The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

A number of Scandanavian authors are now available in translation and are very, very good. I didn't know quite where to put them - police procedural, traditional whodunnit, psychological mystery - all seem to apply but here are a few of my favorite.

Henning Mankell, Åsa Larsson, Arnaldur Indriðason, Karin Fossum, and hakan nesser

I think that a good many of the Mankell books are now in translation and it seems that more and more of the Scandanavian authors are being translated in a year or two of original publication.

By the way, I saw the Swedish TV Wallander series - with subtitles - and I actually liked it better than the Kenneth Brannagh series. While Brannagh was good I thought he was just bit over the top. I liked the little more contained Rolf Lasgaard in the Swedish version

Fiona wrote: "I wonder how many books are out tehre which aren't trasnlated into the English language?"

I highly recommend Andrea Camilleri, an Italian screenwriter and journalist who took to writing mysteries. His Detective, Commissario Montalbano, lives and works in a fictitious Sicilian village and is a wonderfully crusty character. Great series of TV movies produced by the RAI (Italian State TV), written by the author and extremely well done.

The character's name Montalbano, is Camilleri's homage to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, the Spanish writer, journalist, etc., who wrote a series of mysteries featuring the 50-year-old gastronome-detective Pepe Carvalho. The first is Yo Mate a Kennedy (I killed Kennedy, 1972).

I haven't read any of the Carvalho series, but I love Camilleri's, which have been translateed, but I don't know how well. In Italian they are full of Sicilian dialect and are lots of fun.

*whew* sorry... I do tend to be long winded....

Hi Hayes, I love the Montalbano books and TV show. We get it here in the US on an independent TV station and my husband and I really enjoy it.

The books by Montalban are new to me so I just added one to my TBR list. Thanks for the recommendation.

Oh wow!! I'm so glad to hear that!

I forgot to ask you, Donna... are they in Italian with subtitles? or dubbed into English?

I ask just because I'm curious how they managed with the character of Catarella, the bumbling telephone operator and general helper.

Hi Hayes, The shows are in Italian with subtitles. My husband went to school in Rome and still remembers some Italian so he tries to listen to the actual dialog. I have to read the subtitles. My husband says the translation for Catarella is very loose but you do get the feel for the character.

Funny thing about watching something with subtitles - especially TV series - after a while you hear the character's voice as you read his or her dialogue and you do pick up their personality and emotions.

This TV station that carries Montalbano also carries the German Tatort series, the Swedish Wallander and Martin Beck, and they had a wonderful mini series from Finland called Raid.

Wow... Catarella is my favorite!

How fun to have someone across the world watching my favorite TV show!! It always happens in this direction; I mean, we get American, Canadian and British TV here, but not so often in the other direction.

A few years ago this same station carried 2 Australia detective shows - Water Rats and Murder Call - that I really enjoyed and no subtitles necessary. Sometime later I was at a baseball game and the people nearby were Australian. Conversation started and they were simply floored that I had seen Water Rats and Murder Call. Small world isn't it.

I caught one of those Montalbano mysteries on one of our PBS stations a couple months ago. I'd never heard of the writer before. It was pretty good. It was in English, no subtitles. It was a nice break from the typical British fare....

Cool... I bet you're in New England, aren't you? WGBH/PBS was always a great channel. (Spent my summers on the North Mass. shore)

Lobstergirl wrote: "I caught one of those Montalbano mysteries on one of our PBS stations a couple months ago. I'd never heard of the writer before. It was pretty good. It was in English, no subtitles. It was a ni..."

No, midwest. But I think WGBH does let PBS stations across the country air their productions. I don't know if this one was a WGBH production.

Can we discuss tv shows here or is there a seperate topic that are crime related? CSI, law and order, bones etc?

Fiona wrote: "I have a Henning Mankell Wallander book which I can't wait to read. I saw the TV series recently with Kenneth Brannagh which was fantastic. I don't think it started from the first book though which..."

Mankell writes great books. ?You get absorbed in it and it is written very strong.

Hayes wrote: "Fiona wrote: "I wonder how many books are out tehre which aren't trasnlated into the English language?"

I highly recommend Andrea Camilleri, an Italian screenwriter and journalist w..."

I almost bought a Camilleri last friday but chose a book by Lucarelli which accordibg to my boyfriend and his brother is very good too.

Jeane wrote: "...but chose a book by Lucarelli..."

Fess up Jeane! Title? Author? Any good? I'm always on the look out for new things.

The lucarelli book is Almost Blue. Don't know yet how Io uccido.is, will let you know.

I've read Carte Blanche by Carlo Lucarelli. It't the first in a trilogy set in 1945 Italy during the fall of Mussolini. It was very good and I am looking forward to reading the next two. I read this in English.

Not into psychopathic things, but Carte Blanche, etc. looks good!!

Donna wrote: "I've read Carte Blanche by Carlo Lucarelli. It't the first in a trilogy set in 1945 Italy during the fall of Mussolini. It was very good and I am looking forward to reading the next t..."

Good to know!

I just started The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam and I am really enjoying it. It has a quick pace and so far a number of interesting twists and turns. I do like Charlie "the Good Thief".

I just finished The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam and it was very good. Quick pace, twisty plot, very entertaining. Certainly not a "cozy" but not too dark or graphic either. I am looking forward to the next in the series.

I have only been familiar with American writers, except for a few English ones. Thanks for expanding my author list. This is great.

Miss Tweety, is Baldacci thriler, crime..which sub-genre?
You know that I am not goof in putting them in the correct box!

I'm reading THE VARIOUS HAUNTS OF MEN by Susan Hill, the first in the Simon Serrailler series. VG.

Mary, that one was excellent, and a mindblower. At the end my mouth was dropped open in shock.

I have the second one out from the library now,
The Pure in Heart


Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "I'm reading THE VARIOUS HAUNTS OF MEN by Susan Hill, the first in the Simon Serrailler series. VG."

Just read about this in a "new releases" article,thought I'd share.



The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo
(If you're interested in the "true crime" genre)

There's a great book out now called SURVIVING THE MOB: A Street Soldier's Life In The Gambino Crime Family, written by Dennis Griffin. It's the true account of Andrew DiDonato, a guy who grew up in the mob culture of Brooklyn. I met Andrew a couple of times out in Las Vegas and he's nothing at all like you might think. He's a charming, good-looking, easy-going guy. But when he starts in on his past, you realize what he's been through. It's an excellent read for anyone who likes true crime.

That sounds really good, I'll have to check it out. I'm also interested in finding a good international crime novel. If anyone has some suggestions please let me know.

Good Morning
I am reading at the moment CRIME AND PUNISHMENT by GW Newman this about London crime in the 50's/60's police corruption and the big crime gangs . Fascinating reading nearly 700 pages long And I have nearly finished (It has taken under two weeks) Worth a read.

Greetings all: Just joined and posted reviews/interviews w/Joe R Lansdale (Devil Red) & Ace Atkins (Infamous), as well as a reappreciation of James Ellroy's American Tabloid.

Thanks for having me!

stan wrote: "Good Morning
I am reading at the moment CRIME AND PUNISHMENT by GW Newman this about London crime in the 50's/60's police corruption and the big crime gangs . Fascinating reading nearly 700 pages ..."

That sounds like a great book, Stan....I will look for it. I suppose there is a section on the Kray twins.

Hi Jill
Oh, yes the Kray's are featured ,but funnily enough not a word about their brother Charlie who was also a face then.

stan wrote: "Hi Jill
Oh, yes the Kray's are featured ,but funnily enough not a word about their brother Charlie who was also a face then."
There are several books out there about the Krays but I haven't decided which one I want to read. By chance have you read any of these?

The Krays by Martin Fido
The Cult of Violence: The Untold Story of the Krays byJohn Pearson

After a career in the FBI and as an ex-cop, I wrote 2 books. Midnight Sin is a crime novel; its backdrop was inspired by a real case I worked as a plain clothes cop. My first book, Walking the Corporate Beat discusses true cases of the mob, drugs, street crimes, undercover ops - and everything that can go wrong. I blog about general crime issues. Please feel free to visit my author page and Q&A.
Thanks,
Michael

Midnight Sin

Walking the Corporate Beat: Police School for Business People

Donna wrote: "A number of Scandanavian authors are now available in translation and are very, very good. I didn't know quite where to put them - police procedural, traditional whodunnit, psychological mystery - ..."

A new Scandinavian author (extremely popular in Denmark & well-deserved) is Jussi Adler-Olsen who has won several prices in Scandinavia. The first Carl Mørck mystery has received very fine reviews in the UK (titled Mercy) & US (titled The Keeper of Lost Causes).

Hi Dorte, A friend of my just gave me an ARC of The Keeper of Lost Causes and I'm really looking forward to it.

Based on my career in the FBI and earlier years as a police officer, I blog on issues relating to crime, security, law enforcement and related matters. My most recent blog is: Charges Dropped. Justice Served?

Please visit my blog via my Author Page or website: http://www.michaeltabman.com

Share your views and opinions.

Thanks,
Michael

Donna wrote: "Hi Dorte, A friend of my just gave me an ARC of The Keeper of Lost Causes and I'm really looking forward to it."

I really think you´ll enjoy it.

Donna wrote: "Hi Hayes, The shows are in Italian with subtitles. My husband went to school in Rome and still remembers some Italian so he tries to listen to the actual dialog. I have to read the subtitles. My hu..."

you mentioned Martin Beck. i followed him in every Maj/wahloo mystery many years ago--but not recently. glad you re-started my memory of him and the very able swedish writers. i recall "Man on the Balcony" as excellent.

Mike wrote: "There's a great book out now called SURVIVING THE MOB: A Street Soldier's Life In The Gambino Crime Family, written by Dennis Griffin. It's the true account of Andrew DiDonato, a guy who grew up in..."

This sounds pretty good really. Did you say you met this guy?

Mike wrote: "There's a great book out now called SURVIVING THE MOB: A Street Soldier's Life In The Gambino Crime Family, written by Dennis Griffin. It's the true account of Andrew DiDonato, a guy who grew up in..."

I bought this book. I have read several of the survivors of the mob books. Cant wait to read it.

Baby Lisa Still Missing - Hopeful, But Time Is Not On Our Side

Please see my blog and share your thoughts:
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

Thanks,
Michael Tabman

"What the Dutch think about US hard-boiled Crime fiction.." Jochem Steen (from the Netherlands) tells us what the Dutch read. I was surprised. You might be too. At my blog, SAY THE WORD.
http://libbyhellmann.com/wp

I'm going to throw out some crime fiction heresy here. Feel free to pile on. I have a gripe about modern crime fiction.
It seems to me the entire genre has become too wrapped up, dependent even, on computers. There hardly is a book without the bad guy hacking and the savvy computer analyst looking for virtual fingerprints and working in concert with the old school detective who can barely tolerate computers. What crime fiction reader isn't familiar with VICAP or the FBI fingerprint database?

Some authors have even successfully gone so far as to make the main character a liaison from the computer to the investigators. Yes, I'm talking about Jeffrey Deaver's character Lincoln Rhyme. Deaver has reduced his main character to a talking head but has maintained an interesting character despite the investigative reliance on the computer. My feeling is either there are a lot of wireheads writing crime fiction or the writers have become lazy, explaining or working out the investigation through their laptops. All the computer searches that point the way and the spectographic hair analysis leaves me cold.Sometimes, the machinations of ISP protocols and other tech talk just kills the story for me.

Give me the old school writers like Elmore Leonards,James Ellroy, or Walter Mosley.

There is a ripple, or a reflection of this in main stream television too. CSI, lets be real, this should be near future story, not a "current" crime story. They get finite accurate and precise information from systems that haven't even been invented yet, or, at best in the real word, can only generate a ballpark gestimate.

Take DNA for example. This in the general world of fiction and probably mainstream average minds, DNA is an exact science that yeilds unrefutable evidence. The fact is that this is still a developing science and the accuracy of a DNA test result is dependent on a lot of factors. Sometimes it yeilds airtight results, sometimes it yeilds results that say "...yes it's him, there's a one in 4 million chance this test is accurate..." For that matter fingerprints may be accurate, but a few years back there were two cops who would falsify evidence to convict people like this "... Take fingerprint off of Glass from kitchen. Lable the fingerprint sample "Fingerprint off of Gas Can Handle." Convict old widower of burning her husband alive..." (an actual case)

Yet again such things are reflected in places other than crime and the police procedural world. Take Mental Health for instance. So many people want a drug to cure all their ills, but they don't want to do the work it takes to get better. Phsyciatrists at one time actually did therapy and worked with treatment groups and individuals, now they are medication managers. To quote a phsychiatrist I've worked with, whom I liked. "Tell her if she wants to take pills for the rest of her life she can keep coming to me exclusively, if she wants to get better, she needs to see a psycologist also and do some real work on herself."

And to quote my favorite Catholic Priest, Father Martin, "Sure faith can move mountains...bring a shovel."

I'm not opposed to using the tools available as they can be used. Hell, I'm not opposed to fudging a bit on their accuracy, but when I'm reading a good book, I really want to put it down when the technolgy becomes a crutch for the characters. I'm not "that" ready for art to imitate life.

Another issue with using the computer and software as a 'character' is how quickly the terminology gets dated. Within a year, the state of the art technology the writer uses is likely to be available on this year's cell phone.
Thinking of the opening of the newest 'Wall Street' movie. Michael Douglas gets released from prison. When he is claiming his property, they hand him his brick sized cell phone.

Yes, there was a funny scene, well a funny comment in a horrific scene, that I liked from Shaken, by Y.A. Konrath (Jack Daniels). He wrote it part in flash backs and part in the current time. In a flash back from 1982, his Heroine (one of my favorites) Disables a serial killerwith a brick cellphone. She shatters it on his head, and then goes, wow, they should issue these to everyone on the force, it really comes in handy. (Or something like that) and in the current time never leaves home or the office without her cellphone.

This is why I liked the first Kate Shugak crime Novel, A Cold Day for Murder, She does get help from a guy with CIA connections, but for the most part, she did her detective work the old fashioned way. She went and talked to people, or down the mine shaft to look at the crime scene. She ran down leads even though she had to drive her snowmobile across long stretches of Alaska. She put things together in her head like a puzzle. (And the supporting cast turned out to be wonderful on several levels.)

It's like Kat said. "The Denoument of the read can't be based entirly on DNA results." I like action, I like interaction, and good ol' gumshoe police procedure. Sure the fancy machines with bells and whistles have their place.

I love the Patrick Bowers Files (by Steven James). Bowers, Jame's FBI guy, has created this wonderful program that helps him track down serial killers, yet, as I read it, all the machine really does is help me understand the entire story. Bowers still talks to people, tracks down evidence, works fingerprints, interviews suspects and witnesses, and works a crime scene. His fancy computer program is really more a tool for the author that helps explain how things fit together. It reenforces the story and the hard work rather than does it for them.

Hugh (A.K.A. Hermit the Curmudgeon) wrote: "Yes, there was a funny scene, well a funny comment in a horrific scene, that I liked from Shaken, by Y.A. Konrath (Jack Daniels). He wrote it part in flash backs and part in the current time. In ..."

As soon as you wrote about the mine shaft and the snowmobile ride across Alaska, the book Smilla's Sense of Snowpopped into my head. Interesting story though the end gets a bit fanciful. The reviews on this were equally love it or hate it. I lifted this one as it rang true as describing the main character.

"They're both, at their cores, books which say "this woman is real weird and kind of unpleasant and seems like she might not bathe frequently, but everyone who meets her thinks, 'damn, you's one cool chick.'

I agree with you both, some authors seem to expect their readers to be computer experts but I have to say when they get too technical it just leaves me cold. I was put off the later Paticia Cornwell books for that very reason. When Scarpetta's niece Lucy became involved I couldn't follow what was going on and in the end gave up reading Cornwell -a shame as hear ealier titles had been such brilliant reads.