Thanks, Karin. I have only a few hundred books left to read,
so I need some new titles to stock up on!
I've just finished Peter Spiegelman's
Death's Little Helpers, which I can recommend as a noir
private eye for Wall Street, and I'm now reading Fat Ollie's
Book, which reminds me of Joyce Porter's Inspector Dover
series. Joy
Karin Montin listed:
> As I said in my earlier message, the most recent
issue of Lire, a French
> magazine on books, is a special on crime/mystery
fiction.
>
> Another article, "Police from Around the World" has
brief rundowns on nine
> writers from different countries. I'll try to give
you the gist (original
> title where given).
>
> Ireland: Hugo Hamilton. Hero: Pat Coyne. Novel
discussed: Headbanger. Pat
> Coyne, described as a kind of Dublin Nestor Burma,
is also the Zorro of
> the depths. Obsessed with details, he is equally
zealous in hunting down
> spelling mistakes and organized crime. I get the
impression that it is
> fairly violent yet funny.
>
> Italy: Giancarlo de Cataldo. Novel discussed:
Romanzo criminale. A bit
> like James Ellroy, a bit like Balzac. The author is
a Roman judge, who
> calls his sprawling book (586 p.), which took years
to write, his "Italian
> tabloid."
>
> Portugal: Francisco Jos頖iegas. Heroes: Jaime Ramos
and Filipe
> Castanheira. Novel discussed: As duas ᧵as do mar.
Two cops on vacation
> in the Azores investigate the death of woman found
nearby. The author is
> described as a master of atmosphere and
disenchantment. The book also
> excites the tastebuds.
>
> Austria: Veit Heinichen. Hero: Proteo Laurenti.
Novel discussed: Gib jedem
> seinem eignenen Tod. In Trieste, a police chief
investigates the
> disappearance (at sea?) of a wealthy man whose yacht
has run aground. The
> thing is, the same man had reported his wife missing
at sea twenty-two
> years earlier. Laurenti had never believed his
version of events.
>
> China: Qiu Xialong. Hero: Inspector Chen. Novel
discussed: A Case of Two
> Cities. The author has been living in the U.S. for
several years. This is
> his fourth novel, and it bears his trademark humour
and sharp sense of
> detail. Inspector Chen, who is also a well-known
poet, discovers a fellow
> police officer dead in a prostitute's arms. Later he
leads a literary
> delegation to Los Angeles. East and West, greed and
literature, combine in
> a subtle plot.
>
> Spain: Manuel Vằuez Montalbᮮ Hero: Pepe Carvalho and
Biscuter. Novel
> discussed: Milenio Carvalho. The book, over 800
pages long, is divided
> into two parts: Cap sur Kaboul and Aux antipodes.
Carvalho, a police
> officer, is accused of murder--but he's gone on a
long trip with his
> partner Biscuter, through Italy to Israel (and I
presume Afghanistan and
> Down Under). Interesting characters, interesting
conversations,
> interesting food. (I found out there's a Carvalho
cookbook of recipes from
> various novels.) The reader enjoys each page and
tries to make it last as
> long as possible.
>
> U.S.A.: Newton Thornburg. Hero: David Hook. Novel
discussed: To Die in
> California. Hook, an Illinois farmer, investigates
the apparent suicide of
> his eldest son in Santa Barbara. Thornburg's fourth
novel. Beautiful and
> hard.
>
> U.S.A.: Larry Beinhart. Hero: David Goldberg. Novel
discussed: The
> Librarian. It's election time. Goldberg, a
librarian, is is threatened
> with death when he starts organizing the papers of a
recently deceased,
> influential billionaire Republican. Absurd, over the
top, but
> irresistible, a bit like Reality Show, the author's
earlier book (made
> into a movie).
>
> France: Patrick P飨erot. Hero: Nestor. Novel
discussed: Boulevard des
> Branques. Inspired by the life and works of Leo
Malet (whose hero is
> Nestor Burma). It's Paris, June 1940, and the
Germans have arrived. Nestor
> is acting as bodyguard to a neuropsychiatrist, who
commits suicide by
> injection--unless someone else did it while Nestor
wasn't looking. Period
> atmosphere, cocky style with lots of slang,
competent investigation.
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