The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

Here's the "sister" to the 50 US States Challenge:

50 member states signed the first United Nations charter on June 26th, 1945.

Help celebrate 65 years of the UN by participating in the International Challenge

1. Anyone can participate in the United Nations International challenge and can join in at anytime. The official start date will be June 26, 2010. There is no end date. All books (re-reads and audio books okay) finished on or after this date will count for the challenge.

2. The object of this challenge is to read books that take place in 50 different countries of the world. The list is a very arbitrary list of the first 50 member states of the UN based on the date they entered the UN (see below). As some of the states no longer exist, or have split and become two states, for example, I will be elastic. For example: the USSR will count if you’re reading an older spy thriller.

3. Books must actually take place within the country. Some books contain more than one location. It is not required that the entire book take place exclusively in that one country. However, a significant portion of the book must be set in the country and each book may be used once only in the list.

4. Reporting: Please start a new topic with your name. Include date finished, Title (link please), rating.

Example: United Kingdom 02/07/10 Busman's Honeymoon (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, #13) 5/5 stars

Here are the first 50 members of the UN, based on when they joined. (See: UN Member States

For the purposes of the challenge former states are valid (USSR for Russian Federation, etc).


1 Argentina
2 Belarus
3 Brazil
4 Chile
5 China
6 Cuba
7 Denmark
8 Dominican Rep
9 Egypt
10 El Salvador
11 France
12 Haiti
13 Iran (Islamic Rep of)
14 Lebanon
15 Luxembourg
16 New Zealand
17 Paraguay
18 Philippines
19 Poland
20 Russian Federation
21 Saudi Arabia
22 Syrian Arab Republic
23 Turkey
24 Ukraine
25 UK (GB and N. Ireland)
25 USA
26 Greece
27 India
28 Peru
29 Australia
30 Costa Rica
31 Liberia
32 Colombia
33 Mexico
34 South Africa
35 Canada
36 Ethiopia
37 Panama
36 Bolivia
37 Venezuela
38 Guatemala
39 Norway
40 Netherlands
41 Honduras
42 Uruguay
43 Ecuador
44 Iraq
45 Belgium
46 Afghanistan
47 Iceland
48 Sweden
49 Thailand
50 Pakistan

Here they are in Alphabetical Order:


Afghanistan
Argentina
Australia
Belarus
Belgium
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Denmark
Dominican Rep
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Ethiopia
France
Greece
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Iceland
India
Iran (Islamic Rep of)
Iraq
Lebanon
Liberia
Luxembourg
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Sweden
Syrian Arab Republic
Thailand
Turkey
UK (GB and N. Ireland)
Ukraine
Uruguay
USA
Venezuela

Hmmm... I searched my paperbacks on hand and to be read. I got very excited that I found a thriller set in Mauritius - the only one I have not set in Britain.... only to find, sadly, they are not part of the UN ...

A great excuse to visit the second hand shop today ....

Yes, and who knew Austria was not an original signer. I just finished The Third Man!

That's rough!

Nah, that's an excuse to buy more books! Although, I'm going to need an atlas and the globe for this one.

Good luck Chelsea. I did mention that it was a totally arbitrary list. (I chose 50 so that it would be the same number as the US states.)

Hayes, I think we'll all need luck just with the 50 you selected. Before all is said and done, I'm sure I'll wish I were multilingual.

I'm in. What a fun challenge!

I just added No 1 Ladies Detective Agency to my "To Read" list, but Botswana joined the UN in 1966, so they are not on this UN list.

I like the challenge anyway. So I accept.

Okay, i think I have a pretty good list, but I lack;
Luxembourg
Paraguay
Uruguay.

Any suggestions?

I was thinking of seeing how many books I could read this year set in other countries... I love this idea and will see how far I get!

Reposting here:

The Luxembourg Run

and this morning I found

Tropic Of Fear

From Wikipedia:
Barbara Conaty, writing in Library Journal, noted that “this thriller takes readers deep into the politics of Paraguay.”


Winged with Death

and I found this brief description: a literary crime novel that links the armed radicalism of the 1970s with a protagonist’s complex situation in the present, to disturbing effect. In Baker’s novel, the past is Montevideo, where urban guerillas confront a grim military dictatorship.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Reposting here:

The Luxembourg Run

and this morning I found

Tropic Of Fear

From Wikipedia:
Barbara Conaty, writing in Library Journal, noted that “this th..."

Hey!!! I don't know how you did it, but I'll take all three. Luxembourg is on its way. Uruguay and Paraguay actually sound pretty interesting.

Thank you so much.

I'm reading City of Silver: A Mystery and I have a bit of a dilemma, it's set it Petosi. During the time of the book, this is a Peruvian city but today it is Bolivian. Where to put this? By the way, it's very good so far.

Alright, I am in for this one, too. I checked it out because I have on my to read list Barry Eisler's and I was hoping Japan was on the list, as the series is set in Tokyo.... Alas... it is not to be. However, I can use for the UK, as it is on my "To Read" list.

I have a site... www.springfieldlibrary.org/foreigncri...

This site lists authors all over the world and their works, all mysteries.

I'm going to join this. I recently bought by Nancy Pearl which lists books from different countries and she always lists mysteries too.

I can't get the Springfield Library link to work for me. It says "Object not found"

I am into this challenge. I can cross about 6 countries off my list. It will be exciting to learn about some of the different countries and a geograpy refresher.

I'm jumping in on this. Will post my books as I read along.

Welcome. This is a fun challenge.

I'm in!
This is right up my street.

And, for those of you looking for books from various countries on this list, consider dropping in to Murder is Everywhere, a blog where you can pick up reading tips and enjoy posts about the cultural, historical and human interest aspects of the countries at the same time.

You'll find it here: http://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.com/

Hi: If it helps anybody, my first book The Empanada Affair is set in Argentina, while the second book The Ambivalent Corpse is set predominantly in Uruguay, with guest appearances by Brazil and Paraguay.

For the UN Mystery Challenge, I highly recommend The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill. It takes place in Thailand. It's the perfect mix of geography, history, politics, customs and mystery all revolving around a most interesting character...Dr Siri.
I will read more of this series.

Oh, and there is a third book in my creative oven, probably to be published in early 2012, tentatively entitled "The Surreal Killer". This one will take place in Chile and Peru.

To summarize, Argentina is available in The Empanada Affair as a $0.99 Kindle E-book from Amazon or in most other formats via Smashwords, Kobo, Nook, iPad, etc. Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil are available in The Ambivalent Corpse as a $2.99 Kindle E-book from Amazon or in most other formats via Smashwords, Kobo, Nook, iPad, etc. Chile and Peru will be available soon in The Ambivalent Corpse as a $2.99 Kindle E-book from Amazon or in most other formats via Smashwords, Kobo, Nook, iPad, etc.

Laurie (Kwiltreader) wrote: "For the UN Mystery Challenge, I highly recommend The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill. It takes place in Thailand. It's the perfect mix of geography, history, politics, customs and mystery all ..."

My favorite series.

Laurie (Kwiltreader) wrote: "For the UN Mystery Challenge, I highly recommend The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill. It takes place in Thailand. It's the perfect mix of geography, history, politics, customs and mystery all ..."

Re: THE CORONER'S LUNCH, et al: It's actually set in Laos! One of my favorite series. But if you're looking for Thailand, try Timothy Hallinan (A NAIL THROUGH THE HEART et al).

Rachel wrote: "What happened to Tibet? I know they're not a member of the General Assembly, but that's probably the fault of China and the international community.
Anyway, my contribution on China is the trilogy ..."

Rachel--try Eliot Pattison's Inspector Shan series, which is set in Tibet.

I'm biased (of course) toward books that I've edited--Soho does only international crime, and I'm trying to resist dumping a whole list of titles here!--so only the first one is a Soho book. Here are a couple based on this thread:

For Paraguay: you're going to have to wait until December, but Leighton Gage (who has commented on this thread) is the author of a brilliant procedural series set in Brazil, and the latest installment, PERFECT HATRED, is set in large part in Paraguay.

For Turkey: one of the best (and most complex) psychological thrillers I've read is Maureen Freely's ENLIGHTENMENT, which is set in Istanbul in the early 1970s.

For Peru: since he won the Nobel, people forget that Mario Vargas Llosa has a fantastic detective series (DEATH IN THE ANDES and WHO KILLED PALOMINO MOLERO?). Also, more recently, Hilary Davidson's THE NEXT ONE TO FALL is the latest in an award-winning Peruvian series.

South America Update: The Surreal Killer (PERU and CHILE; 4.7 Stars) is available from Amazon (FREE for Amazon Prime members) for $2.99 at http://www.amazon.com/The-Surreal-Kil.... The preceding book in this series, The Ambivalent Corpse (URUGUAY, BRAZIL, PARAGUAY, ARGENTINA; 4.5 Stars), is available from Amazon for $2.99 at http://www.amazon.com/Ambivalent-Corp..., and also from Smashwords at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/..., Apple, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble (Nook). That's two highly rated and fast moving mysteries and six countries all described in some detail for less than $6.

Hello all,

Awhile ago I suggested http://www.librarything.com/topic/123240
The woman did an EXTENSIVE list of them on Library Thing of each State as well as a daunting list of not only Countries but their Territories, Providences and the like. There is no recommendations, ratings but regardless impressive.

One book set in Cuba is "See You Later Alligator", by William F. Buckley, Jr. I believe it was set at the time of the Cuban missile crisis.

How about two books by Sam Eastland that do not come "up" on add book/author: Eye of the Red Tzar and Shadow Pass. Two great books about the happenings in
Russia, USSR, Russian Fed. Whatever! Time period Russia and then USSR.

I think I'll take on my own variation on this - 50 different countries, UN notwithstanding, and all genres. Particularly since I don't politically acknowledge "UK" as one single country and I chafe at the exclusion of Ireland, as there's quite a bit of good mystery fiction based there. (Might be a little easier with losing the genre requirement, but I doubt it...) Anyway, I'll make a post and try to keep it up. Not in the group, of course, since it's not mystery-only.

I personally have made this challenge more difficult for myself. I am already interested in other countries and their cultures and have included non-UN countries on my lists. I have also included ALL of the countries AND territories etc. of the UK, Canada, France, etc.

Want to recommend this site, it is awesome:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/123240

so..if I understand correctly...any book read after 26 Jun 2010 is allowed? if this is correct then I can cross off several of the countries :)

Here are the first 50 members of the UN, based on when they joined. (See: UN Member States

For the purposes of the challenge former states are valid (USSR for Russian Federation, etc).


1 Argentina
2 Belarus
3 Brazil
4 Chile
5 China
6 Cuba
7 Denmark
8 Dominican Rep
9 Egypt
10 El Salvador
11 France..Citadel..Kate Mosse(book 3)(26 May)
12 Haiti
13 Iran (Islamic Rep of)
14 Lebanon
15 Luxembourg
16 New Zealand
17 Paraguay
18 Philippines
19 Poland
20 Russian Federation..The Bronze Horseman..Paulinna Simons(book 1)(read)
21 Saudi Arabia
22 Syrian Arab Republic
23 Turkey..The Oracle of Stamboul..Michael David Lukas(read)
24 Ukraine..A Weak America in Russia & Ukraine..Walter Parchemenko (read)
25 UK (GB and N. Ireland)..The Anatomist's Wife..Anna Lee Huber(book 1)(3 May)
25 USA..The Next Always..Nora Roberts(book 1)(read)
26 Greece
27 India..Tiger's Curse..Colleen Houck(book 1)(read)
28 Peru
29 Australia..The Light Between Oceans..M.L.Stedman(read)
30 Costa Rica
31 Liberia
32 Colombia
33 Mexico
34 South Africa
35 Canada
36 Ethiopia..The Quest..Nelson DeMille (read)
37 Panama
36 Bolivia
37 Venezuela
38 Guatemala
39 Norway
40 Netherlands
41 Honduras
42 Uruguay
43 Ecuador
44 Iraq..The Forty Rules of love..Elif Shafak(read)
45 Belgium
46 Afghanistan..The Dressmaker of Khair Khana..Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (read)
47 Iceland
48 Sweden..The Stockholm Octavo..Karen Engelmann
49 Thailand
50 Pakistan

My mystery series is about a soldier who travels the world getting into all kinds of trouble. While the first book, The Peacekeeper's Photograph, takes place in Bosnia (not on the list), the second book,The Sapper's Plot, takes place in Honduras. The third book will take place in Germany. If you'd like to add countries to you list, you can find them in paperback and ebook on Amazon.com

Graham Greene's The Honorary Consul was set in Paraguay.

Here is my challenge results.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

This challenge sounds fun. I'm going to try it.


Afghanistan
Argentina
Australia
Belarus
Belgium
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada Puppet, Joy Fielding, 4/5
Chile
China The Risk Agent, Ridley Pearson, 4/5
Colombia Clear and Present Danger, Tom Clancy, 4/5
Costa Rica
Cuba
Denmark
Dominican Rep
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Ethiopia
France The Templar Legacy, Steve Berry, 4/5
Greece
Guatemala Grave Secrets, Kathy Reichs, 5/5
Haiti
Honduras
Iceland
India
Iran (Islamic Rep of)
Iraq
Lebanon
Liberia
Luxembourg
Mexico Damage Control, John Gilstrap, 3/5
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Sweden
Syrian Arab Republic
Thailand
Turkey
UK (GB and N. Ireland) The Other Woman's House, or Lasting Damage, Sophie Hannah, 5/5
Ukraine Last Snow, Eric Van Lustbader, 3/5
Uruguay
USA The First Deadly Sin, Lawrence Sanders, 5/5
Venezuela

I see no one has commented in months. Has everyone given up the challenges?

Wendy wrote: "I see no one has commented in months. Has everyone given up the challenges?"

I'll post as soon as I finish reading The Son by Jo Nesbo, from Norway.

In the Woods, Tana French, Ireland it's very good

FINALLY FINISHED!!!

✔Afghanistan The Honey Thief 7 Jun ✭✭✭
✔Argentina Kiss of the Spider Woman 20 Nov ✭✭✭✭
✔Australia Breath 27 Feb ✭✭✭✭
✔Belarus Pack of wolves 9 Feb ✭✭✭
✔Belgium Poirot's Early Cases: 18 Hercule Poirot Mysteries 27 Jan ✭✭✭
✔Bolivia City of Silver: A Mystery 7 Feb ✭✭✭
✔Brazil Max And The Cats A Novel 28 Mar ✭✭
✔Canada Bury Your Dead 28 Jun ✭✭✭✭
✔Chile The Neruda Case: A Novel 27 Aug ✭✭✭
✔China The Kitchen God's Wife 29 Feb ✭✭✭
✔Colombia One Hundred Years of Solitude 31 Aug ✭✭✭✭
✔Costa Rica The Monkey Thief 28 Oct ✭✭✭
✔Cuba Our Man in Havana (Caribbean) 1 Dec ✭✭✭
✔Denmark The Keeper of Lost Causes 19 Aug ✭✭✭✭
✔Dominican Rep The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 23 Jul ✭✭
✔Ecuador Galápagos 18 Jun ✭✭
✔Egypt Beyond the Grave 18 Jan ✭✭✭
✔El Salvador The She-Devil in the Mirror 18 May ✭✭✭
✔Ethiopia Cutting for Stone 17 Jun ✭✭✭✭
✔France A Novel Bookstore 30 May ✭✭✭
✔Greece Goatsong: A Novel of Ancient Athens 26 Dec ✭✭✭✭
✔Guatemala Grave Secrets 1 Jan ✭✭✭✭
✔Haiti Breath, Eyes, Memory 7 Dec ✭✭✭
✔Honduras Take No Prisoners✭✭✭✭
✔Iceland From the Mouth of the Whale 24 Sep ✭✭✭
✔ India Sea of Poppies 12 Sep ✭✭✭
✔Iran (Islamic Rep of) The Blood of Flowers 13 Jul ✭✭✭✭
✔Iraq Chasing Eden 10 May ✭✭✭
✔Lebanon Varjak Paw 10 Dec ✭✭✭
✔Liberia Beyond the Mango Tree 15 Mar✭✭✭✭
✔Luxembourg The Luxembourg Run 10 Jun ✭✭✭
✔Mexico Red Glass 21 Sep ✭✭✭
✔Netherlands The Dinner Club 15 Aug ✭✭✭
✔New Zealand The Whale Rider 22 Sep ✭✭✭✭
✔Norway Broken 14 May ✭✭✭
✔Pakistan Midnight's Children 5 Mar ✭✭✭
✔Panama Beneath a Panamanian Moon 21 Nov ✭✭✭
✔Paraguay Tropic of Fear 20 Apr ✭✭✭
✔Peru Bel Canto 1 Jul ✭✭✭✭
✔Philippines Trash 8 Aug ✭✭✭✭✭
✔Poland (Plock) The Boy in the Striped Pajamas 17 Aug ✭✭✭✭✭
✔Russian Federation Winter Garden 26 Dec ✭✭✭✭
✔Saudi Arabia Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist 23 Dec ✭✭✭✭
✔South Africa Mixed Blood: A Thriller 27 Sep ✭✭✭✭
✔Sweden Let the Right One In 8 Jul ✭✭✭✭
✔Syrian Arab Republic The Golem and the Jinni 23 Dec ✭✭✭✭✭
✔Thailand Fieldwork 24 Nov ✭✭✭
✔Turkey The Black Book 3 Apr ✭✭
✔UK (GB and N. Ireland) Three Bags Full 26 Apr ✭✭✭✭
✔Ukraine Everything Is Illuminated 10 Jul ✭✭
✔Uruguay The House of Paper 3 Nov ✭✭✭
✔USA The Black Camel 16 Aug ✭✭✭✭
✔Venezuela Consider Her Ways 13 May ✭✭✭✭

Almeta wrote: "FINALLY FINISHED!!!

Congratulations! I'm looking through the list and I see some books to add to my stack.

Outstanding! Congratulations, Almeta!!