handsome young American photographer, Leslie Searle. Author Lavinia Fitch was sure her guest "must have been something very wicked in ancient Greece," and the art colony at Salcott St. Mary would have agreed. Yet Grant heard nothing more of Searle until the news of his disappearance. Had Searle drowned by accident or could he have been murdered by one of his young women admirers? Was it a possible case of suicide or had the photographer simply vanished for reasons of his own?




To Kill a Troubadour


Book Description

When a musician’s new song hits a political nerve, he finds himself in the crosshairs of Spanish nationalists’ ire, and it’s up to Bruno to track down the extremists who seem ready to take deadly measures, in another delightful installment of the internationally acclaimed series featuring Bruno, Chief of Police. Les Troubadours, a folk music group that Bruno has long supported, go viral with their new number, “Song for Catalonia,” when the Spanish government suddenly bans the song. The songwriter, Joel Martin, is a local enthusiast for the old Occitan language of Périgord and the medieval troubadours, and he sympathizes with the Catalan bid for independence. The success of his song provokes outrage among extreme Spanish nationalists. Then, in a stolen car found on a Périgord back road, police discover a distinctive bullet for a state-of-the-art sniper's rifle that can kill at three kilometers, and they fear that Joel might be the intended target. The French and Spanish governments agree to mount a joint operation to stop the assailants, and Bruno is the local man on the spot who mobilizes his resources to track them down. While Bruno tries to keep the peace, his friend Florence reaches out for help. Her abusive ex-husband is about to be paroled from prison and she fears he will return to reclaim their children. Will Bruno and Florence be able to prevent this unwanted visit? Despite the pressures, there is always time for Bruno to savor les plaisirs of the Dordogne around the table with friends.




On the Bone (Inspector Ikmen Mystery 18)


Book Description

Barbara Nadel's gripping Ikmen mysteries are the inspiration behind The Turkish Detective, BBC Two's sensational eight-part TV crime drama series, out now. In Istanbul - the golden city on the Bosphorus - ancient myths and modern evils are at work... On the Bone is the eighteenth novel in the brilliant Istanbul crime thriller series starring Inspector Cetin Ikmen, 'the Morse of Istanbul' (Daily Telegraph), from Barbara Nadel. Perfect for fans of Donna Leon and Lindsey Davis. 'Nadel's evocation of the shady underbelly of modern Turkey is one of the perennial joys of crime fiction' - Mail on Sunday On a buzzing street in the fashionable district of Beyoglu, a young man drops dead. Ümit Kavas's death was natural but the autopsy betrays a shocking truth: his last meal was human flesh. Under desperate pressure from their superiors, Inspector Cetin Ikmen and his colleague Mehmet Süleyman begin their most obscure investigation yet. How did Ümit Kavas, apparently a good, liberal man, come to partake in the greatest taboo of all? Did he act alone? And who was his victim? Soon they find themselves embroiled in a dark web of underground worlds: of Turkey's old secular elite; a community of squatters; and a new gastronomy scene breaking every boundary. But where does the truth lie? What readers are saying about On the Bone: 'Combines beautifully honed storytelling and fascinating insights into life in Istanbul' 'One of her best yet' 'Fascinating in its depiction of the changed Turkish political landscape, and how that change affects the people of Istanbul from all walks of life, from the rich to the poor, the transsexuals to the young married couples, the police departments to the military'




Requiem in La Rossa


Book Description

'Devoured it. Great characters and brilliant use of the history and architecture of Bologna. His best yet' Trevor Wood In the sweltering heat of a Bologna summer, a murderer plans their pièce de résistance... Only in Bologna reads the headline in the Carlino after a professor of music is apparently murdered leaving the opera. But what looks like an open-and-shut case begins to fall apart when English detective Daniel Leicester is tasked with getting the accused man off, and a trail that begins among Bologna's close-knit classical music community leads him to suspect there may be a serial killer at large in the oldest university in the world. And as Bologna trembles with aftershocks following a recent earthquake, the city begins to give up her secrets... Praise for Requiem in La Rossa 'I absolutely loved this book. Bologna is perfectly captured, the crime plot is fresh and intriguing, and the characterisation remains spot on. I found myself totally immersed and swept through this stunner of a story in 24 hours. Highly, highly recommend' Philippa East 'An atmospheric, intelligent crime novel that is an intricate portrait of the heart of Bologna. Beautiful, gripping, and very clever' Victoria Dowd 'A brilliant, involving crime novel' Louise Hare 'Clever and beautifully written... his best yet' Louise Fein 'I was so hooked on story, I read the whole novel in a couple of days despite trying to make it last as I didn't want it to end' Mystery People Praise for Tom Benjamin 'The locale is brought to life . . . the plot keeps you guessing' The Times 'A slow-burning, tense and brooding thriller' The Herald Scotland 'Tom Benjamin's debut novel blows the lid off a political cauldron in which Leftist agitators, property moguls, the police and city elders struggle for survival and dominance' Daily Mail 'It's an immensely promising debut, which leaves the reader feeling they really know the city.' Morning Star 'Another great crime novel set in Bologna' Reader Review 'The mystery smolders away nicely and the wrap-up throws some curve balls. Another indulgent offering in this rewarding series.' Reader Review




The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction


Book Description

The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction takes the reader on a guided tour of the mean streets and blind corners that make up the world’s most popular literary genre. The insider’s book recommends over 200 classic crime novels from masterminds Raymond Chandler and Patricia Highsmith to modern hotshots James Elroy and Patricia Cornwall. You’ll investigate gumshoes, spies, spooks, serial killers, forensic females, prying priests and patsies from the past, present, and future. Complete with extra information on what to read next, all movie adaptions, and illustrated throughout with photos and diagrams ...all the evidence that counts




Belshazzar's Daughter


Book Description

A spicy thriller set in Istanbul's back alleys that the Literary Review (UK) called "exciting, accomplished and original". When a brutal murder shocks Istanbul's rundown Jewish quarter, the Turkish police force unleashes their best weapon - the chain-smoking, brandy-swilling Inspector Cetin Ikmen, husband to a strict Muslim woman (who disapproves of his drinking) and loving father of eight (with another on the way). With a colorful, multi-layered setting and a delicious labyrinthine plot, Barbara Nadel's Belshazzar's Daughter is a stunning and evocative crime debut, and Inspector Ikmen will surely join the ranks of beloved foreign cops Aureilo Zen and Guido Brunetti.




Murder at the Savoy


Book Description

Jim Eldridge, author of the Museum Mysteries, turns his pen to Wartime London's grandest hotels.September 1940: the height of the Blitz. The Savoy Hotel boasts London's strongest air raid shelter with all the luxury expected from one of the capital's most prestigious hotels. It prompts the arrival of a disgruntled crowd from the East End, demanding they be allowed entry and respite from the endless bombing raids. They are given permission to enter and are stunned by the opulence that greets them. The all-clear sounds the next morning and London comes slowly back to life, but not everyone can dust themselves down and carry on. One of the hotel's guests has been discovered dead, stabbed in the back. Detective Chief Inspector Coburg and Sergeant Lampson are called in and the finger of suspicion falls firmly upon the East Londoners, but not everything is as it seems in these sumptuous surroundings.