Top International Crime Novels from Authors Janice Hamrick & Mark Pryor

This Sunday, June 12th, at 2PM, MysteryPeople is celebrating International Crime Fiction Month with a panel discussion on our favorite international crime fiction. The panel will include booksellers Scott Montgomery and Molly Odintz, authors Janice Hamrick and Mark Pryor, and KAZI Book Review host, Hopeton Hay. To give you some idea of how the conversation will go, both Janice and Mark have listed three of their favorites.

Janice Hamrick’s Top International Crime Fiction Picks

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Written by a Scottish man, the series is located in Botswana and features a female detective (Precious Ramotswe). I enjoy the entirely different world – McCall Smith grew up in Rhodesia and lived and worked in Botswana for a number of years. I also like the gentle pacing of the novels.

The Storm by Neil Broadfoot

Set in Edinburgh, this novel starts with the brutal murder of newspaper editor in front of investigative reporter Doug McGregor. This is one of the new examples of a genre they’re calling Tartan Noir and published by a very small independent press called Saraband. I discovered it because my daughter was the proofreader.

Acqua Alta by Donna Leon

Set in Venice during the “high water” flooding that occurs during the winter, Leon’s Inspector Brunetti investigates murder in the art world. Leon is an American ex-pat living in Venice and her setting is as much a character as any other. A really nice series.

Mark Pryor’s Top International Crime Fiction Picks

Seeking Whom He May Devour by Fred Vargas

Like all her books, Vargas infuses this story with odd characters, suggestions of magical realism, and wonderful snippets of French life. The protagonist Chief Inspector Adamsberg is both quirky and brilliant, using his imagination as much as solid clues to solve this and all his mysteries.

In The Woods by Tana French

I don’t think there’s any more lyrical writing in crime fiction today. This is French’s first novel and maybe her best because the plot is realistic and compelling, the characters engaging, and the prose masterful. I’ve wondered about a couple of her subsequent plots, but even then her writing keeps me hooked.

The Other Side of Silence by Philip Kerr

This is a brilliant series generally but there’s something about the post-war setting in France that makes this one special. The protagonist, Bernie Gunther, is his usual cynical and pragmatic self, and this time he’s mixing it up with writer Somerset Maugham and some delightfully naughty British spies. I’m a busy man and can rarely say this: I read this book in one weekend.

April is for Mystery Lovers: Tons of Upcoming Events!

As we all enjoy the brief Texas spring, come take shelter from the pollen counts and enjoy our full roster of mystery events coming up in April here at the store. On April 2nd, Philip Kerr started off our April events with a blast, speaking and signing his latest continuation of his Bernie Gunther series, The Other Side of Silence. If you missed the event, signed copies of his latest, as well as many of the previous volumes in the series, are available on our shelves and via bookpeople.com.

This past Sunday, April 10th, at 2 PM, Laurie R. King, author of the beloved Russell and Holmes series, as well as the fantastic Kate Martinelli series, joined us to speak and sign her latest installment in her Mary Russell series, The Murder of Mary Russell. While I’ve been reading the Mary Russell novels for many years, King’s newest addition to the series, delving deep into Mrs. Hudson’s backstory, might be my favorite in the series to date!

For those who missed this event, library enthusiasts will be pleased to note that in support of Austin Public Library, 5% of sales of all Laurie R. King titles sold in store on Sunday April 10th and 5 % of sales of The Murder of Mary Russell the week of April 5th (ending April 12th) will be donated to the library. Come by today or tomorrow, grab a copy of King’s latest, and support Austin Public Library. Signed copies available!

Just one day after Laurie R. King’s visit, Stuart Woods and David C. Taylor will be speaking and signing their latest novels, Family Jewels and Night Work, respectively, today, Monday, April 11th, at 7 PM. This event is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with Stuart Woods on his large oeuvre of bestselling thrillers, while getting to know David C. Taylor, an up-and-coming crime novelist who started out in the film biz.

Next up, Jessica Knoll, author of the stunning debut, Luckiest Girl Alive, comes to speak and sign this amazing novel on Saturday, April 16th, at 3 PM. Knoll has worked as senior editor at Cosmopolitan. She draws on both life and fiction for her debut, an intense look at high school trauma and its lingering effects, even for those who manage to reinvent themselves in adulthood.

On Sunday, April 17th, Scott and Molly will reprise our panel discussion on how we compiled our MysteryPeople Top 100 Crime and Suspense Novels at the first ever Pflugerville Book Pfestival, happening Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th at the Pflugerville Library. The festival is sponsored by KAZI Austin, 88.7 FM, and put together by Hopeton Hay, host of Kazi Book Review with Hopeton Hay. Thanks to Hopeton and KAZI for putting this festival together and bringing the MysteryPeople Top 100 list out into world.

Then on Monday, April 18th, at 1 PM, the Murder in the Afternoon Book Club will discuss The Professionals, by Owen Laukkanen, with a call-in from the author. The Hard Word Book Club, meeting Wednesday, April 27th, at 7 PM, also has a special guest calling in to the discussion – Craig Johnson, author of the Longmire series, will call in to discuss his novel As The Crow Flies. 

Finally, we’ll finish out the month with a visit from Melissa Ginsburg on Saturday, April 30th at 3 PM. Ginsburg’s Houston-set debut, Sunset City, follows a barista on the hunt for her best friend’s murderer. Sunset City is our April Pick of the Month, and we’re glad to celebrate a powerful new voice in Texas crime fiction.

MysteryPeople Review: THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE by Philip Kerr

Philip Kerr joins us here at BookPeople this Saturday, April 2nd, at 4 PM, in conversation with Mark Pryor, author of the Hugo Marston series. Kerr will be speaking and signing his latest Bernie Gunther novel, The Other Side of Silence. 

• Review by Molly Odintz

Historical mystery fans, rejoice! The ex-Berlin-policeman-turned-cynical-anti-fascist-detective Bernie Gunther has returned. Philip Kerr has just released another fantastic addition to the series, The Other Side of Silence. Gunther first appeared in Philip Kerr’s brilliant 1930s-set Berlin Noir trilogy, where he begins the series as a Berlin homicide detective, quits to become a private investigator, and alternates between jobs commissioned by the regime and by the victims of the regime. Later volumes in the series follow Bernie through the war, to the Russian front, to a prison camp, to France, and to all over South America. The series frequently features two timelines with linked or similar cases, to explore Bernie’s exploits in a non-linear manner.

In Kerr’s latest, Gunther, working for a hotel in mid-50s Paris, goes on a search for a new bridge partner after his previous partner dies in a lovers’ quarrel. His quest for bridge players brings him to a journalist on assignment to write a biography of Somerset Maugham, who loves bridge as much as he hates everything else. Gunther, spurred by the lethal combination of a beautiful woman and offer of money, goes to Maugham’s estate to unlock the great man’s secrets.