Barbara Nadel

Barbara Nadel (birth est. 1958?) is an English crime writer best known for her long-running (27-volume) Inspector İkmen mystery series. Belshazzar’s Daughter (1999) is the debut novel in the Cetin İkmen series. It introduces Inspector İkmen, a Turkish detective, as he investigates the brutal murder of an elderly Russian Jew in a decrepit neighborhood of Istanbul. The plot involves a swastika daubed in blood and explores the history of Jewish and Russian refugees who fled European conflicts to find refuge in Turkey. The series features Balthazar Cohen, a Jewish police officer and colleague of Inspector İkmen.

Though not herself Jewish, Barbara Nadel’s novels frequently incorporate Jewish themes, characters, and historical contexts, drawing both from the Jewish community in Istanbul and the history of London’s East End (where she was born and raised). Her novels often delve into the secrets of the past, including the legacies of Nazism, Russian revolution history, and the intermingling of Jewish, Turkish, and Orthodox cultures in the city. Her Hakim & Arnold Series (9 volumes) is set in London’s East End, and draws on Nadel’s upbringing in a “melting pot” where Yiddish words like “nosh” were part of the local dialect. 

An Act of Kindness: Features a discovery of a murder victim in a Jewish cemetery and traces the mystery back to historical events.

Displaced: Centers on an elderly Orthodox Jew, Irving Levy, who discovers through a DNA test that he may not be Jewish by religious law, leading to a search for his true heritage.

The East Ham Golem: A 2025 release that uses the Jewish mystical concept of a Golem as a central plot device in a mystery involving Jewish mysticism and Far Right politics. [Google/AI]

Nadel, Barbara, (Belshazzar’s Daughter) [hc, Minotaur Books, 2004] 978-0312316532 [pb, Felony & Mayhem Press, 2006] 978-1933397498

Nadel, Barbara, (An Act of Kindness) [hc, Quercus, 2013] 978-0857387776 [pb, Quercus Publishing, 2014] 978-0857387806

Nadel, Barbara, (Displaced) [hc, Allison & Busby, 2018] 978-0749022426 [pb, Allison & Busby, 2019] 978-0749022525

Nadel, Barbara, (The East Ham Golem) [hc, Allison & Busby, 2025] 978-0749031350 [pb, Allison & Busby, 2025] 978-0749031459 [uses Jewish folklore as a central plot device to explore the multicultural tensions of London’s East End. After a desecration of graves in a Jewish cemetery in East London, detectives find a clay sculpture of a man—a golem—instead of human remains. The mystery deepens when the golem is stolen from a police storage facility during a violent armed raid that leaves a man dead. The investigation uncovers links to the Maharal of Prague and the original Golem legend, and to a priceless jewel. The narrative plays with the tension between ancient folklore and modern crime, as whispers of the golem stalking the neighborhood cause fear to turn “neighbor against neighbor”.  [Google/AI]