BELSHAZZAR'S DAUGHTER

BELSHAZZAR’S DAUGHTER
Barbara Nadel
304 pages
ISBN: 0-312-31653-4
St. Martin’s Minotaur
1999/ 2004
$23.95

Istanbul is the setting of a brutal murder of an elderly Jewish man, Leonid Meyer, who besides being killed; sulfuric acid was also thrown on his body. A huge swastika was drawn on the wall with the man’s blood. Under his bed is found money, more than an elderly man would have hidden. Çetin Ikmen is the lead detective assigned to find this murderer with Mehmet Suleyman, a younger detective. The only clues are a list of three names in Cyrillic in the back of his otherwise empty address book.
Çetin is a short, sloppy, drinking, intelligent detective who allows his instincts and superstitions to influence his investigation, and fortunately he has been successful in the past with this method. He is married with his ninth child on the way. Also, living under his roof is his father, Timür, who is demanding and a former university professor.

Working as his partner is Mehmet, a single, quiet, clean-living, virginal, and attractive Turkish male from a traditional family. His mother would very much like to see him married to his cousin. The team of Çetin and Mehmet definitely contrast each other, but they also complement each other’s natural abilities.

Ikmen has spent twenty-two years on the police force and is addicted to his work, drinking, and smoking. In regards to smoking, Ikmen “clearly stated that the maximum time between each cigarette should be no greater than three minutes, barring sleep and death”.

For the American reviewers, Ikmen can be compared to Columbo. His pregnant wife, Fatma, is a devout Muslim, who loves and puts up with Ikmen. Fatma enjoys being pregnant and Çetin does not complain about the lack of space or money whenever she wants another child
When Suleyman questions Ikmen about not making progress in this case, Ikmen compares this murder to a shattered mirror. They have all the pieces, but they need to put them together properly to find out the original shape.

With the prejudice, racism, ethnicity, religion, illegal immigration threads running through this book, the pace is slow at the beginning while the foundation of each character is established. After the first half of the book, the reader cannot put the book down. The personal problems of the characters and especially their flaws assist in the realism and the personal voice and perspective of each person. Also, the depth of the personal problems and the solving of the murder help to establish this as a wonderful series with Ikmen and Suleyman in future book.

Barbara Nadel was born in London and regularly visits her family in Turkey. DEEP WATERS, HAREM, A CHEMICAL PRISON, and ARABESK are additional books in the Ikmen series.