Weavre's review
Belshazzar's Daughter (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries) (Inspector Ikmen Mysteries)
by Barbara Nadel
Weavre's review
Belshazzar's Daughter (Felony & Mayhem Mysteries) (Inspector Ikmen Mysteries) by Barbara Nadel
Weavre's review
rating:
bookshelves:
stories-from-different-cultures
Meh.
The cover art's beautiful, and I liked the idea of "visiting" the exotic Istanbul setting. It turns out, though, that Istanbul's back alleys are too gritty to make a nice vacation even filtered through the pages of a mystery novel. The graphic violence near the beginning turned me off, but was expected in this kind of book, so I kept reading--but there's no real break in the oppressive environment of a seedy, unpleasant place where most people are exploiting everyone else around them for one reason or another.
The story's not bad--I won't type any spoilers--so if anyone's idea of fun summer reading includes hanging out in "Istanbul's decrepit Jewish quarter," then go for it. As for me, I think I may be more in the mood for something a little nicer.
The cover art's beautiful, and I liked the idea of "visiting" the exotic Istanbul setting. It turns out, though, that Istanbul's back alleys are too gritty to make a nice vacation even filtered through the pages of a mystery novel. The graphic violence near the beginning turned me off, but was expected in this kind of book, so I kept reading--but there's no real break in the oppressive environment of a seedy, unpleasant place where most people are exploiting everyone else around them for one reason or another.
The story's not bad--I won't type any spoilers--so if anyone's idea of fun summer reading includes hanging out in "Istanbul's decrepit Jewish quarter," then go for it. As for me, I think I may be more in the mood for something a little nicer.
