This story is based in Istanbul, and follows in the footsteps of Inspector Cetin Ikmen and his Sergeant Mehmet Suleyman as they try to solve the mystery of an old Jewish man who has been murdered in a most horrific way. The twists and turns include interviewing an old Russian woman who never seems to leave her bed, and a fairly dramatic conclusion.OK, but is the book any good? When I was about two-thirds of the way through, I would have said "No". The book starts off well, and brings the reader straight into the intriguing story, but it falls a bit flat in the middle, in the same way as the police seem to be getting nowhere in solving the mystery.Unfortunately, the heavily stereotyped characters are also somewhat unsympathetic, from the misguided Englishman with a slightly dodgy past, via the young Russian girl with an unusual sexual penchant, down to the main police character, who seems to be permanently drunk. I know crime fiction policemen, such as Ian Rankin's Rebus, do tend to be haggard, overworked alcoholics, but usually they have some sort of redeeming features. Ikmen, on the other hand, did not get my vote, even choosing to ignore the fact that his wife was going into labour (admittedly with their ninth child) and carrying on working.The novel's main redeeming feature is the plot, which although it drifts along in the middle and contained some holes and implausible aspects, does manage to redeem itself in the end. Also the setting in Istanbul and the descriptions of the locations do help to make the whole thing more exotic and bring it to life.Which brings me to the rating - the book had some redeeming features, and was entertaining and intriguing in places, but I couldn't bring myself to give it a 4 out of 5, because its just not good enough. Will I read any more of her books? I'm undecided at the moment. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, this was her first novel so there is certainly the chance that she may have improved...
The exotic setting of this murder mystery is promising: Istanbul, with not only a hard-drinking, chain-smoking detective inspector who happens to be the father of nine children by the same wife but also a young, handsome sergeant, trying to evade his mother's plans for his marriage. The gruesome murder might be a hate crime against Jews, and the suspects include an Englishman who teaches in a language school, a wealthy German businessman who was a Nazi sympathizer, and a very strange family whose matriarch escaped from Russia in 1918. The writing, however, is not as accomplished as a cover blurb proclaims. One example: the Englishman, distressed about his relationship with the Russian family's daughter, visits a colleague, "his stiff upper lip planted firmly on his sleeve for all to see." Perhaps Nadel meant to be clever, but this sounds more like inattentiveness to metaphor, and the generally overwritten quality of the whole book bears that out.
What do You think about Belshazzar's Daughter (2006)?
Having recently fallen in love with Istanbul, I was very excited to read this book. Especially since murder mysteries are my favourite type of genre.Police Inspector Aetin Ikmen, alcoholic, chain-smoking, but somehow endearing, looks into the brutal murder and disfigurement of an aged Jewish immigrant that appears to have neo-Nazi implications. With his youthful colleague Mehmet Suleyman in tow, Ikmen leads us through the back alleys, brothels and barrooms of the city's roughest neighborhoods in an absorbing investigation that involves suspects of many nationalities and mental states, each suffering from a different form of madness or obsession. The character development was, in my opinion, quite good, and the plot started out with a lot of promise. When the last Tsar of Russia was pulled into the tale, I became immediately intrigued. However, by the closing of the book, I began to feel that the final twists were just too much. Ultimately, the book is a bit of a disappointment, but the setting and Turkish characters are strong enough that I will try the second book to see if gets any better.
—Anette
No, sir, I didn't like it. I took this out of the library and by about 50 pages in I was sure I'd tried to read it before. I decided to finish it this time because I didn't want to repeat the cycle a second time. May as well finish it. Flat, cliched characters. No sense of place. Stupid premise involving the possible survival of a Romanov brat. (When are we gonna shelve that?) Irritating woman with a non-consensual gun kink. Spineless, misogynistic character whose backstory comes way to late to make him relatable. An icky misogynistic overlay in general. The two main female characters are manipulative and overbearing and reviled by the men in their lives. The detective's sidekicks mother is a nagging, interfering caricature and the detective's wife is basically barefoot and pregnant for the umpteenth time. Wheee! Honestly, it was awful.
—Katherine
Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel. This is the first book I've read by this author, and I enjoyed it. It is set not too far in the past but refers to the period of the Russian Revolution and things that happened afterwards. Also much through the eyes of an English ex-pat with a bit of past and having trouble keeping it all together. The main character is a very interesting and quite likable Turkish police head of investigations and much of his family in this city. All told, it's a very good read and gives a nice view of people and a place with which I am not that familiar.
—Elli
