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Hakim and Arnold #5
Bright Shiny Things
Out of the blue, private investigator and ex-soldier Lee Arnold receives a visit from an old army mate. Abbas al'Barri worked as a translator with him during the Second Iraq War. Now living in Ilford with his family, Abbas is convinced that he's had a message from his estranged son Fayyaad, who was radicalised and was last thought to be fighting for ISIL in Iraq. Does Fayyaad's message indicate a change of heart? Abbas is desperate for Lee's help in establishing some contact with him, a point with which Lee's Muslim assistant Mumtaz might be able to help.
From the bright lights of the Western world, to the murky online recruitment techniques of radical Islamism, Lee and Mumtaz have little to guide them in who to trust as they begin a journey into the belly of the beast.
From the bright lights of the Western world, to the murky online recruitment techniques of radical Islamism, Lee and Mumtaz have little to guide them in who to trust as they begin a journey into the belly of the beast.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published April 20, 2017
About the author
Barbara Nadel
61 books213 followersBarbara 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.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 18, 2018
This audiobook has some excellent feedback but I found it a struggle to listen to most of the time.
Listening to the story it made you realise how people can be radicalised in this frightening world we seem to be living in.
I am sure this was a brilliant audiobook but it just wasn't for me. The narration was excellent it was just that I found it hard to follow the story. I will listen to more stories from this author in the future to see if I enjoy them more.
Listening to the story it made you realise how people can be radicalised in this frightening world we seem to be living in.
I am sure this was a brilliant audiobook but it just wasn't for me. The narration was excellent it was just that I found it hard to follow the story. I will listen to more stories from this author in the future to see if I enjoy them more.
June 20, 2017
Bright Shiny Things was quite a challenging read for me, in the current climate where my home city Manchester and London have both been the subject of terrorist attacks. The novel explores the melting pot of East London and the crimes investigated by PI duo Lee Arnold (an ex soldier who saw active service in the first Iraq war) and Mumtaz Hakin, his British born, Bengali heritage assistant. Into this mix comes an old friend from Arnold's days in Iraq who has a radicalised son who has left to join ISIS in Syria. Abbas believes his son wants to reach out and asks Arnold to help him do so.
Set against this family drama is the murder of a Brick Lane character which sets local police and families off in to a tangled web of young people on the verge of extremism and the adults who influence them.
The 320 pages of this novel are a tightly wound story which kept me reading until I'd finished the story. There is a large cast of characters but Nadel is able to interweave the plotlines into a compelling story. There is an effort to explain how easily young people become radicalised which was thought provoking. Add in a surprising twist at the end and I was left keen to find out what happens next to all of the main protagonists, and one of the antagonists. I hope to see more from Arnold and Hakin.
I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway.
Set against this family drama is the murder of a Brick Lane character which sets local police and families off in to a tangled web of young people on the verge of extremism and the adults who influence them.
The 320 pages of this novel are a tightly wound story which kept me reading until I'd finished the story. There is a large cast of characters but Nadel is able to interweave the plotlines into a compelling story. There is an effort to explain how easily young people become radicalised which was thought provoking. Add in a surprising twist at the end and I was left keen to find out what happens next to all of the main protagonists, and one of the antagonists. I hope to see more from Arnold and Hakin.
I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway.
August 20, 2021
Former soldier and current PI Lee Arnold receives a visit from an old army mate. Abbas al'Barri worked as a translator with him during the Second Iraq War. Now living in Ilford with his family, Abbas is convinced that he's had a message from his estranged son Fayyaad, who was radicalised and was last thought to be fighting for ISIL in Iraq. Hoping this means his son has had a change of heart, Abbas wants Lee’s help in establishing some contact with him.
The novel mixes the murky world of online recruitment of radical Islamism with the world of modern, multicultural London. Lee and his friend Mumtaz have little to guide them how to infiltrate the hidden world or know who to trust. PI Mumtaz Hakim is not sure how she feels about Allah’s plan that she would pose as a potential online recruit but she agrees as she also works to help track down a young man who may have been kidnapped by a radical Islamic group. In order to find him, Mumtaz must navigate the shadowy world of online jihadist recruiters and London’s gritty boxing clubs.
The novel is firmly imbedded in the world of the second Iraq War and the distinctly non-Western values of fanatic Islamists. There is a clear attempt to show the stress Muslims feel when they confront the need to acknowledge things like human rights, religious freedom, women’s liberation, sexual oppression, and psychological torture.
These are important issues but I found the novel pretty boring. Nadel has a background in mental-health services and she lived in London’s East End so the book comes across as real -- but it wasn’t interesting to me, perhaps because I find the interactions and conflicts of the Middle East to be terminally tiresome.
The novel mixes the murky world of online recruitment of radical Islamism with the world of modern, multicultural London. Lee and his friend Mumtaz have little to guide them how to infiltrate the hidden world or know who to trust. PI Mumtaz Hakim is not sure how she feels about Allah’s plan that she would pose as a potential online recruit but she agrees as she also works to help track down a young man who may have been kidnapped by a radical Islamic group. In order to find him, Mumtaz must navigate the shadowy world of online jihadist recruiters and London’s gritty boxing clubs.
The novel is firmly imbedded in the world of the second Iraq War and the distinctly non-Western values of fanatic Islamists. There is a clear attempt to show the stress Muslims feel when they confront the need to acknowledge things like human rights, religious freedom, women’s liberation, sexual oppression, and psychological torture.
These are important issues but I found the novel pretty boring. Nadel has a background in mental-health services and she lived in London’s East End so the book comes across as real -- but it wasn’t interesting to me, perhaps because I find the interactions and conflicts of the Middle East to be terminally tiresome.
October 6, 2017
The most interesting aspect of this book was the way it showed radicalisation of young British or Western women at the hands of ISIS. Life for these London families and communities of Islamic migrant background is very complex. Lots of layers of love, loyalty, religion, culture, peer pressure, youthful inexperience, work, hopes and aspirations merge to make a much fuller picture than the media and politicians would have us believe. It's a murder mystery with private investigators, Lee and Mumtaz, at work. I've enjoyed Barbara Nadel's earlier work in this series, and this very recent novel is her best yet.
December 15, 2022
I am a fan of the author's books and I like her far-fetched plots and bizarre characters but unfortunately sometimes her plots are too complicated for me and I was not sure what was going on in "Enough rope" the previous book in this series. This plot is complicated too but I think I did figure out what was going on!
This is the fifth book in a series about a small private detective agency in London and I do like the two main characters. Most of the story concerns a family who want their jihadi son to return home from Syria but there is also a sub-plot about the murder of a homosexual and of course the main characters have their own personal problems.
This is the fifth book in a series about a small private detective agency in London and I do like the two main characters. Most of the story concerns a family who want their jihadi son to return home from Syria but there is also a sub-plot about the murder of a homosexual and of course the main characters have their own personal problems.
July 28, 2023
This book is set in contemporary London, not the London I remember from many years ago - Petticoat Lane in the 1960s was a right old mix. England has a long history of taking in refugees (French Huegenots, many from India after The Partition to note but two). The hope is always that these people will integrate, not assimilate. Post the Iraq war there has been a host of people from the Middle East and it's never easy to tell those genuine refugees from the infiltrators. It reminds me of the old adage, no good deed goes unpunished. This is a terrific read, number 5 in a series so obviously I have to go back and start at the beginning!
July 19, 2019
Although I sometimes found the many characters and names confusing, I really enjoyed this intriguing mystery. As well as the main plot there were the sub-plots concerning friends and families and the important business of radicalisation and the shadowy work of counterterrorism. The world of Brick Lane - unknown to me- came alive.
December 11, 2017
An interesting book. The two detectives are a caucasian British man and a Muslim woman who run an agency together in London. The plot centers on radicalized youth and those who targeted them. I'll read more of this series.
April 12, 2019
Enjoyed the plot, had real potential. But the writing was confusing jumping from character to character and plot to plot. Disconcerting. In the end was just getting confused. Promised so much, under delivered.
February 17, 2026
Fifth edition of a great series sees Lee and Mumtaz dealing with the radicalisation of young Muslims in London, at the time of ISIS making headlines round the world, while trying to solve the murder of a flamboyant Asian homosexual closer to home.
December 27, 2017
This was first book by this prolific author and found it an okay read with the characters being interesting.
.Current events make this relevant.
.Current events make this relevant.
December 7, 2018
A man is asked to help trace a friend’s son.
I found the writing / story / characters in this book all very clunky.
I found the writing / story / characters in this book all very clunky.
June 17, 2019
Didn’t like this book. Gave up reading halfway through.
June 1, 2020
Slightly convoluted but progression in the series.
April 10, 2021
Complex tale of radicalisation, hatred of difference and grooming that resonates with our current society. Thought provoking in many areas, but a comprehensively told tale.
December 15, 2023
Didn’t finish it
January 3, 2025
Hated it. Hadn't a bloody clue who was what and what was happening. The narrator was great but that's about it. I couldn't even finish it. The writing was awful.
April 3, 2025
Audiobook
Interesting concept but difficult for the reader/ listeners to deal with the grooming, and terror aspect that parents fear
Interesting concept but difficult for the reader/ listeners to deal with the grooming, and terror aspect that parents fear
July 23, 2017
I am familiar with Barbara Nadel's excellent mystery series set in Turkey that features Inspector Çetin Ikmen, so I was more than happy to read this Hakim and Arnold book. For years I was one of those readers who insisted on reading every series in numerical and/or chronological order, no exceptions. However, I've been loosening the stranglehold that rule has had over me with (mostly) successful results. A majority of the series I've begun "in the middle" have had enough back story provided that I don't feel lost. This was not the case with Bright Shiny Things, the fifth in Nadel's Hakim and Arnold series. I definitely felt at a disadvantage with the two main characters. I never really got a feel for either Arnold or Hakim, and since I am a character-driven reader, this was a bit off-putting.
Even though I didn't feel comfortable with those two characters, the story drew me in. Nadel took me by the hand and led me straight into a world I scarcely knew existed-- the inner workings of immigrant populations in the East End of London and how some of the young people could fall under the spell of something like ISIS-- and how ISIS recruits others to join its ranks. One of the best parts of the book has Mumtaz Hakim impersonating a young Muslim girl online. What she learns, and what happens as a result of her impersonation, is eye-opening and chilling.
Nadel is an excellent writer, and after reading Bright Shiny Things I definitely want to go back to the beginning of the series to see what I missed. I know I will be richly rewarded.
Even though I didn't feel comfortable with those two characters, the story drew me in. Nadel took me by the hand and led me straight into a world I scarcely knew existed-- the inner workings of immigrant populations in the East End of London and how some of the young people could fall under the spell of something like ISIS-- and how ISIS recruits others to join its ranks. One of the best parts of the book has Mumtaz Hakim impersonating a young Muslim girl online. What she learns, and what happens as a result of her impersonation, is eye-opening and chilling.
Nadel is an excellent writer, and after reading Bright Shiny Things I definitely want to go back to the beginning of the series to see what I missed. I know I will be richly rewarded.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews