The House of Four by Barbara Nadel
I have to admit, first up, that I’m a long-time fan of the Barbara Nadel Ikmen series set in Istanbul. That’s because her stories, full of fascinating twists and turns, never disappoint. The House of Four is no exception. What makes it even better for me is it’s largely set on the Asian side of Istanbul where I live, and features a real near wreck of a house just across the road from my favourite ice cream shop. Whenever I go there for a treat, I’ve often sat at one of the street side tables and speculated about the mansion’s former inhabitants while eating my ice cream. Turning the pages of the The House of Four I felt I was walking my local streets alongside the crusty Inspector Çetin Ikmen himself, and getting a special insight into Istanbul’s not so distant multicultural past.
Four elderly members of the same once influential family are found murdered in their beds, all killed in the same way, on the same day. Across the city, in the Grand Bazaar, on Galata Bridge and on a tram, individuals are killed in seemingly random acts. Aided by Inspector Mehmet Süleyman, Inspector Ikmen delves into their past and can find no links, until the arrest of a young drug addicted couple who claim to have been in the Devil’s House. As usual the dark and brooding Inspector Süleyman finds himself unable to give into temptation when he meets brilliant linguist and lush newcomer Constable Barçın Demirtaş.
Don’t wait to immerse yourself in Istanbul’s dark side – get your copy here and start reading right away. Ikmen’s world is addictive so make sure you put Barbara Nadel’s latest book, Incorruptible, released last month, on your reading list too.
Title: The House of Four
Publisher: Headline
Date: April, 2014
ISBN: 978-1472234650