A Time to Die

Hakim and Arnold #7

by Barbara Nadel

Ever since it was built in 1912, Woolwich Foot Tunnel has been the subject of rumour and speculation. Running underneath the Thames it connects north and south, and in the hot summer of 1976, when young John Saunders apparently entered the Tunnel and completely disappeared on his way to his sister's house, it was a grim and frightening place. John was never seen again until he re-emerged forty-two years later, complete with an American accent. Happy to submit to the DNA testing his sister Brenda demands, this man is definitely John Saunders, but when nothing that he tells Brenda rings true, she decides to enlist the services of Hakim and Arnold to try and uncover the truth. He is who he says he is, but his story about what happened between 1976 and 2018 makes no sense. Why has he come back now ... what does he want?

Genres: Audiobook, Mystery

320 pages, Hardcover

Published July 23, 2020

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

[Sherrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept seemed good, a young boy disappears in the Woolwich foot tunnel and reappears 40 years later with an American accent, but I found this plot and the loan shark plot very weak. Set against the background of Trumps visit to the UK, depressing in itself plus various other political themes didn't help. Quite muddled in places, and a very unconvincing ending.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always been a great fan of Barbara Nadel’s Inspector Ikmen and this is the first I read in the Hakim and Arnold series.
I was hooked since the beginning as this is a fast paced, gritty and highly entertaining novel. Even if it’s the 7th instalment in this series I had no issues as there’s a lot of backstory that helps you to understand the characters.
The story is told by multiple POV and each of them is related to different cases Lee and Mumtaz are working on.
I liked how the different POV mixed and how they joined becoming a single case and I liked how the private aspects of the MC life mixed with the casis.
The character and plot development are excellent and the complex story kept me hooked till the last page. Ms Nadel is an excellent storyteller and her mysteries never fails to entertaining and make me learn something new.
I loved the descriptions of East End and appreciated how Lee approach the different people of the criminal underworld.
I will surely read the other books in this series as I loved this one.
This is highly recommended!
Many thanks to Allison & Busby for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Moz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read previous Hakim & Arnold books and enjoyed them. This one was not one of my favourites though. In previous books there has been much background relating to the two main characters but this was missing in this book. Lee was almost a ghost figure and Mumtaz, a character with a host of issues and challenges was quite devoid of struggle in this book. Have all her debts been paid off now? There was no mention of the men who used to terrorize her previously, except one comment which related to the past.

The initial plot in regards to the "missing boy" was intriguing though it soon became obvious what the outcome was going to be. The other plot regarding the loan sharking was quite weak. I found it confusing and couldn't work out what was going on and the featuring sewer was a bit of a red herring too.

I struggled at times with the author's sentence structure which is unusual for a writer of such renown and experience. It was almost as if a non-English speaking person was writing. Poor editing perhaps. If I'd picked up this book not knowing of the author, I would have thought it was a first novel. One might be tempted to wonder if Nadel is getting tired of these two. Perhaps there will be one last book where they get married and ride off into the sunset together. Hmm...

[Thekirkiepirate · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first Barbara Nadel novel I have read and it was quite enjoyable.

Being set against the backdrop of Trump's visit to London, it was easy to picture where the action was taking place, although this may not stand the test of time. I think she could have spent more time developing the characters in the early stages, as I had to flick back and forth a bit to remind myself who was who. Also, more editing could have made the prose flow more smoothly.

However, a good book and I will certainly read more from her.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad; more gritty violent gangster type than I usually go for - I was more hoping for some spookiness. I felt like there were quite a few loose ends and there was a whole plot line that had nothing to do with the main one, except maybe to add to the rather depressing atmosphere.
Reading it would be a good way to put anyone off going near London’s east end; makes it seem like a hideous hole full of crime, violence, fear, threats, poverty, filth and despair - which is odd as the writer grew up there you’d think she’d have affection for it!

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read and enjoyed two of the earlier books in this series about a small private detective agency in the east end of London but was surprised to see that there were seven books in this series. The plot is a bit far-fetched but the two detectives - an ex-police detective man and a Bangladeshi woman are great characters. A compelling read which I read in one sitting. Now I have to find the other books in this series.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a bad book but I did not love it. There were lots of characters and I did get quite confused about who they all were and where they slotted in. I thought the story moved along quite slowly and also jumped about rather a lot. I found my attention drifting but I did finish this novel as I wanted to see where the story was going.

[Tessa Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another outing for my favourite PI duo, set in London at the time of President Trump’s visit to London. Creepy characters, and creepy settings plus a complex, fast-moving plot made this a satisfying read.

[Patrick O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read, well plotted but jumps around a bit too much for my liking. The editing of my kindle edition was poor in that the quick changes of focus would have been easier with clear marking between jumps such as a simple star.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed Nadel's Inspector Ikmen books, and this is my first Hakim and Arnold, which I also really liked. Nadel is a talented plotter, and her characters (including Inspector Ikmen's cat) are engaging. Recommended.

[Mary Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the local setting for this book, many recognisable places in Barking, Ilford and Stratford. A great story of Mumtaz and Lee and Shazia, mixed up with a complicated case of money laundering, lending and other criminal activities.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great audiobook

Really intriguing about how a youngster who disappeared without a trace, turns up years later as an adult, meeting up with his estranged sister but has severe mental health issues without diagnosis. Very multicultural based plot with a political angle thrown in.

Enjoyable

[Ginette Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story with a pacy plot that kept me interested. I will read more of Barbara Nadel's work on the strength of this story.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise (boy disappears in a foot tunnel under the Thames in 1876, reappears in 2017. And his purpose is both timely and surprising.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good solid 'what if' based around Donald Trumps Londom visit. Clever story time bound due to subject matter, but good coherent story telling.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent plot, well presented. Twists and turns and look at the various ethnic crime gangs. A visit by President Trump sets the bar that much higher! Read and enjoy, hard to put down.

[Fiona Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite book, I'm not sure why I kept reading to the end, but I do often think, it might get better!

[Christine Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intricately told tale but it didn’t increase my pulse rate. May be wrong but kind of thought it was used to support a political point of view.

[Yvonne Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourites in this series!

[Beate Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the last book in the Hakim and Arnold series and I was sad to have reached the final page. I wonder whether there will be more...The first in the series did not grab me from the beginning but the characters grew on me, their personal background stories were interesting although some threads seem to fizzle out without explanation. I particularly liked the undercurrent of social and cultural commentary the author weaved through her narratives without pushing an agenda and in a way that seemed to me to be fair and sympathetic to a variety of points of view.