Friday, January 10, 2014

Favourite Euro Crime Reads of 2013 - Michelle

In today's instalment of the Euro Crime reviewers' favourite reads of 2013, Michelle Peckham unveils her favourite Euro Crime and/or translated titles:

Michelle Peckham's favourite reads of 2013

My top five books (in no particular order) are:

Gordon Ferris – The Hanging Shed (and the other two books in the trilogy). Observant writing about postwar Glasgow, with a likeable hero, a strong female lead and an interesting plot line carried through the three books.

Arnaldur Indridason - Strange Shores tr. Victoria Cribb
The return of the haunted Detective Erlendur, sifting through an old case on his holiday, while coming to terms with his overwhelming sense of responsibility for the loss of his brother Beggi in a snowstorm when they were both children.


Lisa Marklund – Last Will tr. Neil Smith

Lisa Marklund’s books feature a journalist Annika Bengtzon, a strong female character with a complex personal life and a nose for great stories. This book starts with a shooting at a Nobel awards party, and I was particularly impressed by the way that the science, which features as part of the plot, was interestingly and accurately represented.

Marco Vichi - Death and the Olive Grove tr. Stephen Sartarelli
Set in Florence in 1964, Inspector Bordelli is an old fashioned policeman, with a zest for good food and a tricky murder or two to solve.

Nele Neuhaus - Snow White Must Die tr. Steven T Murray
Simply because the very unappealing title made me question if I should even read this book, but it turned out to be completely absorbing and densely plotted, and at the end I immediately wanted to read the next Nele Neuhaus book (Bad Wolf).

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