Review: Deadly Web

Near the beautiful Yoros Castle in Istanbul, a teenage girl is found dead of a stab wound to the heart, left naked beneath the sky. Some days before, a teenage boy seemingly committed suicide, also by stabbing. The only thing these two have in common is involvement in Istanbul’s underground Goth scene. Elsewhere in the city, religious institutions are being defaced with Satanic images, including the Goat of Mendes, a symbol of sexual import. Inspectors Cetin Ikmen and Mehmet Suleyman follow an Internet trail through Goth-related newsgroups, where people use their own special language to communicate.

But then, a third girl is found dead. She had no involvement in the Goth scene, was instead a devout Muslim. Now Ikmen grows suspicious of his old friend, Max Esterhazy, an Englishman of German descent. Max is a student of Kabbalah and a self-proclaimed magician. He offered to help Ikmen, but since then he has disappeared, leaving his study splashed with blood. Ikmen and his colleagues fear the worst: not that Max is dead, but that Max is a killer.

Deadly Web has perhaps the most ill-advised title I’ve come across lately. It tells the reader very little of what to expect of this fantastic novel. In fact, if I weren’t already a Nadel fan, I’d have been put off by the title. Notwithstanding, it’s an excellent tale that twists and turns down the dark alleyways of the human psyche. Magic and reality merge in the streets of Istanbul, a city that wants to be modern yet often finds itself drawn back to the old ways. This is very appropriate, since Ikmen must go back almost 30 years to uncover the roots of the current rash of crimes.

Ikmen is one of those fictional detectives like Morse or Wexford, who operate almost as much by instinct as by logic. He’s an outstanding character, and Nadel deserves a wider audience for her works featuring him.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Catherine Thompson - RAM

Book Review: Deadly Web