A Slice of Cake With... Barbara Nadel

This week I am delighted to have a slice of cake with author Barbara Nadel.

Trained as an actress, Barbara 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. 

What kind of books do you write?

I write two series of books, both contain accounts of unlawful killings. My first series is set in Istanbul Turkey and revolves around the lives and cases of two police officers called Cetin Ikmen and Mehmet Suleyman. Together they investigate frequently complicated cases in the megacity on the Bosphorus, many of which highlight Istanbul's rich historical past and enormous diversity. My second series is set in the London Borough of Newham and concerns the activities of a pair of private detectives called Lee Arnold and Mumtaz Hakim. Again diversity and history sometimes come into play as well as the very modern problems surrounding life in a city that has become very much more fiscally divided in recent years. However, for both my 'teams' the main thing they have to face is the reality of death - that of other people as well as the possibility of their own.

Can you describe your writing why?

The reasons why anyone writes are many and complex. I've always wanted to find out about things, I'm nosey! In addition, growing up amongst people who were mentally ill, I think that right from a very young age, I wanted answers. Why were my relatives not like other people? Why were they ill so often and what did that mean? I think in part that was the reason I studied psychology at university and then went on to work with mentally ill people in hospitals and the community. I think the 'why' of my writing is an extension of that. Crime and the psychology of crime are areas of study that raise as many questions as they answer. I am fascinated by how one person can take another one's life and what effect that may have upon those investigating those incidents. The dark side of the human condition.

Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most

A favourite passage is hard to select. But I have chosen this one from the beginning of a Turkish Cetin Ikmen book I wrote in 2015 called Land of the Blind.

The thought had insinuated itself into his head almost before he'd noticed. Sin could be so easily fallen into. And he had just plummeted. Now he began to cry. There was fear. Doubt was a terrible sin and to sin meant that when death came he would not walk in the gardens of Paradise. He begged and begged for forgiveness, his voice slicing the silence, the power of his words causing the candle flame to gutter and twist. Afraid he'd blow it out by accident, he stopped. The flame became stable again and he prayed in his head.

God was listening and He did care. All his life he'd done exactly what those more educated in the words of the Koran had told him. Not one request had ever been denied. Bar that moment of doubt, his soul was pure. His mind said, And your body?

A noise came out of his mouth. Like a squeal. Then he began to shake. 'Oh God,' he said. 'Oh God!'

Hearing his own voice tremble was not a comfortable thing. He begged. 'Please, please help me. I'll never do it again. Never.'

And he waited and he waited. But no help came. He wanted and didn't want water and the candle flame guttered again in time to his sobs. Still no relief came, no rest from the reality that he had been buried alive. Which he had been.

Tell us about your latest project

My latest book, which is the 23rd in the Turkish Ikmen and Suleyman series is called Forfeit.

Investigating the death of a popular reality TV star, Ikmen and Suleyman find themselves drawn in to the world of Istanbul's Syrian refugee population. Struggling to make their mark in a culture not their own, some of the refugees have been forced into criminal activities and the man found dead with the TV star was a Syrian with a dubious past. While Suleyman attempts to juggle his complicated romantic life between his girlfriend, Ikmen's daughter Cicek, and his gypsy mistress Gonca, he and Ikmen explore the magical world of the middle eastern oral storytellers. Do they in fact still exist or are they entirely mythical?

What is your favourite cake?

My favourite cake. Now there's a question and a really hard one! I basically love all cake! But I think that probably my favourite is a rose-flavoured Turkish cake called Gullac. Made from layers of cornstarch pastry infused with rosewater and stuffed with walnuts. It's sweet, sticky and utterly delicious. Traditionally it's eaten as part of the iftar meal which breaks the Ramazan fast every evening, but I try to get hold of it as often as possible.

You can connect with Barbara on Twitter @BarbaraNadel

Join me next week when I will be having a slice of cake with Mark Duncan. 

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

You can also support my writing endeavours and buy me tea & cake - it's what makes the world go round!

Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.