Harem

Inspector Ikmen #5

by Barbara Nadel

The body of a teenage girl is discovered in a cistern deep below the city of Istanbul. For the Turkish police force's most talented officer, Inspector Çetin Ikmen, this is a difficult case. The girl was his daughter's friend and her attire, that of a nineteenth-century Ottoman, offers no easy explanation.With his promise of justice to the dead girl's mother still fresh on his lips, Ikmen is suddenly taken off the case and reassigned to the kidnapping of an ageing movie star's wife. The star is hiding something and so, Ikmen fears, are his superiors. A powerful secret exists in the labyrinthine city; one which those on either side of the law will do anything to prevent surfacing...

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Detective, Death

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 3, 2003

About the author

Barbara Nadel is an English crime-writer. Many of her books are set in Turkey. Born in the East End of London, Barbara Nadel trained as an actress before becoming a writer. Now writing full-time, she has previously worked as a public relations officer for the National Schizophrenia Fellowship's Good Companion Service and as a mental health advocate for the mentally disordered in a psychiatric hospital. She has also worked with sexually abused teenagers and taught psychology in schools and colleges, and is currently the patron of a charity that cares for those in emotional and mental distress. She has been a regular visitor to Turkey for more than twenty-five years.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fifth story in the fascinating Turkey set Çetin İkmen series sees an apparent gang-rape murder of İkmen's daughter's friend open a hornet's nest of a conspiracy rooted in prostitution and corruption in Istanbul. İkmen, Iskender and Suleyman find that they have no idea who they can trust as the bodies mount up and even more bizarrely witnesses escape from police protection. One of the darker books in the series and quite a good read. 6 out of 12, Three Stars.

2012 read

[Χρύσα Βασιλείου · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ένα από τα σημαντικότερα πράγματα που ψάχνω πάντα στα βιβλία που διαβάζω,είναι το ταξίδι.Θέλω να ταξιδεύω μαζί τους πνευματικά,γεωγραφικά,πολιτισμικά..Το "Χαρέμι" μου πρόσφερε αυτή τη δυνατότητα και είμαι πολύ χαρούμενη γι' αυτό! Όταν μάλιστα το ταξίδι συνδυάζεται με αστυνομική δράση,μυστήριο και έγκλημα,τότε θεωρώ πως έχω βρει τον τέλειο συνδυασμό!
Στο βιβλίο αυτό λοιπόν,που αποτελεί μέρος της σειράς βιβλίων της Barbara Nadel με ήρωα τον επιθεωρητή Τσετίν Ικμέν,ο αναγνώστης γνωρίζει από πρώτο χέρι την Κωνσταντινούπολη - τους ανθρώπους,τα ήθη,τα έθιμα και τις παραδόσεις τους,τα "αρώματά" της,τα μυστικά της,τα μυστήριά της.Η αστυνομική δράση είναι ολοφάνερη σε κάθε σελίδα,οι εξελίξεις διαδέχονται η μία την άλλη σε γρήγορο ρυθμό.Πάντα και παντού όμως παραμονεύει η Πόλη,αποφασισμένη να τυλίξει στα μεταξωτά,πολύχρωμα πέπλα της αυτόν που διαβάζει το βιβλίο.Όλα συνδέονται με την παράδοση,που χάνεται στα βάθη των αιώνων.Όλα ξεκινούν και καταλήγουν εκεί,και ο σύγχρονος πολιτισμός χορεύει σφιχτά αγκαλιασμένος με τα πιστεύω και τις αντιλήψεις προηγούμενων εποχών,με τέτοιο τρόπο που λες πως αποκλείεται το ένα να καταφέρει να επιβιώσει χωρίς το άλλο.

Είναι ολοφάνερο πως η Nadel είναι και λάτρης της ανατολίτικης παράδοσης και της Τουρκίας,αλλά και -ευτυχώς!- άριστη γνώστρια της Πόλης και της ιστορίας.Όλα τα βιβλία της διαδραματίζονται εκεί και είναι παντού διάσπαρτη στο κείμενο η άνεσή της με τον τόπο.Από τα διαδρομές των ηρώων σε οποιαδήποτε συνοικία της Πόλης μέχρι τις ιστορικές αναφορές και από τις παραδόσεις μέχρι τη σκιαγράφηση και των πιο μικρών λεπτομερειών,νομίζει κάποιος πως διαβάζει κάποιον τουριστικό οδηγό!Αξίζει συγχαρητήρια η συγγραφέας,που πραγματικά παρουσιάζει μια ιστορία τόσο καλά δεμένη και τόσο καλογραμμένη,τόσο πλούσια και γεμάτη με την Ανατολή,εκτός από το καθαρά αμιγώς αστυνομικό στοιχείο.

Δεν αρνούμαι πως,προσωπικά,δυσκολεύομαι να αποδεχτώ τις συνήθειες των Τούρκων.Τα έθιμά τους,η κατώτερη θέση και η δουλοπρέπεια των γυναικών,η κοινωνική ανισότητα,τα πιστεύω και ο τρόπος σκέψης τους,η υποταγή στον άντρα και αφέντη του σπιτιού είναι πράγματα εντελώς έξω από μένα και την κοσμοθεωρία μου.Καταλαβαίνω πως μιλάμε για έναν άλλον κόσμο,με έναν τρόπο σκέψης εντελώς διαφορετικό από το 'δυτικό' και το σέβομαι -δεν μπορώ να πω όμως πως το εκτιμώ κιόλας.Γι' αυτό αρχικά σκεφτόμουν πως ίσως αυτό με χαλούσε κάπως..Τελικά δε με ενόχλησε,αν και με ξένισε κάπως.Κι αυτό το οφείλω στη συγγραφέα.Μόνο και μόνο από αυτό το γεγονός,θα με κέρδιζε ούτως ή άλλως!

Το "Χαρέμι" είναι ένα βιβλίο που απόλαυσα πολύ,ήμουν απόλυτα προσηλωμένη στην ιστορία του διαβάζοντάς το,αλλά νομίζω πως θα συνεχίσω να προτιμώ τα αστυνομικά μυστήρια που λαμβάνουν χώρα κάπου στη Δύση.Κατά τη γνώμη μου,όμως,ΑΠΟΚΛΕΙΕΤΑΙ κάποιος λάτρης των αστυνομικών ιστοριών γενικά και της Τουρκίας ειδικά να μην το λατρέψει!Το συστήνω ανεπιφύλακτα!

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always entertaining and interesting. Learn about present and past Istanbul.

[Mehwish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crime thriller. That you buy on a notion that it will kill the boredom of insomnia and when are just pretty much bored of your own ponderings over conspiracy theories, tedious travelings and visiting relatives.

It is quick read; how you opt to skim the repeated content. Especially when the character is a chain-smoker and in every page or two he is lighting his cigarette (if only I knew how it feels)

The plot was ambitious and steady. Too many characters in it which made it somewhat exciting for me. I like multi dimensional perspective stories which however makes it repetitive. Confidentiality is the fundamental aspect of the novel.

The plot is of few criminal Turks making clandestine Harem underground Istanbul resembling the ancient tendency of secrecy and festal accessible to personages beyond commonplace involving lewdness and a murder of a girl of which mystery is being pursued by the most idiosyncratic and talented officer of Turkey. However it's not easy for him as he surmises how huge the influential people are behind it and ironically he's being controlled by them. There is manipulation and distortion of truth for the common people.

[Spuddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I love foreign-based mysteries (this one is in Istanbul, Turkey)...they do all seem to share some common themes that get old and wearying after awhile, such as corruption in the police and government, with no real resolution even when the mystery is solved. I love this main character--Cetin Ikmen, a chain-smoking atheist who is married to Fatma, a devout Muslim. They have nine children and live in a crowded apartment, mostly because Ikmen is squeaky clean and doesn't take bribes. His group of co-workers and friends are also very interesting. This is the fourth in series (with many more to come) and despite my enjoyment of the character and the culture immersion provided by the book, the mystery itself was destined to be disappointing and I foresee the same thing happening with others in the series. I will likely carry on...the books are well written and as I said, interesting from a cultural perspective. But I will continue to leave lots of space between them.

[Ines · Rating 1 out of 5]

i don’t even know what to say about this book…bland characters, misogyny everywhere you look, secondary victimization and traumatization, too many details that don’t drive the plot. women get bossed around, sexually abused or cheated on, which they seem to know all about but don’t seem to care that it’s happening. most women characters were married and had children or were young adults. the first single woman in the book gets horribly abused by her married lover. but she desperately wants to get married and gets blamed as a cheater (only her because men can fucking do whatever they want). the second single woman is characterized as a sick, autistic individual. the Heper sisters are old so not attractive. men regularly lose their temper and scream at each other when someone asks questions or hasn’t their opinion. a lot of them cheat. all of this seems antiquated, even when set in modern turkey.

the plot is slow, which i don’t mind, but a bit all over the place and unbelievable at the end. i liked the plethora of characters and the author did well to remind us where they belong. the main character was okay, but no one needs to know that he smokes like an outgoing fire.

i like crime novels, but i’ve learned with this book that i need at least one strong female character to enjoy it. therefore first and last read for me from this author.

[Melinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story took some time to build up, to the point where it was kind of being dragged out and boring me. It did mention some stuff, like post natal depression, which isn't usually talked about much. The harem is also built up quite a bit (like this thing has been operating for years but it has always been discreet until someone pushed too far resulting in the death of a girl), but when the big reveal and show down happened, it was all so rushed and immediately hushed up (who is G? the special ops?), it felt like the story was building up to nothing at all.

The names were hard to keep straight as most of the characters were pretty bland and not distinguishable between each other. Plus with a setting in Turkey, you would thinking things would be interesting, but nope the writing got lost somewhere along the way and we are left with a story that barely went anywhere.

[LuAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compelling, complex, disturbing. As much as I like Inspector Ikmen and the family and friendship dynamics, the crimes are too disturbing for me to want to read more of these. Having been to Istanbul, I appreciate the setting. There are so many characters that I finally made a list to keep them all straight—unusually, the author goes into detail about even family members not involved in the main plot of several of the characters, maybe to make the main ones more realistic and the dangers they face more threatening?

[Tsk Calder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harem (Inspector İkmen Mystery 5) - by Barbara Nadel

Well, much more involved plot, but then a throwback to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, İkmen speaking: “’If all life, as some believe, is an illusion anyway, then who are we to say what is and isn’t so?’ İkmen smiled. ‘And what was it Sherlock Holmes use to say? When you’ve ruled out all other logical explanations, whatever remains, however improbable, has to be the solution, or in this case the reality.’” Loc3745 69%
The mystery is worldwide – conspiracy theories within the detective novel.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not been back to Turkey for a good ten years after living there for 13 years. So this book brought back many memories. The plot was excellent. I have fallen in love with çetın İkmen. someone not to familiar with the country I think would find this quite interesting . i will be reading the rest of Çetın`s books and i hope his integrity stays with him. I would prefer less sex but the book's subject did call for it. i do recommend it.

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fifth book in a fascinating series that combines the world of crime in Istanbul and historical traditions and events from past centuries and times. This is a complex tale and could be considered to be stretching a point but in world of conspiracy theories and global power and corruption within and between governments ...who knows!
The indisputable fact is the worldly humanity embracing character of Cetin Ikmen that keeps these books so special.

[AGMaynard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read parts of two other Inspector Ikmen novels. Good immersion in modern and historical Turkey. This one reaches back into the Ottoman past for traditions while looking at a modern sex trafficking scheme.

[Victoria Sayar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these Books

As ever, another great read from the most wonderful Barbara Nadel. I've lived in Turkey for 16 years yet she has introduced me to so much I didn't know about Istanbul and her stories are so well written with such wonderful true to life characters.

[Gail Dennehy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series to get lost in. Within modern Istanbul, a good man fights against unspeakable horrors. Nadel introduces you to the poverty and wealth of an ancient city struggling to keep up with the modern world.

[Christine Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for something different in crime fiction these may just what you need. Rich characters, plots with their origin in the times of the Arabian Nights, well written and absorbing. They could only be set in a country like Turkey.

[E B Halton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant read

Whatever criticism can be levelled at the scariness of the denouement nothing can take away from the brilliance of the plot, the wonderful characters and towering above them all the unlikely hero of Cetin Ikmen. A masterpiece from Barbara Nader.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was the best one so far. cetin ikmen has become a more complex character .

[Jan Stiernelof · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not easy to follow the story when people have names like Cetin, Fatma, Talaat, Babur, Ardic, Aysel
and so on. Which one is female and who is male? No too confusing I gave up after 90 pages.

[Eugene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did. #5 in a series featuring Turkish policeman Çetin Îkmen, who is a very interesting character, and the modern Istanbul setting is intriguing. Nadel writes well, and the storylines are always interesting.
Here, an adolescent girl has been found dead in mysterious circumstances in an ancient cistern deep below the surface of the city. The girl was a neighbor to Ikmen’s family and a friend of his daughter, Hulya. Ikmen promises the girl’s mother that he’ll bring to account anyone responsible for the girl’s death and so our story begins.
While dense and often confusing, the first part of the book is quite captivating and so one turns the pages with anticipation. Unfortunately, for me, the story devolves into one of sexual perversion and violence, sometimes graphically related and rather offputting. Later, the story turns toward a sort of “deep state” conspiracy motif, and largely loses my willing sense of disbelief...as well, the large cast of characters with very foreign names is difficult to keep sorted out, with the result that I mostly kept reading only to see the solution, which turns out to be very ambiguous and not all that satisfying.
I have read a couple others in this series, and I expect at some time I’ll pick up another, but for now I need a break...

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspector Ikmen rocks in this page turning thriller. But the rock of Ikmen's integrity is tested to its limits in this book. Ikmen begins investigating the murder of one his daughter's coworkers and is swept into an international conspiracy theorist's dream about sex and power. Meanwhile on the homefront his daughter is falling in love with a Jewish boy, his brother-in-law is moving in with him to die, and one of his officers is engaging in some inappropriate behavior. At the same time a Turkish movie star from Hollywood returns home to become the focus of Ikmen's attention and we get to visit the sewers and the underground of Istanbul. The thing I love most about Ikmen is how different he is from all the other stereotypical policemen in crime fiction who are all career focused, lonely, divorced, and like to drink. Ikmen has nine kids and lives in a crowded apartment. He is devoted to his job but also to his family and his wife, Fatima. Needless to say he couldn't spend so much time at work if he didn't have such a good partner in his wife. In this episode Fatima is gone most of the time so Ikmen gets to bond with his teenage daughter who has always been a source of concern to him.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este não é o género de livro que costumo apreciar. Associado, desde há uns anos que as traduções para português me fazem revirar os olhos. Assim, as espectativas inicias eram francamente baixas.
No entanto, este livro surpreendeu-me. Para alguém que dificilmente se deixa cativar por policiais, dei por mim sempre a questionar-me como tudo se ligava. A verdade é que me prendeu até ao fim. A cadência foi excelente. E o fim não era nada expetável e estranhamente realista. A autora não caiu na tentação de criar um personagem principal impossível que se liberta de todas as situações. Ikmen é extremamente humano e credível.
Adorei toda a descrição do império otomano, os seus costumes e caraterísticas; bem como, do vislumbre da Turquia. Toda a crítica social e política implícita na história tornaram-na ainda melhor.
A tradução também me pareceu de boa qualidade.
Sem duvida vou voltar a ler outros livros desta autora.

[Jessica - How Jessica Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book redolent of the mysteries and secrets hidden in Istanbul since Ottoman times. Inspector Ikmen must simultaneouly attempt to solve the disappearence of a famous actor's wife, and the brutal rape of a young girl, while simultaneously dealing with his recalcitrant teenagers, and the complications surrounding the birth of his colleague Suleyman's son. If you're into big conspiracy theory type mysteries, as well as some characters with creepy sexual tendencies, this book will be right up your alley.

[Jack Laschenski · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK!

Dead girls in 19th century Odalisk costumes.

A Turkish move star in Hollywood.

Decapitation as a persuader.

American mafia connections (they lose!)

Cisterns and tunnels beneath Istanbul.

A police psychiatrist with serious post-partum depression

A teenage police officer's Turkish daughter in love with a beautiful Jewish boy

Want to throw anything else into this stew????

Couldn't put it down.

Barbara wins again.

[Irismacpherson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting mystery set in Istanbul. Not my kind of book. I had a hard time following characters re turkish names. I liked the main detective Cetin Ikemen but did we have to hear how many times he lit a cigarette. I felt the plot was too ambitious and unruly. In the end I was uncertain what was what. Some parts were too simplistic. Hard to believe the police didn't know about the Harem when street people did. Did not make me feel i would like to visit Turkey anytime soon

[Glitter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an OK book which I read in segments, brokenly due to the rather mediocre plot and extensive backgrounds on cheating characters of this book. The conclusion was a disappontment and I'm rather upset at the hopeless stance the writer has taken in concluding this detective/crime-style plot. I might try reading other works of this author in the future however, just to see whether I unjustly berated this piece.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspector Ikmen begins by trying to solve the case of the brutal death of a teenage girl, a friend of his daughter's. Before he is finished he has stirred up old hidden crimes and he is left disillusioned because he has to kowtow to powers beyond his control if he is to keep his family and friends safe.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Istanbul – hard to wrap my head around the numerous Turkish names – a tale about the discovery of a teenage girl dressed in the attire of a nineteenth century Ottoman Odalisque. The victim is the daughter of investigator Ikmen’s daugher. Deep mystery with connections to the Russian, Sicilian, and Turkish mafia. Different – I liked it.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I might have liked this book better - if I started earlier in the series - a great mystery/dective character - did get a little lost with uncommon names for characters - can't help but happen - with the book being set in Turkey.

[Sue]

Gave up three-quarters of the way through. Kept getting distracted by better books. It's an okay read if you are interested in learning about Turkey. The mystery is kind of weak, I got tired of waiting for it to reveal itself in the plot.