I don't think anyone has mentioned the Ann Purser series:  (Lois Meade).  The series begins with Murder on Monday and goes thru Sorrow on  Sunday, then continues with Warning at One and Trouble at Two.   Lois is a cleaning lady on her own, snooping as she cleans and assisting the police, and later has several people working for her, snooping and cleaning.  I enjoyed the first seven and am W/Listed for the last two.

Has anyone read Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee series?  I've heard it's very good.

I read The Chinese Nail Murders and enjoyed it. I'm so behind I haven't sought any more out, but I wouldn't hesitate to do so if I (ever) got low on books.

I haven't read all of this so I don't know if these have been mentioned:  Mo Hayder, Craig Russell and Jo Nesbo are some of my favorites.

Speaking of Ann Purser (I love her Lois Meade series too, Nancy) she is starting a new series being published on 5/4/10.  The title is "The Hangman's Row" with the main character being one Ivy Beasley. 

I liked the first Steig Larsson book set in Sweden.

Joy, thanks for the info.  I'll put that on my W/L, which gets longer every time I look at the discussions!  :)

I enjoy a lot of the writers already mentioned.  I don't think anyone mentioned Michael Pearce's Mamur Zapt  series.  They're set in Egypt in the early 1900s, and have a wry sense of humor. 

Some other writers I enjoy:

- Arturo Perez-Reverte's standalone mysteries set in Spain:  The Flanders Panel, The Club Dumas, etc.

- Qiu Xialong's inspector Chen Cao series set in China

- Conrad Allen's ocean liners series, set around the turn of the 20th century

- John Burdett's bangkok thrillers

- Barbara Cleverly's Joe Sandilands set in post WWI India

- David Hewson's Nic Costa series set in Italy

- Peter May's series set in China

- Robert Wilson's Bruce Medway set in west Africa

 

I just finished The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin.  It is the 1st in the Inspector Yashmin series set in the late 1800s in Istanbul.  Excellent and  complex story.  Yashmin, a eunuch, is brilliant and nearly invisible, and the only person the Sultan can trust to investigate mysteries occurring in his court.  He reminds me very much of Inspector Ikmen in Barbara Nadel's wonderful series set in modern day Istanbul.

I am new to this forum. I am a retired professor of Literature. Most of the cats you all mention I find very boring because little or nothing is ever distinctive. That said, and with probably all readers sufficiently alienated: I have read all of Martin Cruz Smith. He started out good and is getting better, and Stalin'sGhost is the best yet. What he is writing, at least in my critical judgment, has surpassed labels like "mystery writer."  I rate him as high as any American writer working today except, maybe, Cormack McCarthy.

Welcome John W.,  and thanks for the Martin Cruz Smith and Cormack McCarthy suggestions.  Always interested in learning more about "new to me" authors.  Many of the PBS members are too, and will not be alienated.

Not a foreign setting, but just finished Linda Fairstein's latest paperback, Legal Legacy, set in Manhattan.  Not fine literature, but a fascinating introduction to the main New York Public Library,  It is not a "lending library", but a repository for rare books and maps for scholars and others to study. A look at "behind the scenes"  politics and collections of first and fine editions and other important private and public printings and pre-publications of great authors, as well as many who are unknown to the "hoi polloi".

Bumping up this thread.  I've found lots of terrific authors on it and want to add the following:

Just read 3 Fred Vargas books, all excellent with very original characters and plot set in and around Paris.  Wash this Blood Clean From My Hand and This Night's Foul Work are in the Commissaire Adamsberg series.  The Three Evangelists is a stand alone.  The Chalk Circle is the first in the Adamsberg series.

Lisa See's Red Princess Series is set mostly in modern day China and starts with Flower Net. 

Jason Goodwin's  Yashim series set in Ottoman Constantinople (Istanbul) starts with The Janissary Tree.  Yashim is a eunuch trusted by the sultan and others in high places and is asked to investigate different matters.  I think of him as a forerunner to Barbara Nadel's Inspector Ikmen. Great Food.

Giancarlo Carofiglio is a judge in Italy and writes a good series about Guido Guerrieria, a lawyer. I read Involuntary Witness so far. Hard to get.

Louise Penny's 3 Pines Mysteries with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache are set near Montreal.  The first is Still Life.  The Inspector reminds me very much of Donna Leon's Brunnetti.

Can't forget Steig Larsson's Salander series set in Sweden.  Just finised all 3 books.  Order them all.  #3 is a direct continuation of #2.

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Amsterdam Cops series by Janwillem Van de Vettering. The series is humorous, but still philosophical. It remains my favorite, so different than the dark Scandanavian police procedurals in vogue  today. I just finished his "Inspector Saito's Small Sartori"  which takes place in Japan and enjoyed it thoroughly but was sad it was the last book by that author I would ever read. He died in 2008. His books are an aquired taste, but worth seeking out. The sense of humor and its characters make it a keeper.

For those who may be interested and don't receive the Washington Post, today's feature article in the Style section was about Scandinavian mystery writers. Here's the link: Very Cool Cases.

Deb,

I checked this out and it is a great article. Have you or anyone else heard of Camilla Lackberg? The article mentions that her 2003 debut book, The Ice Princess came out this week.

SOUNDS INTERESTING

Mary

Mary- You may want to check out the reviews of Ice Princess on Amazon. I haven't checked on Euro Crime yet. Amazon seems to have less than stellar reviews of this book, but if they interest you, the Book Depository has copies in PB of Ice Princess for $8.10 and The Preacher for $7.36 and free shipping. I'm going to see what, if anything is written about her books on Euro Crime.

Okay, I did a check on Euro Crime and it seems that the reviews are better there. It also seems like her books are getting better with time. The Preacher really sounds like it might be the best so far - that is the second one in the series.

If you enjoy police types, W.J. Burley's Inspector Wycliffe books are pretty good. He's a Cornish detective.

Some interesting series that take place in North Korea and Cuba are the Inspector O mysteries by James Church and the Havana quartet by Leonardo Padura. I really enjoyed the atmosphere in Church's "A Corpse in the Koryo," and his next book "Hidden Moon." I wasn't wild about "Blood and Bamboo," the third in the series. He made the inspector more a spy than a policeman and I thought it was too big a stretch. Padura's El Conde is a great character and you really get the feel for a tropical island with a police department that is also investigating things politically as well as criminally.

WELL, TWO NEGATIVE COMMENTS FROM THIS GROUP. ESPECIALLY YOU JEANNE. THIS BOOK CAN WAIT.

THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

MARY