If You Like ... Foreign Mysteries
As if a murder isn't mysterious enough, these stories are set in far away places with different cultures and customs. Some are written by Canadians, Americans, or Brits and some by actual citizens of the countries in question. The intricacies and organization of the Italian Police force for instance, are maintained by a core of career officers and manned by conscripts of the Italian army. There are no prosecution and defense lawyers, just a panel of 6 judges who hear the evidence of the police and make a decision based on it. It also has to take place within about 2 months. This according to Magdalen Nabb. For a fun look at other countries try one of these rather than a travelogue.
Try some of the books and authors listed below.
- Bangkok 8
- by John Burdett (Bangkok)
- Under a Bangkok bridge: a murder by snake. Two cops-the only two in the city not on the take-arrive too late. Minutes later, only one is alive. Thick with the authentic-and hallucinogenic-atmosphere of Bangkok, crowded with astonishing characters, uniquely smart and skeptical, literary and wildly readable, Bangkok 8 is one of a kind.
- The Cruel Stars at Night
- by Kjell Eriksson (Sweden)
- The abrupt disappearance of an elderly professor is followed quickly by the suspicious deaths of two more old men. Inspector Ann Lindell instinctively knows that she is tracking a most cunning serial killer, and as she closes in on the demented murderer, a diabolical death trap awaits.
- He Who Fears the Wolf (Norway)
- by Karin Fossum
- A young boy runs into the local police station to report the discovery of a horribly maimed body near an isolated house in the woods. From the deeply sympathetic policeman to the social outcast Errki, and the bank robber thoroughly unsuited to his profession, Fossum writes from within the minds of her characters.
- December Heat
- by L. A. Garcia-Roza(Brazil)
- A retired policeman spends a typically alcohol-filled evening with his girlfriend, a prostitute. When he wakes up the next morning, his wallet and car key are missing, his girlfriend has been murdered, and he can remember none of the events of the previous night. Inspector Espinosa, veteran detective and friend of the ex-cop, is convinced there's more here than meets the eye, and when other bodies begin turning up, he finds himself not only racing after a killer but falling in love.
- Bribery, Corruption Also
- by H. R. F. Keating (India)
- The take-charge Inspector Ghote of the Bombay police is decidedly out of his element on a trip to Calcutta. He is accompanied to that boisterous yet decaying city by his domineering wife, Protima, so that she might inspect her inheritance, presumably an impressive mansion. Ghote is suspicious when he discovers that Protima's mansion, now in a state of total disrepair and inhabited by hostile squatters, already has someone eager to buy.
- Zen Attitude
- by Sujata Massey (Japan)
- Life in modern Tokyo is a blast for Rei Shimura. But things come to a standstill when Rei overpays for a rare old chest of drawers for a wealthy client, the owner of a famous Zen temple in Kamakura. The exquisite tansu turns out to be a fake. When the temple family turns on Rei -- and the con man who sold the tansu is murdered -- she realizes she's opened a Pandora's box of deception and murder. A young martial artist, an aspiring rock singer, and an elderly antiques mentor all become part of Rei's search for the killer through the shadows of an ancient culture.
- The Marshall and the Madwoman
- by Magdalen Nabb (Italy)
- The mystery here is incidental to the story of people infused with life by the author. The sixth case assigned to Marshal Guarnacci of the Pitti Palace brings him to a working-class community where a former mental patient, Clementina, lies dead after a clumsy attempt to fake her suicide. Although the cold, domineering prosecutor chivvies the marshal as a stupid plodder, Guarnacci traces links to the victim patiently, simultaneously giving attention to everyone who brings their problems to him.
- Deep Waters
- by Barbara Nadel (Turkey)
- A man's body, virtually decapitated, is found by the Bosphorus. His identity card names him as Rifat Berisha, an Albanian. The family is impenetrable but when Inspector Ikmen, whose mother was Albanian, consults his cousin, Samsun, he's left in little doubt that Berisha's death is likely to be the result of a fis, an implacable blood feud between rival Albanian families. Which means the blood already shed will have to be avenged. And if the Berishas or their enemies discover Ikmen is from a noted Albanian clan, some of the spilt blood might be his...
- The Skull Mantra
- by Eliot Pattison (Tibet)
- Winner of the 2001 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. A novel as much about a people and a place - the Tibetans of the high Himalayas - it is a gripping thriller. The corpse is missing its head and is dressed in American clothes. Found by a Tibetan prison work gang on a windy cliff, the grisly remains clearly belong to someone too important for Chinese authorities to bury and forget. So the case is handed to veteran police inspector Shan Tao Yun. Shan is soon pulled into the Tibetan people's desperate fight for its sacred mountains and the Chinese regime's blood-soaked policies.
- The Fig Tree Murder
- by Michael Pearce (Egypt)
- Gareth Owen, who as the Mamur Zapt heads the secret police for the British in early 20th-century Cairo, is summoned when a corpse is discovered on an unfinished piece of railroad track linking the capital city to a new city under development. The location of the body suggests that the crime may be the work of nationalists or religious figures opposed to the project.