Let Mysteries Take You Around the World . . .
February 28th, 2010 Categories: Book Report
It’s Sunday night, the hockey game is over (you know, the one between Canada and the US) and it’s time to curl up with a good mystery and let it take me around the world.
Recently I’ve deliberately set out to read mysteries set in countries that I don’t know much about or have never visited.
For instance, I’ve just finished Hidden Moon by James Church. Set in North Korea, Church, a former intelligence officer, has a real affection for the landscape and the people of this hidden land where nothing is as it seems.
I’m also reading Murder in the Palais Royal by Cara Black.
Set in Paris, Black perfectly captures the nuanced workings of the French buracracy while providing a lively look at daily life – from the can’t do without morning “express” to the second hand shops that specialize in vintage couture.
Then we have A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn.
Nunn, a nominee for this year’s Edgar Awards, takes us to South Africa in 1952. What holds the reader is the fabric of secrets and lies, supported by the Immorality Act, which makes it a crime to have sex across the color line.
With Henning Mankell and The Man From Beijing we go from Sweden to China to the US and back, all the while unraveling a centuries old act of treachery.
And the list goes on and on. Ready to go around the world with your own favorites? Check out Stop You’re Killing Me! where you can search for mysteries by country, state, and genre. It also has good reviews as does the Independent Mystery Booksellers site.
Let us know your favorites, we’d love to hear from you.
Virginia
Thanks to my lovely wife for today’s post.
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