Posted:
December 13, 2020
Book Review
Nadel, Barbara (1999). Belshazzar’s Daughter.
This is Barbara Nadel’s first published novel. Set in Istanbul, this book is a baroque ramble through on of the world’s beautiful, exotic old cities. Nadel’s I pride of place makes the reader think of Donna Leon, Michael Dibdin and Martin Walker, all writers who build their stories around the intimate excitement of a far-off region.
The author introduces Inspector Çetin Ikmen, a delightful chain-smoking character with a huge family and Fatima, a seemingly always pregnant and devoted wife. Ikmen, a Muslim, also has an unquenchable thirst for brandy. He is a reasonable and deductive spirit susceptible to infusions of other-worldly insight. In all, Ikmen is the perfect character to carry this wide-ranging story. Since this novel Nadel has published 20 more in the Ikman series and 10 more in two other series. In her flagship works Inspector Ikman is a detective on the Istanbul police