Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

“I might be living in the buttock end of the world, but I could still sniff out a story.” This funny, madcap cozy follows the adventures of Jim Juree, crime reporter for the Chiang Mai Mail. While her family manages a cul de sac resort located in a marsh-filled, mosquito-ridden village in southern Thailand, Jimm reminisces about her glorious past, days spent chronicling “marvelous crimes” involving “castrated cuckolds,” motorcycle hit squads, druggies, gangsters and fake fortune tellers. After nine months of covering highway traffic and coconut yield statistics, Jimm is desperate for a meatier assignment. When local villagers discover two unidentified bodies in Volkswagen van and news spreads about an abbot’s mysterious death, a beyond thrilled Jimm joins the Thai police in hot pursuit of details.

Read more »

Nairobi Heat by Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

“A beautiful young blond was dead, and the suspect, my suspect, was an African male. I was travelling to Africa in search of his past. What I found there would either condemn or save him. As you can imagine my business was urgent,” relates Detective Ishmael of the Madison, Wisconsin police force. The suspect in his high profile case is a revered former headmaster who during the height of the Rwandan genocide turned his deserted school into a sanctuary for thousands of refugees. Ngugi’s finely paced mystery proffers a richly engaging story of race, violence, love and greed.

Read more »

One Man, One Murder: A Kayankaya Thriller by Jakob Arjouni

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

Private investigator Kemal Kayankaya has little respect for his current client. He thinks Manuel Weidenbusch is a whimpering “candy-colored, pink-bespectacled savior of whores,” but keeps this opinion to himself. Instead, the chain-smoking detective begrudgingly focuses on locating Weidenbusch’s kidnapped girlfriend and prostitute, Sri Dao Rakdee. This new assignment ushers Kayankaya through the dark side of Frankfurt, Germany, a world distinguished by predator (pimps, crime bosses, forgers) and prey (mail order brides, sexual workers and scammed immigrants). This gritty noir is third in the series featuring the Turkish immigrant detective.

Read more »

Remote Control by Kotaro Isaka

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

Masaharu Aoayi is an unemployed delivery truck driver living in Sendai, Japan when the Prime Minster is attacked and killed by a bomb delivered via a remote control helicopter device. Masahuru is told by his friends that he is the prime suspect. Unfairly accused of such a horrendous crime, Masaharu goes on the run trying to prove his innocence while evading the omnipresent security pods. The story parallels the JFK assassination with Masaharu becoming the Lee Harvey Oswald character. The plot time shifts to a Japan in the near future and back to the present. This is a fast moving plot with a uniquely, original story cautioning readers against giving up their personal freedoms in exchange for safety. Modern and edgy with plenty of twists to keep the plot racing and the reader engaged.

Read more »

Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

Set in Cape Town, South Africa, this gripping thriller opens with Rachel Anderson, an American college student, on the run, being pursued by a gang of men. When Detective Benny Griessel is awakened in the early morning hours with news of a young woman found dead outside a local church, he feels an uneasy premonition of evil. On this 156th day of sobriety, Griessel is out of sorts--both personally (he has just slept with a stranger and his estranged wife wants to have a talk) and professionally (transferred to another unit, Griessel now bears the responsibility of mentoring a young detective). “Jissis, why did life have to be so complicated?,” he asks. Shedding light on the dark underbelly of the Afrikaans tourist and music industries, Meyer’s pulse-pounding, action-packed novel is full of intrigue, drama and scandal.

Read more »

Those Who Love Night by Wessel Ebersohn

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

“Oh my Africa, she thought. I’d hope we were past this sort of thing.” Seven Zimbabwean dissidents have gone missing and rumors are the Central Intelligence Organization, a political police force with a longstanding history of violence, is responsible. Abigail Bukula, the tough-minded prosecutor for South Africa’s Justice Department, has just been offered a promotion and a six-month sabbatical leave. Not long without purpose, Abigail is recruited to Zimbabwe, a country she loves and knows well, to advocate for the seven abductees, including a cousin she never knew. “You don’t negotiate the release of innocent people. You demand it.” Ebersohn’s thriller is chockful of purpose, mystery and adventure.

Read more »

White Heat by M. J. McGrath

20 Great International Mysteries, February 2012

A unique mystery set in the Arctic tundra. A barren cold place of ice and rock where the residents wrestle with high alcoholism and harsh conditions. Edie Kiglatuk half Inuit and half white is the best hunting guide in her village but as she leads her group out into the frozen landscape on their “authentic arctic adventure” one of the men in her party is shot.  And when her stepson supposedly commits suicide Edie begins to suspect something more sinister is happening. The arrival of Russian duck hunters only reinforces Edie’s feelings as she grows to believe that the Russians are more than mere tourist on an arctic adventure. Edie knows to get to the bottom of this she will have to leave her village and venture deep into the tundra. A thoroughly engrossing read detailing the Inuit culture and way of life. Captivating descriptions of the food and landscape introduces readers to a place most are unable to visit and adds a new and authentic voice to the mystery genre.

Read more »

Casey Scieszka, author of To Timbuktu: Nine Countries, Two People, One True Story

Read more »