Barbara Nadel Books

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Barbara Nadel is a British author that writes mysteries. Born in the East End (London), she has lived a colorful life. Her community was a cultural melting pot that exposed the author to numerous traditions and languages.

Over time, she incorporated Hindi, Yiddish, and even Romani words into her vocabulary. It wasn’t particularly surprising to her friends and family when she decided to write mystery novels that utilized the cultures, traditions, and languages she had encountered as a child.

The author is best known for the numerous novels she has written about the Istanbul Police force. Getting her Inspector Ikmen Mystery stories published was difficult.

Nadel, an avid fan of crime fiction, decided to introduce Inspector Ikmen to the world because she was well-acquainted with Turkey, and yet she couldn’t find any crime fiction set in the country.

She decided to write stories that would fill that particular gap in the market. But the publishing industry resisted her. Not only were readers unfamiliar with Turkey, but the Turkish police terrified them.

For her part, Nadel made many mistakes because she did not understand the publishing industry. Fortunately, she landed an agent (Juliet Burton) who gave her the guidance she needed to get her mystery series published.

Nadel was a passionate reader during her childhood. The author would frequent the library. But she did not pursue publishing, not at the start. As a young adult, she studied psychology before dedicating several years of her life to the field.

Besides working in psychiatric hospitals and lending her talents to the National Schizophrenia Fellowship’s Good Companion Service, she also helped sexually abused teens.

She takes every opportunity that comes her way to talk about mental health and the stigma it attracts in modern society. Nadel was working at a psychiatric hospital when she decided to write her first novel. Though, back then, she never thought it would secure a publisher.

At the time, she wrote because she wanted to relax. Later on, the activity became her full-time career. She tries to write every single day. If Nadel has distractions down the line that may disrupt her work, she will use her free hours to get some extra writing done. This allows her to take several weeks in the future off.

Her inspiration comes from what she sees and hears around her, including conversations on the street, occurrences on the bus, TV shows, and more. She enjoys writing about characters like Mumtaz that people rarely see in fiction.

Though, she knows that getting readers to empathize with headscarfed Muslim women like Mumtaz is easier said than done.

Barbara Nadel Awards

Nadel won the CWA Silver Dagger, Flintyxan Award, and the London Borough of Redbridge Award.

Best Barbara Nadel Books

The author is married. She has a son who’s a published academic. Nadel’s best books include:

Belshazzar’s Daughter: People like Leonid Meyer are not a common sight. Tourists flock to Istanbul because the authorities promote it as a vibrant city. But Balat, a narrow, decrepit neighborhood, is far from vibrant. Visitors rarely interact with this corner of Istanbul.

Leonid came to Balat seeking refuge. The elderly Jew’s story was nothing new. Many of his neighbors escaped various bloodbaths in Europe. Whatever Leonid thought of Balat when he first arrived, he did not expect the neighborhood to become his final resisting place.

People were quick to blame his death on racists. After all, a swastika was found at the scene. But Ikmen was not convinced. The inspector started navigating a long list of potential witnesses and suspects, determined to find the truth.

The Ottoman Cage: While Istanbul’s justice system had destroyed many relationships, it had only served to strengthen Ikmen and Arto’s friendship. The Inspector and forensic pathologist had known each other since childhood.

Nothing could break their bond, or so they thought. When a 21-year-old died, Ikmen and Arto were tasked with solving the case. But every clue they found raised new questions, and Ikmen couldn’t find the answers.

No one had seen the victim arrive or leave. Even more disturbing was his weathered physique. Clearly, the dead man had spent a lot of time in a gilded cage.

Ikmen’s investigation was starting to point to the Armenian man that had supposedly visited the flat. The development was problematic because Arto, an Armenian, was showing signs of distress, signs that made Ikmen uncomfortable.

When Does The Next Barbara Nadel book come out?

Barbara Nadel doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Darkest Night and was released on May, 9th 2024. It is the newest book in the Inspector Ikmen Series.

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