Look out for these! Hot picks for May 2013 – with a European setting

I thought it would be a nice change to preview a selection of books with a European setting.  I’ve chosen three this month and if you pick just one of these, I’m pretty sure you’ll have a satisfying read.

Romancrimeblogger

Chilled to the Bone by Quentin Bates   I met Quentin Bates a few years ago at a crime writing event in Winchester when Frozen Out, his first Officer Gunnhildur novel was published.  I liked the theme of the first book where the dirty deeds revealed by “Skandalblogger” and the crimes that followed, reflected accurately much that was happening in Iceland at the time.  This new book continues with an excellent mix of authentic Icelandic life and plenty of good crime.  Bates starts with the death of a wealthy shipowner found tied to a bed.  His demise looks to be more embarrassment than foul play, until Gunnhildur’s investigation turns up links to organised crime.  Then comes a more dangerous link - the revelation that a lost government laptop contains more than just the usual run of the mill information, which powerful people want to keep secret, no matter what the cost.

The Weeping Girl by Hakan Nesser   Although this book is one of the Van Veeteren series, the detective character in this novel is actually Detective Inspector Ewa Moreno, Van Veeteren’s protégé.  The plot centres on a past crime, a teacher convicted of murdering his pupil.  The teacher’s daughter, now an adult, learns about her father’s crime and is desperate to find out the truth about what happened.  She goes to visit her father who is , but vanishes. Cue Ewa Moreno, who is on holiday in the area and is drawn inevitably into the investigation.  Simple so far, but then the father vanishes too.  Moreno believes the real answer is to find out what really happened many years ago.

The Dance of the Seagull – Andrea Camilleri  I watched a couple of Inspector Montalbano programmes on the TV and wasn’t quite sure what to make of them.  I found them quite quirky and unsure whether this was because of the difference in culture, Montalbano’s character or as Mrs Romancrimeblogger says I just have no sense of humour!  The only answer was to read one of the books.  So, The Dance of the Seagull start with Montalbano watching a seagull falling to earth and dying in a most peculiar way.  Montalbano is intrigued by this event and can’t get it out of his mind even though he is about to go for a holiday with his girlfriend Livia.  Despite Livia’s protests, Montalbano goes to the police station to clear up some paperwork but discovers his friend and colleague Fazio is missing.  It transpires that Fazio has been running a secret investigation.  Montalbano puts his holiday with Livia on hold, while he searches for his friend Fazio, which becomes more urgent as Montalabno finds Fazio’s secret investigation has uncovered far more than just a run of the mill crime.

I’ll be back in June with more hot picks to look forward to, meantime, happy reading and please do leave any comments you have about these books on the blog.

Romancrimeblogger