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Serpent's Tongue (Ikmen Mystery 28)

Meet Ikmen in THE TURKISH DETECTIVE, BBC Two's sensational TV series
By Barbara Nadel
Series: The Ikmen Mysteries
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Brief Description
The twenty-eighth mystery featuring Çetin Ikmen and Mehmet Suleyman, 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 Kustepe,... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2999
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Releases 22nd December 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "Serpent's Tongue (Ikmen Mystery 28)" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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The 28th İkmen mystery from award-winning author Barbara Nadel, whose previous İkmen mysteries, set in Istanbul, are the inspiration behind The Turkish Detective, an eight-part TV series on BBC Two and available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The twenty-eighth mystery featuring Çetin Ikmen and Mehmet Suleyman, 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 Kustepe, the other killed by a suspected terror attack in Tesvikiye - Inspector Mehmet Suleyman and his team cannot see an obvious connection between the two cases.

Ex-inspector Çetin Ikmen isn't so sure. In Kustepe, helping a friend place a collection of dazzling sculptures at one of the city's art galleries, Ikmen discovers that one of the sculptures bears a startling resemblance to the Kustepe 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 Tesvikiye have to do with an alleged terror plot aimed at undermining the security of the city?

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

Series: The Ikmen Mysteries

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  • Serpent's Tongue (Ikmen Mystery 28)
    Pre-order
    Serpent's Tongue (Ikmen Mystery 28)
    The twenty-eighth mystery featuring Çetin Ikmen and Mehmet Suleyman, 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 Kustepe, the other killed by a suspected terror attack in Tesvikiye - Inspector Mehmet Suleyman...
    By Barbara Nadel
    Paperback
    $2999
    Pre-order
    Out 22 Dec 2026

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781035419043

Publisher: Headline Publishing Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 10 September 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Headline Book Publishing

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 234g

Pages: 336

Collections

Barbara Nadel Classic Crime & Mystery Fiction Classic Fiction Coming Soon in Fiction Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction Police Procedural Pre-order Books Pre-Order Crime & Thriller Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date Series: The Ikmen Mysteries

About the Author

Trained as an actress, Barbara Nadel used to work in mental health services. Born in the East End of London, she now writes full time and has been a visitor to Turkey for over twenty years. She received the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger for her novel DEADLY WEB, and the Swedish Flintax Prize for historical crime fiction for her first Francis Hancock novel, LAST RIGHTS.

To find out more, follow Barbara on Twitter @BarbaraNadel or visit her website www.barbara-nadel.com

Also by Barbara Nadel

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  • Forfeit (Ikmen Mystery 23)
    Barbara Nadel's gripping Ikmen mysteries are the inspiration behind The Turkish Detective, BBC Two's sensational eight-part TV crime drama series, out now. GREED, LUST AND BETRAYAL LEAD TO MURDER in Barbara Nadel's twenty-third Ikmen mystery, as Ikmen and Suleyman work to uncover a tragic tale of dark secrets and double lives... In the early hours of the morning, Turkish TV...
    By Barbara Nadel
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  • A Knife to the Heart (Ikmen Mystery 21)
    Barbara Nadel's gripping Ikmen mysteries are the inspiration behind The Turkish Detective, BBC Two's sensational eight-part TV crime drama series, out now. The twenty-first chilling Istanbul crime thriller starring Çetin Ikmen, 'the Morse of Istanbul' (Daily Telegraph), from Silver Dagger Award-winning author Barbara Nadel. Not to be missed by fans of Donna Leon. A derelict villa near Istanbul holds dark...
    By Barbara Nadel
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  • The East Ham Golem
    The streets of East London are alive with different languages, cultures and religions. Private investigators Lee Arnold and Mumtaz Hakim are well-versed in the community's tensions, the sad day-to-day reality that includes the desecration of graves at Plashet Jewish cemetery in East Ham.The vandalism of these final resting places leads to a disturbing discovery: one of the damaged coffins does...
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  • Belshazzar's Daughter
    Barbara Nadel's gripping Ikmen mysteries are the inspiration behind The Turkish Detective, BBC Two's sensational eight-part TV crime drama series, out now. A secret worth killing for... Barbara Nadel introduces Inspector Cetin Ikmen for the first time in her debut novel, Belshazzar's Daughter. Perfect for fans of Jason Goodwin and Donna Leon. 'Exciting, accomplished and original' - Literary Review Leonid...
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  • The East Ham Golem
    The streets of East London are alive with different languages, cultures, and religions. Private investigators Lee Arnold and Mumtaz Hakim are well-versed in the community's tensions, the sad day-to-day reality that includes the desecration of graves at Plashet Jewish cemetery in East Ham. The vandalism of these final resting places leads to a disturbing discovery: one of the damaged coffins...
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