Petrified (Inspector Ikmen Mystery 6): An unputdownable murder mystery with an ingenious plot Nadel, Barbara

Istanbul, where ancient superstitions still simmer beneath the surface. When a body is found encased in concrete in a derelict apartment building, Inspector Çetin İkmen finds himself investigating a crime that local rumour insists is the work of a djinn. But İkmen doesn't believe in demons — he believes in human cruelty, greed, and the secrets people kill to protect. As he digs deeper into the victim's life, the case tangles with old family vendettas, illicit affairs, and a developer eager to bulldoze the past. Barbara Nadel's sixth İkmen novel is steeped in the atmospheric tension of a city caught between tradition and modernity, where every neighbourhood has its own ghosts. The prose is sharp, the procedural details satisfying, and İkmen himself remains one of crime fiction's most compelling detectives. For fans of Donna Leon or anyone craving a detective series with a strong sense of place.