Monthly Archives: November 2010

December Heat by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Maxine

Translator Benjamin Moser First published in Portuguese 1998; first published in English 2005. In the winter heat of Rio de Janeiro, a young homeless boy witnesses an insensible drunk being helped into a car outside a restaurant late at night. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Brazil, Crime fiction, Police procedural, Social comment, South America, Translated | Leave a comment

The Burning by Jane Casey

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Maxine

Ebury, November 2010 (paperback). Part police-procedural and part psychological suspense, The Burning is a very good crime novel. From the cover words, one would think that this book is about a serial killer who is attacking young women walking home … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Crime fiction, England, Europe, Police procedural, Psychology | Leave a comment

The Siege by Stephen White

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Maxine

Signet, 2010 (first published 2009).  How does one write an original thriller in the crowded niche of books about terrorists/hostages? If the author had not been Stephen White, I would not have picked up this book on the grounds that … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Crime fiction, North America, Political, Tech/Internet, Thriller, USA | Leave a comment

The Girl With the Crystal Eyes by Barbara Baraldi

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Maxine

translated by Judith Forshaw "A seductive serial killer is stalking the streets of Bologna", according to the blurb. If that's your cup of tea, then you might enjoy this novel. The story is about two young women. One of them, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Crime fiction, Eurocrime, Europe, Italy, Police procedural, Thriller, Translated | Leave a comment

The Man in the Window by K O Dahl

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Maxine

(translated by Don Bartlett)Paperback: 496 pages (May 2008) Publisher: Faber and Faber ISBN: 9780571232918 I loved THE MAN IN THE WINDOW. Like its (chronological) predecessor, THE LAST FIX, it is a traditional detective story set in Oslo, Norway, with Inspector … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Crime fiction, Eurocrime, Europe, Norway, Police procedural, Series, Social comment, Translated | Leave a comment

The Water Widow by Ella Griffiths

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Maxine

translated by J. Basil Cowlishaw Quartet books, 1986. First published in Norway 1977. The second of Ella Griffiths's two novels that were translated into English, The Water Widow, is another engaging, brisk-paced investigation for detective brothers Sergeant Rudolf and Detective Karsten Nilsen … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Crime fiction, Europe, Mystery, Norway, Police procedural, Series, Social comment, Translated | Leave a comment

Raid and the Blackest Sheep by Harri Nykanen

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Maxine

translator Peter Ylitalo Leppa Ice Cold Crime, 2010, Kindle format (first published in Finnish, 2000)  Raid is a young, silent and mysterious enforcer who has been paid to accompany Nygren,  an ill, ageing criminal recently released after a long jail … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Crime fiction, Europe, Finland, Police procedural, Series, Thriller, Translated | Leave a comment

Kind of Blue by Miles Corwin

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Maxine

Ash Levine quit the LAPD in a mixture of guilt and anger when a witness to a crime he was investigating was shot and killed. He’s very much at loose ends, though, stifled by his family and not enjoying the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Crime fiction, Debut, North America, Police procedural, USA | Leave a comment

A Capital Crime by Laura Wilson

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Maxine

A Capital Crime is a great piece of storytelling. I am glad of my policy of knowing nothing about the content of books before I read them, as had I known that this novel is based on a famous real-life … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Crime fiction, England, Europe, Historical, Police procedural, Series, Social comment | Leave a comment

The Hunting Season by Elizabeth Rigbey

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Maxine

Penguin, 2007 (first published by Michael Joseph 2006) Matt Selekis is a doctor at a large hospital in Salt Lake City. He specialises in endocrine and oncological surgery, and is something of a (lower case s) saint, having spent some … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Crime fiction, England, Medical, Mystery, North America, Psychology, USA | Leave a comment