international mysteries

  • Defective Detective Departments

    What happens when cranky, poorly motivated or seemingly-incompetent individuals are all sidelined together into a single work unit? They end up solving the mysteries that no one else could, of course. Or, at least, in fiction they do. These books are all the first in series that find professional pariahs taking care of business. The… Continue reading

  • Australian mysteries

    Australian mysteries

    Australia has long produced some great mystery writers: Peter Temple, writing the Jack Irish series about a lawyer and gambler turned PI, as well as a number of standalone crime novels; Kerry Greenwood’s post-World War I series featuring private detective Phryne Fisher, to name just two. But in just the last year, authors from Down Under… Continue reading

  • Rio Reads

    Today begins the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Watching televised coverage of the Games, you will surely see glimpses of life in Rio in the background. If you want to round out your sports viewing with a more robust and nuanced view of life in Rio and in the rest of Brazil,… Continue reading

  • If You Like Daniel Silva… (he’s coming to the Library!)

    Come see #1 New York Times bestselling author Daniel Silva in conversation with Warren Etheredge at the Central Library’s Microsoft Auditorium, at 7 p.m., Monday, July 23. I love July for the warmth and light to read a good book in the evening on the porch, and the sure and certain knowledge that I’ll have… Continue reading

  • Crime: Evil under the Rising Sun.

    Watching the cherry blossoms burst forth and fade always makes me think of Japan. But my Japan is not a place of samurai, ninja and serene Zen temples. The Japan I think of is lit by neon rather than a rising sun. A place of tailored suits, leather jackets, discos and hostess bars, a place where… Continue reading

  • Opening new worlds: Mysteries in translation

    For those of us who love mystery novels, the quest for the next exciting detective or, better yet, the next series, is endlessly diverting. As it happens, this is a wonderful age for us, with the advent of many new absolutely top-notch works and series from abroad, best-sellers in their own countries, being released here… Continue reading