A review by liberrydude
Arabesk by Barbara Nadel

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.