A review by howjessicareads
Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel

2.0

The blurb on this book describes Nadel as the "Donna Leon of Istanbul", which is why I picked it up. I don't think this is quite true though--Ikmen is a much more frustrated detective than Leon's Brunetti, and the book has a much darker feel, as well as a completely preposterous ending. I much prefer Donna Leon's books with their realistic portrayal of Italy's corrupt bureaucracy to Nadel's depiction of Istanbul as not only corrupt and superstitious, but also just plain bizarre.