Barbara Nadel is an English crime-writer. Many of her books are set in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, others in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. She is best known for her

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

-set Çetin İkmen novels.

Background

Born in the

, 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 was the patron of The Acorn Group in Shrewsbury, a charity (now apparently closed following a cut in funding) caring for those in emotional and mental distress. She has been a regular visitor to Turkey for more than 25 years. Until late 2014, Nadel lived in "the wilds of the north of England" with her husband and six

axolotls The axolotl (; from nci, āxōlōtl ), ''Ambystoma mexicanum'', is a paedomorphic salamander closely related to the tiger salamander. Axolotls are unusual among amphibians in that they reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instea ...

, her "very demanding Persian cat" having died on 23 December 2011, but then moved from the Pennines to "a small village in Essex just outside London". Her son is a published academic.

Writing

Nadel is best known for her series about Çetin İkmen, a chain-smoking and hard-drinking detective on the

police force, and his colleagues Mehmet Süleyman, Balthazar Cohen, and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in t ...

Arto Sarkissian. These have been translated into a number of languages, including Turkish, and have been released as

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

s in English and German. Her second crime series, set in

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

in the

, during

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

, features

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as ...

Francis Hancock. In January 2011,

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ' ...

announced the signing of Ms Nadel to write a new crime series set in the modern-day

, to be published starting Summer 2012 under the name ''B J Nadel'', although the published book ''A Private Business'', was ultimately credited to ''Barbara Nadel''. The book, and its sequels, focus on

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

Lee Arnold and his Muslim assistant Mumtaz Hakim. Publication moved to

Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in Ma ...

from the fifth book in the series. Other published works include short stories in ''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fict ...

'', plus British magazines (''

My Weekly ''My Weekly'' is a magazine for women. Published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd of Dundee, Scotland. It tends to consist of short stories, reader contributions, knitting or sewing patterns, and celebrity gossip. There are no real life horror storie ...

'' and ''

Woman's Own ''Woman's Own'' is a British lifestyle magazine aimed at women. Publication ''Woman's Own'' was first published in 1932 by Newnes. In its early years it placed women's rights and social problems firmly in the foreground. Its first "agony aunt" was ...

''), and travel pieces for British newspapers (''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

''), and the US food magazine ''

Saveur ''Saveur'' is an online gourmet, food, wine, and travel magazine that publishes essays about various world cuisines. The publication was co-founded by Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman, Christopher Hirsheimer, and Colman Andrews, who was also ...

''.

Awards

2005 winner of the CWA Silver Dagger (for '' Deadly Web'') 2006 winner of ''Jury'' magazine's ''Flintyxan'' ("Flint Axe") award for Best Historical Crime Novel (for ''Dödlig rättvisa'', Marianne Alstermark's Swedish translation of ''Last Rights'') 2008 winner of the

London Borough of Redbridge The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough established in 1965. The borough shares boundaries with the Epping Forest District and the ceremonial county of Essex to the north, with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to the west, the ...

"Big Red Read" Book of the Year for ''Ashes to Ashes'' 2010 winner of the

"Big Red Read" Crime Fiction of the Year for ''Sure and Certain Death'' 2013 Derringer Finalist for short story "Nain Rouge", published in ''

Bibliography

Çetin İkmen

Published by

Headline The headline or heading is the text indicating the content or nature of the article below it, typically by providing a form of brief summary of its contents. The large type ''front page headline'' did not come into use until the late 19th centur ...

#''Belshazzar's Daughter'' (1999) #''A Chemical Prison'' (aka ''The Ottoman Cage'') (2000) #''Arabesk'' (2001) #''Deep Waters'' (2002) #''Harem'' (2003) #''Petrified'' (2004) #'' Deadly Web'' (2005) #''Dance With Death'' (2006) #''A Passion for Killing'' (2007) #''Pretty Dead Things'' (2007) #''River of the Dead'' (2009) #''Death by Design'' (2010) #''A Noble Killing'' (2011) #''Dead of Night'' (2012) #''Deadline'' (2013)Headline web site.
Accessed 16 July 2012 #''Body Count'' (2014)Headline web site.
Accessed 17 September 2014 #''Land of the Blind'' (2015)Headline web site.
Accessed 17 September 2014 #''On the Bone'' (2016)Headline web site.
Accessed 11 December 2015 #''The House of Four'' (2017)Headline web site.
Accessed 6 November 2016 #''Incorruptible'' (2018) #''A Knife to the Heart'' (2019) #''Blood Business'' (2020) #''Forfeit'' (2021) #''Bride Price'' (2022)

Francis Hancock

Published by

#''Last Rights'' (2005) #''After the Mourning'' (2006) #''Ashes to Ashes'' (2008) #''Sure and Certain Death'' (2009)

Hakim & Arnold

Published by

#''A Private Business'' (2012) #''An Act of Kindness'' (2013) #''Poisoned Ground'' (2014)Quercus web site.
Accessed 17 September 2014 #''Enough Rope'' (2015)Quercus web site.
Accessed 2 September 2015 Published by

Adaptations

In June 2020, it was announced that Miramax TV and

ViacomCBS International Studios Paramount International Networks (PIN) is the international division of Paramount Global. The division oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of key Paramount's brands outside of the United States. These brands include Paramount Ne ...

would produce a television adaptation of the Çetin İkmen novels entitled ''The Turkish Detective''. By April 2022, the project was greenlit for a full series of eight episodes, to be released on

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Med ...

. The series will be written by Ben Schiffer, and directed by

Niels Arden Oplev Niels Arden Oplev (; born 26 March 1961) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. Life and career Oplev was born in Oue, Denmark. His 1996 film ''Portland'' was entered into the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. He directed ''The Gir ...

. Acclaimed Turkish actor

Haluk Bilginer Nihat Haluk Bilginer (; born 5 June 1954) is a Turkish actor. In addition to his acting career in Turkey, he has also worked in the United Kingdom and remains best known for his role as Mehmet Osman in the television soap opera '' EastEnders'' ...

will star as İkmen, alongside Ethan Kai as Mehmet Süleyman, and Yasemin Allen as Ayşe Farsakoğlu.

References

External links

International Crime Authors Reality CheckShotsmag ProfileFantastic Fiction profileLondon Borough of Redbridge ''Big Red Read''
* Wikipedia SE entry for the Flintyxan, in Swedish
bokrecension.se entry for Marianne Alstermark, in Swedish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadel, Barbara Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English crime fiction writers English women novelists Women mystery writers Writers from London 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers

Background

Writing

Awards

Bibliography

Çetin İkmen

Francis Hancock

Hakim & Arnold

Adaptations

References

Further reading

External links