A review by mg_in_md_
Arabesk by Barbara Nadel

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.