Dance with Death

Inspector Ikmen #8

by Barbara Nadel

A body is discovered in a cave in the remote region of Cappadocia, Turkey. The woman died of gunshot wounds, and her corpse has lain undisturbed for twenty years. Inspector Cetin Ikmen is summoned from Istanbul to investigate and discovers a complex web of intrigue. Was she killed by her boyfriend, driven mad by love, or her husband, believing she would never bear the son he wanted so badly? When it is revealed the girl was pregnant when she died, the whispers and accusations increase. Ikmen, stifled among a rural community thriving on folklore and intrigue, begins to think he will never see clearly through the lies surrounding this case. One thing, however, is clear: the past is as potent as the present.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Turkish, Detective

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

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

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Ikmen book and it’s exotic location of Cappadocia was fascinating with its phallic landscape. The story switches between Istanbul and a small village in Cappadocia. In Istanbul Ikmen’s colleague is investigating a peeper who has progressed to raping men. There is also a terrorist incident. In the other story Ikmen is called back to the village to see if a recent body is his long lost love Alison. Instead he investigates a murder from long ago

SPOILERS AHEAD

The Istanbul case remains unsolved and Ikmen’s colleague is warned off by the Turkish secret police. It appears the peeper is one of their colleagues and they will take care of him. The second turns out to be the mother of the man who went slightly mad after his girlfriend disappeared even though she was married to an old man. What stood out throughout the book was the cigarettes that were smoked. You could almost smell the nicotine.

[Ape · Rating 4 out of 5]

My goodness they get through some cigarettes in the telling of this tale. I've never been to Turkey, but it felt like everyone there smokes away like chimneys. Turkey has been a curiosity to me, and having read this, I still want to go even more. It's set in two places, with two cases running through the story. There's Istanbul, where the books are usually set, I believe, with one of Inspector Ikmen's colleagues investigating a number of homophobic attacks. This is a more minor mystery and the solution of it isn't so exciting. In the meantime Ikmen has been called out to a mountainous, inland region called Cappadocia, which I would love to visit now. Not because there was a murder there, but the wierd geological environment, with these strange caves and "fairy chimneys" sounds fascinating and something to see. Ikmen travels out there and stays with his cousin and her psycho cat Kismet whilst he looks into a mystery involving a mummified body that was discovered in one of the more remote caves. He had hoped it would be the solution to a long personal mystery, but instead it turns out to be a young local woman who disappeared twenty years ago. There are feuding families in the village who blame each other for her disappearance, and the discovery of her corpse brings the feuds all back up to the surface again.

The atmosphere, description of Turkish life and some of the places and landscapes is fascinating, even putting aside the murder mystery side of things. I will have to look out for more of her books.

[Mary Del Balzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this in anticipation of a trip to Turkey!

[Christine Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the exotic settings for these stories and I enjoy the back story of the characters as much as the plot.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often regret not having read Nadel's books in order; this one has events with lasting repercussions or Inspector Cetin Ikmen and his family and friends. When Cetin's cousin in remote Cappadocia tells him that a woman's mummikfied body has been found, he immediately wonders if it might be Allison, the English tourist he had chastely loved thirty years before. By the time he gets to his cousin's hotel, he inds that the body has been identified as a village woman, whose mysterious disappearance left major fault lines in the village. But how can he investigate without upsetting the local police? Meanwhile, his friend and colleague Mehmet is back in Istanbul, looking into the mysterious case of a man who preys on the half-hidden homosexual community. As always, thoroughly enjoyable.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the eighth book which I have read in this long running police procedural series set in Istanbul. This is a bit different from the others which I have read as half the story is set in a small village in Cappadocia where Inspectot Ikmen is on leave but gets involved in an old murder case. The rest of story is set as usual in Istanbul where Inspector Suleyman is investigating a peeping tom who has started to turn violent. This part of the story is not quite resolved at the end so possibly the next book will deal with it. This is a quirky series and there is a bit of a homage to Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot in this story! I am trying to read all the books but am having difficulty in finding all the early books.

[Paul Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turkish detective tale, taking place mostly in Cappadocia - different and interesting

Inspector Ikmen ends up investigating a murder that had taken place 20 years earlier in a remote village in Cappadocia although he is there for other reasons. There's also crimes to investigate in Istanbul which Mehmet Suleyman is dealing with. The whole story revolves around family and friends as many characters get involved, both in Istanbul and Cappadocia. It's well-told and reasonably engaging - there's a lot of smoking as well! Enjoyable enough for a relatively straight-forward detective story

[Kathryn Malkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author and the first ive read in the series. There are lots of earlier books in the series so the characters are well established and there's obviously been some back stories that are mentioned. This didn't detract from the overall story which I half worked out. Overall very enjoyable and I did love the quirky characters. Wondering now whether to start with the very first novel 🤔

[Tsk Calder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dance With Death (Inspector İkmen Mystery 8) - by Barbara Nadel

Well, the dance is the enthusiasm of youth expressed in a freedom of being but lost in subsequent failure and misadventure. Nadel does an excellent job of blending themes of marriage, honesty, giving and withholding information, of living within imperfect circumstances, all set in a mixture of Istanbul and countryside living differences. A good read.

[Mia Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read it, and unfortunately, to the conclusion, I was very confused.
some of the words I got flustered because I dont know what it meant. And I'm not sure whether it is a translate book, maybe got lost in translation or something. For the record: I have read a translated horror book, and I like it.

[Stephanie Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d forgotten how good this series is… very gripping, alternating between Ikmen uncovering a 20 year old mystery on the discovery of a mummified corpse in the fairy caves of Cappadocia and Suleyman chasing a rapist and murderer through the murky streets of Istanbul. Both as an affectionate look on recent Turkey and a mystery, it was perfect for a holiday read.

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story from a wonderful series . It was interesting to have the majority of this story set outside of Istanbul in Cappadocia and inspector Ikmen dealing with the gossip and scandal within a rural community. The Istanbul element of the story concluded in book 9.

[Evelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quit with 60 pages left. I almost quit at the beginning, with so much backgound information about characters, location, etc.
The basic story was good, but there were too many extra characters, which made it difficult to follow.

[Viola80 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carino, la parte in Cappadocia, il mio luogo dell'anima, è molto carina. Non è chissà che romanzo, ma si fa leggere.

[Jo Hastie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting reads lots of plots happening at once

[Moshe Zorea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth reading

Excellent feel for the setting conveyed, characters well developed as well. I will purchase other books by this fine author.

[Tracy Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story but very hard going.

[Valeria Scagliarino-baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in Cappadocia, area with natural Chimneys...

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

another excellent mystery in the series

[Sabiha Shamim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very engaging read.

[Ania · Rating 4 out of 5]

the female urge to venture to Cappadocia into the caves and live like a hermit has just increased by me

[Nico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat "spoilery": I read this book in German, but feel more comfortable writing my review in English (first). While I enjoyed the setting, context, character development, landscape, cultural "illustrations" - I did at some points have a hard time with Nadel's writing style. Not so much word choice, but how she eventually broke up the 2 separate stories in the book. The book starts out with, let's say, "mystery #1", and segues into "mystery #2". What I had trouble with was how she paced the 2 separate cases…and I found it increasingly frustrating at some points. Nadel writes (as the suspense builds) a few short pages on one mystery - interrupts to jump to the other mystery.

I do understand that authors do this, and I'm very used to this style. But, I found that Nadel "abused" this style in some way midway and near the end. It's hard for me to describe it any more exactly. The other problem I had with the story, was that in "mystery #2" the end takes on a very Poirot/Marple (cozy mystery style) - which seemed too contrived for this cultural setting.

My criticisms may be a bit picky, but it's just how I felt. If the cozy mystery ending elements had been left out, the book would undoubtedly need to be longer, and perhaps more complex.

All in all, even in German, this was a mystery that i could settle into quite well (except for my complaints above). Following the names was challenging at times, so I was glad to have the first pages of the story to refer to ("Cast of Characters").

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and recommend it for those who like mysteries, and stories in Turkey.

[Azimah Othman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I read where the scenes take place in Turkey.Indeed I am still having problems with remembering the names of the characters.....but I managed to plod on with my new reading glass.

A young woman was killed some 20 years ago and hidden in a remote part of Cappadocia, probably one of the few Turkish name I have come to pronounce well by now. Inspector Ikman was despatched from Istanbul to investigate. He was very much hoping a closure of his old acquaintance, Allison, whose fate he never knew...

I am rather surprised as to how tourists would take on to locals hence creating a wonderful web of relationship that endeared through generations. I am intrigue to come to understand the lives and behaviour of what might be of the local communities. I also cannot help thinking that Ikman may well be like Columbo.

The story evolves around family honour, property,inbreeding and the physicality of individuals. True love seems unimportant just as one would expect in a traditional set up. One has to understand this in order to appreciate the plot.

[Amanda Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nadel's Police Inspector from Istanbul, Cetin Ikmen, investigates again.

A twenty year old corpse is discovered in rural Cappadocia. Ikmen is called in as he has family connections in the area and a long remembered romance with an English girl who disappeared. He fears this corpse might be the same woman, Alison.

Back in Nadel's favourite city, Ikmen’s protégé, Inspector Mehmet Suleyman, looks into a series of attacks and the murder of young men connected with the gay community. The investigation seems to be hampered and blocked and he questions exactly who is controlling the situation.

Present day Turkey, with modern cosmopolitan Istanbul, contrasts with the old ways of Cappadocia is wonderfully written.
The tensions in the secular society are vivid and well portrayed. It's good to see crime/detective novels that are set outside of the UK or the US.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't know how the title fits this story. Ikmen goes on vacation sort of, if a chain smoking type A personality can ever have a vacation. This book resumes where previous books left off with Ikmen's flirting affair with an English tourist some twenty years ago. Back in Istanbul Suleiyman is dealing with a pervert who has escalated to murder and strings are being pulled to inhibit him from investigating. Real world events are injected into the story and tragedy intrudes on the Ikmen family. Ikmen deals with an attempt on his life and is in the thick of it back in the rural countryside of the dervishes as he in the habit of Agatha Christie confronts/accuses a whole village of murderers. Only three more left in this series.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nadel always educates as well as entertains. In this novel, the eighth of her series she takes us to central, more rural Turkey to Cappadocia where the famous fairy chimneys are found for Inspector Ikmen's part of the story. These chimneys are worth checking out on Google. It is one of these chimneys that a body is found and Ikmen is here to help out the investigation.

Back in Istanbul Mehmet Suleyman is involved in a different investigation that gets interrupted by the 2003 terrorist bombings of two synagogues ,the British Consulate and a Bank which killed many people and threw the city into a certain chaos.

Always nothing comes easily for these investigators, there must be compromises but that is how one survives to fight another fight in this part of the world.

[Uma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Nadel book and I picked it up because I had been holidaying in Turkey not too long ago and that too at Cappadocia. It was a very pleasant adventure with Cetin Ikmen although my biggest gripe would be the number of characters and remembering the names. I guess that would be my own shortcoming as I was not used to the names and I sometimes mistook one character for another. All in all a nice adventure in the heart of Turkey with adequate mystery at the core.
Not sure how to give half stars, I would have given this book three and a half stars!

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a garage sale and thought it would be interesting because it took place in Istanbul and Cappadocia. Setting plays a major role in this mystery and I learned a lot about Turkish customs. Thankfully there is a list of characters at the beginning of the book because I kept getting confused with two parallel plots. One mystery was satisfactorily resolved but the one that took place in Istanbul left me puzzled. Still a good read.

[Kay Robart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barbara Nadel’s Turkish mystery novels are interesting because they usually involve one of the many minorities of Istanbul. In Dance with Death, though, the action takes place in the fascinating region of Cappodocia rather than in Istanbul. Dance with Death is full of the color of that mysterious region, and İkmen and Süleyman are sympathetic and interesting characters.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/d...

[Charon · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I have seen. Google translate could do a better job than the editors and the writer combined... Nobody address each other by "Hanım", who "keeps" Ramazan?.. etc. If the writing was done properly, there would be no need for the vocabulary at the end maybe... Of course the A-Typical foreign one-sided views of the country is a must have just as in so many other books... Just unbearable...