An engrossing book that keeps you guessing until the end. There is mystery, connections with the past, a missing diamond, and the myth of the golem created to protect. It is an easy read, and recommended to anyone.

With thanks to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for an ARC.

This was a superb read with a plot that was very deep and kept me wanting to read more. I did not realise that this was part of a series but it made no difference as I read it as a stand alone book without the past history of the 2 PIs. Both Lee and Mumtaz were absorbed in their own cultural lives and these differences added a lot to the story of the Golem. The myth of the Golem protecting the Jewish people brought in the Nazi regime and the fact that today we are gradually getting back to the same anti-semetism. The cemetery being vandalised at the start made a great opening to the book and this was well wound into the story. The story involved religious views and culture, treasure seekers and the war time history of Prague.

I read this without realising it was maybe the ninth in a series of books involving the two private investigators Lee Arnold and Mumtaz Hakim. However it was not obvious and it was easy to get the gist of their relationship which is an interesting one.
This investigation that starts after the discovery of a golem in a London cemetery and this book has a bit of everything. Various religious and cultural groups including the far right, private investigators and the police, wealth and poverty side by side and a confusing number of groups that are interested in the golem. And why are people dying when not much at first seems to be at stake?
I found the book a bit repetitive with the same problems being looked at by different people in chapters that were short and quickly moved from one to another without anything to hint that book was moving onto to a different POV. I suspect my Kindle download exacerbated this as Kindle versions sometimes omit the typesetting signs that indicate a new chapter has started.
Despite the repetition I did find it difficult to keep tabs on all the characters and I had read it fairly quickly over three days.
I liked the basic plot and the description of the religious obsessives and comparing them with treasure seeking obsessives and the end of the book was surprising but satisfying when a different background to the golem was found.
It would have been a 4* rating from me if the book had been easier to follow.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Private investigators Lee Arnold and Mumtaz Hakim Return in The East Ham Golem which seems them investigate a stolen golem

The book kept me interested throughout but I felt that it didn’t quite hit the heights of previous books in the series which was a slight disappointment although it was still an overall enjoyable read.

Recommended.

The East Ham Golem by Barbara Nadal

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.
I didn't know this was book 9 in the series so felt a little lost at the beginning , but I enjoyed the book and finding out the dynamics of the relationship of the two private investigators.
Great plot and enjoyed reading about an area and culture I don't know much about.