Barbara Nadel

Advantages: sounds promising
Disadvantages: isn't though

...´Barbara Nadel, the Donna Leon of Istanbul´. Would such a recommendation catch your eye? It caught mine me as I´ve read all of Donna Leon´s thrillers set in Venice and know that with one weak exception (see my review ´The Dark Sides Of Venice´) she´s succeeded in intertwining a thrilling crime action with the historical and topical situation of the town. If Ms Nadel has been able to do the same with Istanbul, I wanted to read her books, especially as I planned to go to Istanbul last yeat at Easter. What better introduction could there be? ´Belshazzar´s Daughter´ is Ms Nadel´s first book of a series of five so far (Headline, 6.99 GBP), the synopses of the following books show that the characters she´s introduced here appear also in the following books. In order to be ´used´ throughout a series they must be ´round´ with lots of facets so... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Very readable, interesting look at the world of magic
Disadvantages: Only minor ones

...Two deaths occur in Istanbul, obstensibly with very different causes - one, a girl, was stabbed through the heart after sexual intercourse, whereas the other, a young man, apparently died by his own hand. Yet after some investigation, Inspector Cetin Ikmen and his colleague, Inspector Mehmet Suleyman suspect a link between the two. Tied in with the deaths is the underground Goth scene, Satanic practices, and a missing English magician. On top of that, Inspector Suleyman has to face that the fact that he may have AIDS and that his wife, who left him after he had a relationship with another woman, may never be coming back. Can he put his personal problems aside to find out what force is taking over Istanbul's young people? Having now read a number of Barbara Nadel's books, I knew that I could expect a good yarn with the added advantage... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: better than the book before
Disadvantages: a bit too long

...Now, what does this title mean? It means that the second book of the series of up to now five thrillers Barbara Nadel has set in Istanbul is better than the first. Normally I buy one book of an unknown author and decide after reading it if I want to read more. I was so enthusiastic, though, when I found that someone had written thrillers set in the city I was about to visit that I ordered the first two from amazon together. After finishing the first book I was deeply disappointed (see my op The First Of Five) and thought of selling both books, the second unread, on the next bazaar. Regret about throwing away my valuable money made me thumb through the first pages of ´A Chemical Prison´ and I was hooked! So someone did tell Barbara Nadel to use her knowledge of Istanbul, we read on the first page that she has been a regular visitor... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful