The East Ham Golem - Barbara Nadel

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 not contain human remains but instead a sculpture of a man made of clay. This so-called ''golem'', a term from Jewish myth given to a figure brought to life by supernatural means, proves intriguing to Arnold and Hakim, even more so when it is stolen from a police storage facility in an armed raid.The case leads the pair deep into London''s past and its connections to wartime Prague, and onto the trail of a priceless jewel worth killing for. Nadel is also well known for her CWA Silver Dagger winning Inspector Ikmen series, which was recently adapted as the massively successful series on the BBC. Nadel was born and raised in the East End of London, a setting which she brilliantly brings to life in this series. The latest in Nadel''s gritty, original and timely series following private investigators Lee Arnold and Mumtaz Hakim.