Vulture Peak: A Bangkok Novel by John Burdett

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheap of the Royal Thai Police is assigned to investigate  a crime ring trafficking body parts in Thailand. The Police Chief who assigns Sonchai to the case is more interested in promoting his political career than bringing the traffickers to justice. Sonchai is a Buddhist monk who from time to time uses drugs when life becomes too overwhelming. Sonchai’s investigation takes him from Thailand to Hong Kong, Dubai, Monte Carlo and Shanghai and leads him to deal with an assortment of seedy underworld of villains and good guys.  At the center of the crime are two Chinese sisters, identical twins with strange proclivities trafficking in body parts is just one of many. Beautifully atmospheric and evocative of Thailand you can almost smell Bangkok and hear the din on the streets.

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The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

Nishimura is a veritable veteran of the streets. His narrative voice is distinct and coolly detached, except of course when he’s talking about actual pickpocketing--then he describes criminal movements like an imperceptible dance through a busy Tokyo crowd.  “I imagined calling a cab, getting out in some busy area and sliding my fingers into the people’s pockets there--planting myself in the middle of the crowd, one wallet after another, my hands moving as swiftly and precisely as possible.” Atmospheric and gritty, Nakamura’s existential tale takes the reader through a shadowy underworld of corruption, sex and death.

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Night Rounds: A Detective Inspector Irene Huss Investigation by Helene Tursten

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

Detective Inspector Irene Huss is called to investigate a double murder at a hospital. The night nurse and doctor on duty discover the murders during a blackout. The only eyewitness is an elderly nurse who claims to have seen a nurse who died sixty years ago. Legend has it that the ghost of nurse Tekla is seen during the time night rounds are generally made which is jut before midnight. Irene Huss knows that murders are committed by real people not apparitions and as more bodies turn up Detective Huss must painstakingly interview everyone examining all possible motives and alibis to find the killer. Night Rounds is the fourth book published in the series but the English translations have not been released in sequential order. The series can be enjoyed in what ever order the reader chooses to read them.

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The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

Lars Kepler is the pseudonym for a writing couple living in Sweden.

The only eyewitness to a brutal triple homicide is also the only surviving victim. The boy stabbed over 100 times is in a state of shock and unable to provide the police with information about who killed his family. The case gets the attention of Inspector Joona Linn. With the killer still at large, Joona knows it is imperative that the boy remembers what happened. Joona hires a hypnotist to help unlock the boy’s memory in an attempt to protect him and save his sister. The hypnotist has vowed never to use hypnosis again but desperate times call for dubious measures and the brutal events begin to slowly surface. This novel is a pretty bloody, gruesome read and is definitely not for those with a delicate constitution.

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The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

“I have to protect them, thought Ishigami. He would never be this close to so beautiful a woman ever again in his life. He was sure of that. He had to summon every bit of his strength to prevent any calamity from happening to her.” A math teacher performs the unthinkable act of helping his neighbor, an abused wife cover up the murder of her deadbeat husband. Higashino’s twisted, spellbinding story follows a veteran detective and a brilliant physicist through their clever investigations.

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Trail of the Spellmans: Document #5 by Lisa Lutz

It's like mental candy. Chick lit but for thinking chicks who want a good laugh.

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