EURO CRIME
Euro Crime's Top 2009 reads
2009's Euro Crime contributors: Pat Austin, Paul Blackburn, Amanda Brown, Maxine Clarke, Amanda Gillies, Terry Halligan, Geoff Jones, Karen Meek, Michelle Peckham, Norman Price, Laura Root and Rik Shepherd reveal their top European crime reads of that year (links are to the reviewer's own review of that title). NB. Unless stated, the top 5s are arranged alphabetically, rather than ranked 1 to 5.
A summary of the lists in terms of favourite titles, authors and translators can be found here on the blog.
Paul Blackburn
Amanda Brown
Scientific rivalries and local feuds underlie Vera Stanhope's first case.
Woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown determines to obtain justice for an abused boy.
b)Translated into English:
Intensely exciting story of a young woman fugitive racing to prove her innocence.
Vengeful tragedy overshadows the Sicilian sun in a typically eccentric Montalbano investigation.
Journey to the depths of one woman's mind as repressed memories uncover motives and crimes.
Apparent suicide of young historian has resonance in past deaths and disappearances.
Rock musician finds her life turned upside down by malevolent stalker.
The 14th in a series is as fresh as new in compelling story of effects of social deprivation.
Amanda Gillies
(Ranked)Terry Halligan
a)English Language Origin:b)Translated into English:
Geoff Jones
(Ranked)Bubbling under: Found Wanting by Robert Goddard, Dead Tomorrow by Peter James and The Mesmerist's Apprentice by L M Jackson.
Michelle Peckham
A complex, moving book about an abandoned boy.
A deep, intriguing book, which features the complex detective Erlendur, and his search to discover the truth behind old crimes.
An engrossing book, in which the heroine, Lisbeth, finally discovers the truth about her past.
Wonderful, light and charming account of two mismatched amateur detectives set in Barcelona. a)English Language Origin:
An evocative picture of Weimar Germany in 1931 as the Nazis become ever more powerful. Hannah Vogel, a crime reporter, tries to discover who murdered her brother, and in the process finds herself looking after Anton, an endearing 5 year old.
Another brilliant episode in the Bernie Gunther saga with part of the book set in Berlin 1934, and part in Cuba in 1954.
The search for a serial killer in wartime London with some interesting plot twists, and character studies.
b)Translated into English:
A gripping conclusion to the Millennium trilogy that brought us Lisbeth Salander, and had such promise for future novels that it exacerbated the tragedy of Stieg Larsson's early death.
An indictment of the failure of liberal justice systems and the popular media woven into a crime story featuring a pragmatic and amusing detective, Van Veeteren, and his team. I could have chosen any of the four Van Veeteren books I read this year, but this one had the best twist.
As good as his first book, and a brilliant blend of myth and crime fiction set on the island of Oland. A superbly constructed novel that won both Best Swedish crime novel of 2008 and the Nordic Glass Key.
The outrageously brutal detective Eberhard Mock and the sheer decadence of the setting in Weimar Germany make this not to be missed series one of the quirkiest and eccentric in crime fiction.
Harry Hole stars in another complex thriller that while not quite as good as the previous three is still a page turner full of surprises.
Special mention for a book that is probably literature and not actually "crime fiction" although of course the Nazis were the biggest criminals in history:
A masterpiece written in 1947, that painted a chilling portrait of how ordinary people lived under the Nazi dictatorship.
Laura Root
Rik Shepherd
January 2010