European Mysteries

The Sicilian Inspector Montalbano detective series by Cammilieri. Also, the Pepe Cavalho series by Montalbano (Barcelona.) Any mystery by Anne Perry(UK.)

Agatha Christie is my all time favorite, but lately I enjoy Hazel Holt and M.C. Beaton.

Michael Dibden also writes excellent mysteries about Italy. His are a bit "darker" than Donna Leon's Brunetti books, but still filled with local flavor.

A number of John Gardner's extension of the 007 series take you around Europe; Also Robert L. Fish (there is an Edgar award named after him) did much in South America with his Brazilian and US protagonists...but he also wrote an interesting story about The Gold of Troy...in Turkey/Greece; I'll have to think a little more;

How wonderful - other mystery readers! Lately, I've enjoyed - Paris - Cara Black and Fred Vargas Dordogne - Michelle Wan I assume that your "many other mysteries based in the UK" includes Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael) and Mark Billingham?

Alistair MacLean if you choose correctly; a real favorite with literate biblio-mysteries in the UK - Roy Harley Lewis; Elizabeth Peters, for Egypt; Ian Rankin, in the UK; James Rollins, a bit trite but entertaining, around the globe; Trevanian for The Eiger Sanction (US to Switzerland) and Loo Sanction (a lot of the UK);

Really sorry, I don't know how to edit a prior post and I seem to recall there were some "glitches" reported with punctuation not coming through on posts. (My post didn't come out the way I typed it in.) Please put a hyphen between Vargas and Dordogne and it will make more sense.

It's more "serial killer catching police procedure" than proper mystery, but: Craig Russell's "Jan Fabel" series for Hamburg (and northern Germany).

Susan, I really enjoy M.C. Beaton also. Here are some other authors~~Ruth Rendall~Caroline Graham~~Val McDermidIa Rankin~Peter Robinson~~~Martha Grimes

I second Cara Black for Paris. I've enjoyed the late Mark Hebden's (and now his daughter, Juliette Hebden) series about Pel, a detective in Burgundy. They are published in the UK, a bit hard to find in the states.

Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse Mysteries are always a good read.

Hi Robin! Yes, Martha Grimes! Love her.

I totally agree with Robin and Susan. Martha Grimes writes great British mystery books. I'm always waiting for a new one. If you can, start with her ealier books - her main characters are in each book so you get an idea of their background. It's not necessary though. Another great mystery writer whose stories are set in Great Britian is Elizabeth George - her books are wonderful. Again, her main characters are in each book. Happy reading!

Thanks all..I've read about half of Martha Grimes. Whenever I find a new author, I try to read his/her first book to get a good introduction to the characters. And then I do my best to read in order of publication.

I do the same thing Frank... For me, it's more enjoyable to start at the beginning with an author and follow along as the characters develop and evolve.

Alex Grey (it might be Gray) she is a woman - sets the scene in Glasgow. Peter Robinson is a Canadian who sets his mysteries in England. Both are good character writers.

British mysteries that many libraries have in DVD format are: Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis, Foyle's War, Inspector Lynley, and Midsomer Murders. Many of the videos are, of course, based on the books - but some prefer watching the videos (if you can get them at the library, takes less time than reading the books!).

More international espionage but I LOVE Helen MacInnes books. Best is Above Suspicion. I have read and re-read almost all of them. Her books are hard to find, Above Suspicion was published in 1939 and was her first novel.

Anne Perry writes Victorian mysteries with a real Dickensian zeal for social justice. All the attention to detail of time and place she adds makes for a fun read, but she never lets the reader forget that Victorian England wasn't an idealized Christmas card scene for most people.

I love Helen MacInnes, Martha Grimes,Ellis Peters and Dorothy L Sayers.

Sweden seems to be particularly known for their murder mysteries (odd for a country with such a low murder rate, unlike their Finnish neighbors). I haven't read any of the authors, but I keep hearing the names Jan-Olaf Ekholm and Folke Mellvig.

At the time Conan Doyle was publishing "Sherlock Holmes" in London, there were many other authors publishing mysteries as well as it was very popular at the time. In the early 1970's, many of these stories were dramatized on British TV in a series titled, "The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes". The series is now available on DVD. Netflix carries it....and since Kent brought up the DVD's of others, most of which I've seen and I'm still going through, here's a little bit of trivia. Colin Dexter, who wrote the Inspector Morse series, made a cameo appearance in every TV episode. No lines, just a walk through. Dexter so admired John Thaw's portrayal as Morse that he will not allow any actor to play the role until his copyright runs out 70 years after his own death.

Frank II, that's interesting about Colin Dexter. Our PBS station just started showing Inspector Morse again, have seen them but going to watch them again, never get tired of them.

If you want to read less glamorous and everyday crime mysteries try the books featuring Inspector Frost by RD Wingfield. They have been televised as a "Touch of Frost" and star David Jason of "Only Fools and Horses", "Open all Hours" etc fame. The TV character is more sympathetic than the book version .......... Also enjoy Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallender series. Two TV versions are shown here. First the original Swedish version (with subtitles!) and second a BBC version with Kenneth Branagh in the title role, prefer the Swedish version. A bit dark and introspective at times.

Philip Kerr has a great series based in Berlin. I also just read a great book based in the Dordogne titled Bruno. It was charming. Susannah Gregory has great medieval mysteries in England. Look for Stuart McBride Aberdeen based stories. Pam

Pierre Magnan for something a little off beat. Dorothy L Sayers is fun to read. PS - I thought Cara Black's writing was awful.

Frank II, thanks for your question. I am thinking why I haven't thought about posting the same question. I want a book that challenges my vocabulary. Looking up words in the dictionary is something I enjoy.

Some German authors are available in translation and definitely great choices: Bernhard Schlink became famous with "The Reader" but he also writes mysteries. The "Self" trilogy is very good, the first one in the series is "Self's Punishment" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I also love Jakob Arjouni and his private detective Kayankaya who works in Frankfurt and area. His first book is "Happy Birthday, Turk" but this particular translation has lost some of the humour of the original. I still enjoyed it though not as much as the German version. If yo can find the video of the Doris Dorrie movie based on this book I highly recommend it! Try one of the later books like "Kismet" tranlsated by Anthea Bell (famous for her translations of the Asterix comics). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For Switzerland look out for Martin Suter. He writes mysteries that are more like psychological thrillers. My favourite is "Small World".

There is a series of murder mysteries in Amsterdam by A.C. Baantjer: De Cock (or DeKok in the English translation). His books are based on his experience as a police inspector at the (now closed) Amsterdam Warmoesstraat office (in the red light district in Amsterdam). Some of the books are available in English, there is also a movie and a TV-series based on the books.

Also in the Dutch-speaking world, there's the books of Pieter Aspe, of which there is also a TV show on Flemish broadcaster VTM. I don't know much about his books, but novels by Jef Geeraerts were made into pretty good movies, De Zaak Alzheimer and Dossier K. I'm not sure if either author is availble in English translations.

I have a section from the Times of London with the 50 greatest crime writers. They list Patricia Highsmith as #1. I like her, but for me, above and beyond all others is Ruth Rendell. She was mentioned once here but I cannot say enough about her. Frank II, if you enjoy PD James, read Rendell......Here's the article from the Times.......http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article7016813.ece

Thanks to everyone. I guess I wasn't clear in my initial question but I have read MOST of the UK oriented mystery writers and not just the ones I listed. I'm looking for non-UK but still European mystery series.

I love Cara Black's Paris mysteries and Donna Leon's Venice. After reading the replies I am looking forward to Martha Grimes. What a great post.

How about Iceland? Definitely a different culture than the UK. Arnaldur Indridason has created a very compelling and successful crime series with police detective Erlendur.

I ordered a used copy of "Paris Noir, Capital Crime Fiction" edited by Maxim Jakubowski. This has 18 short mysteries by a variety of European authors all set in Paris. Do I read it now or do I wait and read it on the trip to Paris next May? Quel Dilemma!

The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin (1800s Turkey)~the Isaac of Girona series by Caroline Roe (medieval Spain)~the Marcus Didius Falco series by Lindsay Davis (Roman Empire) (uneven quality in the series but some are good, including the first one)~the Owen Archer series by Candace Robb (England)~Lord Meren mysteries by Lynda Robinson (ancient Egypt)~Mistress of the Art of Death series by Ariana Franklin (England).

I enjoy medieval settings for mysteries; even earlier is also good. So, for Ireland there is the Sister Fidelma series by Peter Tremayne. For France, the Catherine Lavander series by Sharan Newman. Not a mystery, but medieval Norway, Kirstin Lavandatter by Sigrid Undset....Are there any other historical mysteries set in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain that anyone can recommend?

These are English, but they're wonderful! The C.J. Sansom mysteries of Matthew Shardlake - during the time of Henry VIII. There are 3 of them and a 4th will come out in January.

Sue, I'll agree that Cara Black has good place descriptions. Her characters do not seem French to me at all, unlike Maigret who seemed very French. Frank, you may want to give the Maigret mysteries a try too.

Great post! A second thumbs-up for Martin Walker's "Bruno" series set in the Dordogne. Just finished "Bruno, Chief of Police", and am looking forward to the new one "The Dark Vineyard." Hard to top Donna Leon though - such superb writing.

Steve Berry writes mysteries set in Europe. His main character lives in Denmark and has been all over Europe and Eastern Europe, and Russia. I love them. Also the who Girl with Dragon Tattoo is set in Sweden, I think. I have to say one thing about Cara Black. No, she is not the best writer I have ever read, but she has taught me so much about Paris. When I read her books, I get out my map and follow her as she goes to places, up and down streets, etc. I was able to find the site of her "house", the detective agency, etc. We went on a walk through Bastille and passed the hospital for the blind. Only way I knew it was from following it on a map and Cara's descriptions of the stoplight controls for the blind. She is very accurate in her descriptions of where she is and what is there. If she says there is a school around the corner, there is. It just makes reading them more fun!

Yes, the three Stieg Larsson books are great - we were able to get the 3rd one (Girl who kicked the hornets nest) in Paris - it wasn't available here yet.

So fortunate that one of the PBS stations in the Bay Area has International Mysteries on Monday night. Saw a Wallander(Swedish version) program last night. Others featured on the program are Montalbano, who has an apartment right on the beach, and is seen on the beach and the water in most episodes. Others are Norwegian Varg Veum, a former welfare worker turned PI. The pipe-smoking Maigret. The bungling inspector Colliandro from Bologna. The Scene of the Crime shot in Cologne, featuring two detectives. There was another crime unit out of Rome. The latter has not aired lately.

For Spain, especially Barcelona, try The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Interesting book choice Leslie. I really liked it for a better understanding of the Spanish Civil War time. But I'm surprised you'd consider it a mystery.

To answer your question, Beatrix, and not go into too much detail, I guess I found the story of Daniel's search for information on Carax as much a mystery as some detective finding four dead bodies in the Cotswolds. Someone asked for a historical mystery set in Spain. I thought this book fit that.

I'm currently reading The Cruel Stars of the Night by Swedish author, Kjell Eriksson. Also, I love the Peter May books which are police procedurals that feature a Chinese cop & an american pathologist & generally take place in China (not Europe, but still interesting).