The Ottoman Cage: A Novel of Istanbul
3.5/5
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About this ebook
Barbara Nadel's The Ottoman Cage is a spicy thriller set in Istanbul's back alleys.
Inspector Cetin Ikmen and forensic pathologist Arto Sarkissian have been friends since childhood, and their work together in Istanbul's criminal justice system has only served to cement their friendship. When they're both called to a flat to investigate the death of a twenty-year-old, there is no reason to think their relationship will alter.
The case, however, is a strange one. Ikmen learns from the neighbours that they have never seen the man enter or leave the flat. The only visitor they're aware of is a solitary, well-dressed Armenian. Stranger still is that the limbs of the body are withered, and the victim seems to have been kept prisoner inside a gilded cage. What is it that's making Ikmen's old friend Arto, himself an Armenian, especially uncomfortable about the case?
Barbara Nadel
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. She is the author of Belshazzar's Daughter and The Ottoman Cage.
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Reviews for The Ottoman Cage
6 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two years ago, the first book in this series, Belshazzar's Daughter, was one of the best books I read. I've taken entirely too long to get back to this series, and I picked up The Ottoman Cage with a great deal of anticipation. I enjoyed watching the wily Inspector Ikmen at work, but at times it felt as though there was too much going on for one book.The book felt too long and moved as slowly as molasses in January throughout the murder investigation. It revealed itself much too slowly, undoubtedly due more to modern attitudes in Turkey toward the Armenian genocide than to its ties to the customs of the old Ottoman Empire. The murderer's identity was very clear to me early on, and as the investigation dragged on, I found myself becoming impatient.There is also a lot of Ikmen's personal life in this book, but I did not find these parts intrusive at all. Quite the contrary, they illuminated the inspector's character and revealed elements of his personality that prove he isn't always as charming as he was in the first book. Ikmen, married and with nine children, has his elderly father living with them. Timür (and the entire family for that matter) is suffering from his advanced dementia. It's particularly difficult for Ikmen's wife, Fatma, who has debilitating health problems of her own. Nadel does an excellent job showing us not only how these two problems tear at the fabric of the family, but how Ikmen's coping mechanisms have a profound effect as well.Although the pace dragged and I became impatient from time to time, I'm glad that I read the book. Nadel has created a marvelous character in Çetin Ikmen, and she brings Istanbul and the country of Turkey to life. I'm looking forward to book number three.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5fantastic book. except for the psychiatrist's spin at the end. didn't flow with the novel, was too clearly the author's platform. would have worked better as an author's note at the end.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Detective novel set in Istanbul, Turkey. Well written and includes lots of side information about Turkish history and culture.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An interesting procedural set in contemporary Istanbul that provides memorable characters and a vivid slice of life in that city. However, the villain is so obvious, so straight out of Central Casting, it seems impossible for the police to take so long to identify him. Both the villain's obligatory boasting of his crimes and the denouement are extraordinarily protracted.