International Detectives

The detective story is an American invention pioneered by Edgar Allen Poe in The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Poe's Auguste Dupin was the first detective in popular literature.  He was followed in short order by our cousins across the pond with Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.  The United States has enough regional differences to warrant local detective series and we have everything from Dana Stabenow's mysteries set in Alaska to Tony Hillerman's Navaho Nation novels.  But the world is a global community and other authors in other countries have been developing the  detective novel set in their local community.  Beside the entertainment value, many of these novels offer the reader insight into the political social and cultural features of other countries.


Oh, those Scandinavians...


I do not know if it is the cold, the rain or the limited daylight that makes Scandinavian authors create detectives who are dark, flawed and in some cases anti-heroes. If you ever find a copy of Peter Hoeg's Smilla's Sense of Snow (1994)  on a used book rack, buy it. Smilla is half Danish and half native Greenlander.  She is a scientist whose knowledge of ice and snow and determination lead her to crime and betrayal above the Arctic Circle.  Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole battles his own demons as well as crime.  Henning Mankell brought us Kurt Wallander.  Karin Fossum's has Inspector Sejer.  Which of us will ever forget Lisbeth Salander in Stieg Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?


And of course, the Germans...
Not to be outdone, German author Nele Neuhaus's Snow White Must Die  recently won rave reviews in Europe and in the US.


Not really Israeli, but close enough...
American author Daniel Silva created the character of Gabriel Allon, an art-restorer and assassin for the Israeli government.  The Allon series brings you through museums, and galleries through Europe.  When he is not restoring works of art, Allon is exacting revenge on terrorists.


Straddling two worlds...
Istanbul has been described as the literal  and metaphorical bridge between east and west, Christian and Islam, tradition and technology.  Barbara Nadel has crafted a series of books with Inspector Ikmen who like his country straddles two worlds.  Nadel's descriptions of Istanbul will appeal to anyone who has traveled in that part off the world.


The sunny south...
Italian authors have been at the detective genre for a long time.  Andrea Camilleri 's Inspector Montalbano takes us through the intricacies of fighting crime in Sicily. New author Marco Vichi's Inspector Bordelli investigates Death in Sardinia.
But, my all-time favorite Italian detective is Commisario Guido Brunetti who investigates crime in the exotic city of Venice. Written by Donna Leon, the Brunetti series does not hesitate to cover Italy's social ills, poor economy, organized crime, environmental issues and relations with guest workers. Of course, it is easy to read books where Brunetti retreats to his loving home with his wife Paola who cooks wonderful meals and just happens to be a university professor and a descendent of Venice's aristocracy.


The Middle East...
If you can find them, pick up Zoe Ferraris's Finding Nouf and City of Veils. Her books are set in Saudi Arabia and give amazing insight into the society of Saudi's and Bedouins.


Finally, Africa...
Alexander McCall Smith has created a series of mysteries set in Botswana.  Okay, I will admit that I needed an atlas to remind me where Botswana is located.  McCall Smith's detective is a "woman of tribal proportions" Prescious Ramotse who is the proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.  Mme. Ramotse solves crimes with wisdom and insight into the human heart. After one or two of these books, you can appreciate the fragile beauty of the Okavanga Delta and you come away with admiration for the citizens of Botswana whose pride in their county and traditions is a welcome respite from much of the violence in Africa.


Translated from Afrikaaner, Deon Meier has a series of novels set in South Africa. His books are violent and graphic, but he brings us through the many levels of society and culture in South Africa.  His characters are fascinating, but flawed. Often battling alcoholism, past lives of crime and overall corruption, his various detectives will grip the reader with their intensity.


I seem to be missing works from Asia and Latin America.  If anyone has some authors to add, I would love to hear from you.