Belshazzar's Daughter (Inspector Ikmen, 1) (Volume 1)

Tourist brochures present Istanbul as a glamorous, modern city, but the brochures don't make much mention of Balat, a decrepit neighborhood of narrow, twisting alleys and crumbling tenements. Until recently it was home to Leonid Meyer, a reclusive elderly Jew who, like many of his neighbors, came here long ago to escape one of Europe's various bloodbaths. But Meyer's refuge ultimately became his coffin, the carnage crowned with a gigantic swastika. Inspector Ikmen begins tracking down the few people who might have known the old man, including a faded prostitute, a shadowy family of Russian emigrs, a despairing rabbi, and a high-strung young Englishman in the throes of erotic obsession.

<div>Barbara Nadel was born and bred in London. Trained as an actress, she is now a public relations officer for the National schizophrenia Fellowship's Good Companions Service. She loves Turkey and has been a regular visitor there for over 20 years.
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