Serpent's Tongue

The twenty-eighth mystery featuring Cetin Ikmen and Mehmet Sueleyman, stars of BBC Two's gripping crime drama series The Turkish Detective, available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Two women are found dead in Istanbul. One in the slum quarter of Kustepe, the other at one of the most prestigious addresses in the city. Are they connected? Inspector Mehmet Sueleyman and his team are assigned to a complex case involving a chic modest fashion house and adherents of an ancient eastern Turkish religion. A further complication is that the death of the woman in the smart quarter of Tesvikiye, has all the hallmarks of a terror attack.

Meanwhile ex-inspector Cetin Ikmen is helping his friend Umit place a collection of dazzling sculptures, created by Umit's deceased neighbour, at one of the city's many art galleries. However, the sculptures, though exquisite, are disturbing and, according to Umit, represent apocalyptic themes. In addition, some of the creatures the artist created appear to resemble local people - including the Kustepe victim. Did the artist know her and, if so, in what capacity? And what, if anything, does the violent death of a devout Muslim lady married to a modest fashion designer have to do with an alleged terror plot aimed at undermining the security of the city?

Both Sueleyman and Ikmen find themselves in a race against time to apprehend whoever killed these women and protect the people of Istanbul itself. Meanwhile, Sueleyman has to grapple with his own problems - in the shape of his wife Gonca...