I have recently come across the novels of Barbara Nadel. Since she started publishing in 1999 this is a little tardy. I am reading her police detective murder stories set in Instanbul where we follow chain-smoking, hard-drinking, Inspective Cetin Ikmen through familiar Istanbul tourist settings and unknown (to me) seedy backwaters. The books not of the 'who dunnit?' variety, since the culprit is often clear from about half way through, but are well written and with memorable characters. There are interesting observations on the Turkish class and status system: with distinctions between village and city; Moslem, Christian (Greek, Armenian, Russian)and Jewish; Turks, Kurds and old Ottomans; the (Ottoman) nobility, the professional middle class and the "lamacun-eating classes" (as one character refers to them); and so on. I am not well enough informed about Turkish society to be able to tell how plausible these discussions are, but they do remind me of some of the conversations I have had with Turkish colleagues and acquaintances (e.g. on the subject of dolmuses - "My family doesn't travel on public transport", on Turkish food - "We don't eat bread in my house", on getting past a university doorman - "I told him I was a graduate of the university and the rector was a family friend so he could let us pass". All of this adds an interesting colour to what are already nice-plotted stories.
So far I have read the first two of the series - Belshazzar's Daughter, and The Chemical Prison - and am now on Arabesk.
