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mg_in_md_'s review
3.0
Read in conjunction with [b:An Evil Eye|6995671|An Evil Eye (Yashim the Eunuch, #4)|Jason Goodwin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1312065136s/6995671.jpg|7238601] for a book club, I enjoyed this one, which was the "modern" offering in the "then-and-now" theme of the book club. Set in Istanbul, this is the third book in the Inspector Ikmen mystery series (a new one to me). In this installment, Inspector Ikmen is at home on sick leave and must entrust his protege Suleyman with taking the lead in a murder investigation. The wife of a wildly popular Arabesk singer is found murdered at home and the couple's baby has gone missing, so this case is exceptionally high profile, especially when the singer's relationship with an aging Turkish super star singer is revealed. The story weaves in various aspects of Turkish society, which enhanced the story overall. Although I did deduce the killer's identity before it was revealed, I still enjoyed the book and feel like I learned something about Turkey -- a country I don't know much about but am interested in learning more based on reading this book.
sandin954's review
4.0
Another fine entry in this police procedural series set in Istanbul. The plot, which blended the Arabesk music scene with a lesser known religion found in the far east of Turkey, was serviceable. The real draw of this series though is the authentic seeming atmosphere and the characters who run the gamut of Turkey's various ethnic and religious groups.
liberrydude's review
3.0
It's a shame Barbara Nadel is not as well known as other mystery writers. It's hard to get her books. This is the third in the series and Inspector Ikmen goes off his sick leave to help his protege work a murder case. The victim is the wife of a Kurdish pop singer of the music genre Arabesk-melancholy music from the countryside. The obvious suspects are an adult with Down Syndrome and aging bitch of a Turkish diva/cougar. A very insightful look into the tension in Turkey between the urbanites and the peasants of the countryside as well as the Turks and the Kurds (Mountain Turks). We also gain a glimpse into the Ottoman past of eunachs and Ikmen's Albanian heritage. But what's even more interesting is the mention of an obscure Kurdish religion/cult of devil worshippers who are reviled--Yezidees.
roshk99's review
4.0
An excellent mystery with an unusual setting (Istanbul), where the complex tensions between ethnic groups, religion, etc. are brought to light in a seemingly simple murder.
innashtakser's review
5.0
A detective novel about poisoned wife of a popular singer turns into a story of multi-cultural contemporary Turkey, with its various religions and ethnicities. This time the background is the Yezidi community to which the murdered woman and her husband secretly belong, the poverty of the Kurds, and the story of a dying Greek woman confessing to murdering her eunuch husband and burying him under a fig tree many years go. And then part of the story is about popular music. Overall, as usual in these series, there is an amazing feel of the city - an ancient place with its prejudices, its tolerances, and its constantly emerging secrets. I love it.
bernab's review
4.0
Very decent and cleverly built detective/mystery novel. I enjoyed reading it a lot. As a Turk, it was very interesting to read a book by the author who knew about us so accurately. I will definitely read other novels by Barbara Nadel.
brummelfaoro's review
This book was great! I love learning about cultures different form mine and the mystery is always good! Thank You!!
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