The twenty-eighth mystery featuring Çetin ¿kmen and Mehmet Süleyman, stars of BBC Two's gripping crime drama series The Turkish Detective, available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
When two women are found dead in Istanbul - one bitten by a snake in the slum quarter of Kütepe, the other killed by a suspected terror attack in Te¿vikiye - Inspector Mehmet Süleyman and his team cannot see an obvious connection between the two cases.

Ex-inspector Çetin ¿kmen isn't so sure. In Kütepe, helping a friend place a collection of dazzling sculptures at one of the city's art galleries, ¿kmen discovers that one of the sculptures bears a startling resemblance to the Kütepe victim. Did the deceased artist know her and, if so, in what capacity? And what, if anything, does the death of a devout Muslim woman in Te¿vikiye have to do with an alleged terror plot aimed at undermining the security of the city?

Süleyman and ¿kmen soon discover there is more to this situation than meets the eye and they must uncover the truth in order to prevent more bloodshed . . .

Praise for Barbara Nadel's ¿kmen mysteries:

'Complex and beguiling: a Turkish delight' Mick Herron

'¿kmen is one of modern crime fiction's true heroes, complex yet likeable, and the city he inhabits - Istanbul - is just as fascinating' The Times

'Barbara Nadel's distinctive Istanbul-set Inspector ¿kmen thrillers combine brightly coloured scene setting with deliciously tortuous plots' Guardian