I know there are a number of non UK/US detective/mystery books and series out there are popular in the US/UK markets. I can think of Donna Leon off the top of my head. What are the others?
Non US or UK Detective Series
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The Ian Rutledge series by Charles Todd.
Must read every one as soon as it comes out. I am utterly addicted.
Must read every one as soon as it comes out. I am utterly addicted.
Paco Ignacio Taibo's detective series set in Mexico is great, and available in translation. Hector Belascoaran Shayne: a one eyed, half Irish/half Basque, Hemingway reading private dick is a fascinating character.
A lot of good stuff coming out of Iceland and Sweden these days. Especially Iceland.
I recommend Arnaldur Indridason's Reykjavik mystery, Jar City.
I recommend Arnaldur Indridason's Reykjavik mystery, Jar City.
Ancient Rome seems to be popular at the moment. Lindsay Davies, Jane Finnis and Steven Saylor all write about sleuths in this era.
Shara
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I second that -- he's a fabulous writer!
Mysteries/Crime Thrillers in translation are huge and growing.
Norway's Karin Fossum's Detective Sejer is terrific, as is Sweden's Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander series.
Swiss writer, Friedrich Glauser's, books featuring Sgt. Studer are classic.
French writer Nicholas Freeling rocks: he has two series, one featuring Henri Castang, the other featuring Inspector Van Der Valk.
Dutchman Janwillem van der Wetering, with Grijpstra and de Grier, is one of the very best.
The wild popularity of international crime thriller fiction may have all started with the great Swedish writing duo, Sjowall and Wahloo, with their Martin Beck series.
Chinese writer Qui Xiaolong has a fascinating series set in Shanghai and featuring Inspector Chen.
This are just a few... there are so many great books/writers out beyond the USA and UK it's hard to even start to list them all.
Soho Press publishes a lot of great thrillers/mysteries in translations, too.
Adding on to this fantastic list, and moving out of detective novels to thrillers in general:
Natsuo Kirino has a pair of very well-respected thrillers, Out and Grotesque. I haven't read either, but have heard they're tremendous.
Getting a lot of praise recently is Christian Jungerson's The Exception, which is sort of a genre-bending novel about evil and genocide. Looking forward to reading that one.
There's also the American John Burdett's Bangkok series which is quite fantastic.
I don't know if it's popular, but William Marshall's series set in Hong Kong is one of my favorite things ever. It's definitely a bit oddball, but if that doesn't put you off, check it out.
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I love Arthur Upfield's Napeleon Bonaparte of the Queensland Police. Upfield is generally recognized as Australia's first mystery writer.
Desmond Bagley, SOuth Africa, wrote thrillers & spy novels - worth checking out.
Desmond Bagley, SOuth Africa, wrote thrillers & spy novels - worth checking out.
There's Andrea Camilleri, whose detective Montalbano solves cases around industrial plants and other dirty locations in Sicily.
And by the way, Georges Simenon and inspector Maigret are Belgian, not French.
And by the way, Georges Simenon and inspector Maigret are Belgian, not French.
You could try Frank Tallis' Lieberman files series, set in Vienna. I've read the first Mortal Mischief and it's very good. It's historical crime. Frank - who is a friend of mine, so declared interest there - is a clinical psychologist, as is his mc. The books are set in the the early 20th century, around the time of Freud. Yes, Freud features, and for the record Frank wrote and published his first book before the Interpretation of Murder came out.
If you fancy books set in St Petersburg, Russia, I hear some guy's written a book featuring Porfiry Petrovich from Crime and Punishment... *Leaves quickly before he gets found out.*
If you fancy books set in St Petersburg, Russia, I hear some guy's written a book featuring Porfiry Petrovich from Crime and Punishment... *Leaves quickly before he gets found out.*
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Martin Cruz Smith has six novels featuring Arkady Renko, a Russian police investigator. The first in the series is Gorky Park; it even won the Golden Dagger.
Non US/UK detectives
Colin Cotterill has a series about a 72-year-old doctor/coroner set in Laos - the first title is The Coroner's Lunch
Rebecca Pawel has a series set in Spain immediately after the Civil War - I think Death of a Nationalist is the first
If Canada is considered neither US nor UK (which it really isn't) there are a number of great series. I'd recommend Louise Penny's series set in a UEL-settled village in Quebec. The first title is Still Life.
Colin Cotterill has a series about a 72-year-old doctor/coroner set in Laos - the first title is The Coroner's Lunch
Rebecca Pawel has a series set in Spain immediately after the Civil War - I think Death of a Nationalist is the first
If Canada is considered neither US nor UK (which it really isn't) there are a number of great series. I'd recommend Louise Penny's series set in a UEL-settled village in Quebec. The first title is Still Life.