2015 Global Reading Challenge: Progress Report III

Like many, I grew up with crime fiction set in the United States (Hardy Boys, for me) and England (Sherlock Holmes, Poirot). While those two countries have provided plenty of great murder mysteries over the decades, the rest of the world is full of terrific writing and amazing tales that are sometimes overlooked. 

I've signed up for the 2015 Global Reading Challenge, a terrific annual initiative set up by crime bloggers Dorte and Kerrie a few years ago, which encourages booklovers to read more widely, try new authors, and try books written or set in a range of different countries and regions.

I've chosen the expert challenge: three books from each of seven continents, with each book to be from a different country/state. I will focus on crime fiction for this challenge, and I'll be aiming to read books from as many different author nationalities, as well as settings, as possible.

Here's my progress so far, with books read and acquired, as of 2 September 2015.

AFRICA (1 of 3)

1. South Africa: THE SERPENTINE ROAD by Paul Mendelson (Constable, 2015). A Cape Town cop who dates back to the dark days of the Apartheid era finds himself juggling politics and policing in modern-day South Africa when a rich heiress is found murdered and displayed in a macabre homage to the explicit art she promoted. Author nationality: UK Status: Read and to be Reviewed (4 stars)
2. Botswana: DEATH OF THE MANTIS by Michael Stanley (Headline, 2011). When a series of bizarre deaths point to a nomadic bushmen tribe, Detective "Kubu" Bengu must journey into the depths of the Kalahari to uncover the truth. What he discovers there will test all his powers of detection . . . and his ability to remain alive. Author nationality: South African/USA  Status: On shelf/To be read
3. Kenya: STRANGE GODS by Annamaria Alfieri (Minotaur, 2014). A British doctor's body is found with a tribal spear in his back. An idealistic policeman focuses on a local medicine man, but the case proves just as complicated and dangerous as the clash of colonial and local cultures. Author nationality: USA Status: On shelf/To be read

ASIA (1 of 3 read)

1. Yemen: THE ABRUPT PHYSICS OF DYING by Paul E. Hardisty (Orenda Books, 2015). An oil company engineer with a violent past is ensnared between opposing armies, controllers of the country’s oil wealth, Yemen’s shadowy secret service, and rival factions as he tries to rescue his friend who was kidnapped by a wanted terrorist who thinks his employer is poisoning a local village. Author nationality: Australian/Canadian. Status: Read and reviewed (for Herald on Sunday newspaper). 
2. Sri Lanka: IN THE LION'S THROAT by Bob Marriott. Motivated by the death of his younger brother, undercover Interpol cop Brett Sadler searches for a missing friend and wages war against the tidal wave of drugs flowing out of South-East Asia. Author nationality: New Zealand. Status: To be read
3. India: A MADRAS MIASMA by Brian Stoddart. The first Inspector Le Fanu mystery, set in 1920s India as the British are slowly losing their grip on the continent. The Inspector investigates the murder of a British girl, whose body is found in the canal, against a backdrop of complex colonial politics and race relations. Author nationality: New Zealand. Status: To be read. 

AUSTRALASIA/OCEANIA (COMPLETED)

1. Christchurch, NZ: FIVE MINUTES ALONE by Paul Cleave (Penguin NZ, 2015). Old police colleagues Theo Tate and Carl Schroder, both trying to put their lives back together after several tough cases that almost destroyed them, are in action once more as someone is helping violent crime victims exact revenge on their attackers. Author nationality: New Zealand. Status: Read and reviewed in Herald on Sunday. 
2. Australia and Fiordland, NZ: POISON BAY by Belinda Pollard (Small Blue Dog, 2014). Aussie TV journo Callie Brown joins friends from the past on a trek into New Zealand's most brutal wilderness, in the hope of healing a broken heart. What she doesn't know is that someone wants them all dead. Lost in every sense of the word, the hikers' primal instincts erupt. Author nationality: Australian. Status: Read and reviewed. 
3. Auckland, NZ: SOMETHING IS ROTTEN by Adam Sarafis (Echo Publishing, 2015). A government terrorism adviser turned mechanic is coaxed into investigating the grisly ruled-a-suicide death of a budding writer in the university library, uncovering a conspiracy involving the top echelons of local politics, big business, and the military. Author nationalities: Swedish and New Zealand. Status: Read and reviewed. 

Other books read for this continent: BLOOD, WINE & CHOCOLATE by Julie Thomas (Waiheke Island, NZ); THE FIXER by John Daniell (NZ author, French setting); DATABYTE by Cat Connor (NZ author, US setting); TRUST NO ONE by Paul Cleave (Christchurch, NZ); 

EUROPE (COMPLETED)

1. France: AFTER THE CRASH by Michel Bussi (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2015). Eighteen years after a tragic airline crash, a French private eye prepares to commit suicide as he hasn't solved a longstanding mystery: just who was the baby found amongst the wreckage, the sole survivor? Then everything changes. Author nationality: France: Status: Read and reviewed for the Herald on Sunday. 
2. Sweden: THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB by David Lagercrantz (MacLehose Press, 2015). Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return to the page thanks to a new author, fighting against injustice in a twisting story involving the NSA, a world-renowned scientist, an autistic witness, Eastern European gangsters, and professional and personal threats much closer to home.  Author nationality: Swedish. Status: Read and reviewed. 
3. Glasgow, Scotland: BEYOND THE RAGE by Michael J Malone (Saraband, 2015). Glasgow criminal Kenny O'Neill is angry. Not only has his high-class prostitute girlfriend just been attacked, but his father is reaching out to him from the past despite abandoning Kenny as a child after his mother s suicide. Kenny is now on a dual mission to hunt down his girl's attacker and find out the truth about his father... but instead he unravels disturbing family secrets and finds that revenge is not always sweet. Author nationality: Scottish. Status: Read and reviewed. 

Other books read for this continent: PRAYER FOR THE DEAD by James Oswald (Scotland); BROKEN DOLLS by James Carol (England); THE MISTAKE by Grant Nicol (Iceland); IN BITTER CHILL by Sarah Ward (England); THE DUNGEON HOUSE by Martin Edwards (England); FROZEN ASSETS by Quentin Bates (Iceland); INTO THE NIGHT by Jake Woodhouse (Netherlands setting, English author); THE FIELD OF BLACKBIRDS by Thomas Ryan (Kosovo setting, NZ author); A BRUSH WITH DANGER by Adam Frost (France and Russia setting, UK author). 

LATIN AMERICA

1. Cuba: HAVANA GOLD by Leonardo Padura (Bitter Lemon Press, 2011). A 24-year-old teacher is beaten, raped, and then strangled. Lieutenant Conde is pressured by 'the highest authority' to conclude his investigation quickly. Set in a Havana of crumbling, grand buildings, secrets hidden behind faded doors and corruption. Yet also a eulogy to Cuba: its life of music, sex and the great friendships of those who chose to stay and fight for survival. Author nationality: Cuban. Status: On shelf/To be read. 
2. Brazil: THE BODY SNATCHER by Patricia Melo (Bitter Lemon, 2015). Drug dealing gone wrong, police corruption, and macabre blackmail in South America, . Author nationality: Brazil: Status: On shelf/To be read. 
3. TBC

NORTH AMERICA (COMPLETED)

1. Washington DC/Virginia/Maryland (USA) + Iraq: THE NIGHT CREW by Brian Haig (Thomas & Mercer, 2015): Cocky US Army lawyer Lt Col Sean Drummond is forced to take a case with a fiercely anti-war civilian lawyer defending a naive or evil female prison guard accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners. As Drummond uncovers evidence that his client has been used as a pawn in a secret strategy involving torture, he realizes that he’s caught up in a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government. Author nationality: USA. Status: Read and reviewed. 
2. Canada & Mississippi: ONE NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI by Craig Shreve (Thomas Allen, 2015): After the Department of Justice starts going after old racist killers from the Civil Rights era, forty years later, drifter Warren Williams is inspired to search for justice for his brother Graden, leading to a surprising showdown north of the border. Author nationality: Canada. Status. Read and reviewed. 
3. Pennsylvania, USA: DEATH FALLS by Todd Ritter (Avon, 2015, originally published by Minotaur as BAD MOON in 2011). Decades after nine-year-old Charlie Olmstead went missing, presumed drowned, on the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Perry Hollow Police Chief Kat Campbell is convinced by Charlie's brother to follow newfound evidence that Charlie might have been abducted, and that he wasn't the only victim. Author nationality: USA. Status: Read and reviewed. 

Other books read for this continent: MISSING YOU by Harlan Coben (New York); DON'T LOSE HER by Jonathon King (Florida); CRASH & BURN by Lisa Gardner (New Hampshire); PAST CRIMES by Glen Erik Hamilton (Seattle); SOMETIMES THE WOLF by Urban Waite (Pacific Northwest); THEY CALL ME ALEXANDRA GASTONE by TA MacLagan (Washington DC & surrounds, NZ author); BLACK EYED SUSANS by Julia Heaberlin (Texas); AMERICAN BLOOD by Ben Sanders (New Mexico, NZ author); 

THE SEVENTH CONTINENT - REMEMBERING THE WARS (COMPLETED)
For the seventh continent, which used to be Antarctica (for expert readers), participants can chose their own category - historical murder mysteries, a particular theme, etc. I have decided that since we are currently commemorating the centenary of the Great War, I will focus on books that harken back to the two world wars - whether being written during that time, set there, or being modern books whose plotlines tie into things that happened during the war and have come home to roost for the contemporary characters.

1. Ireland and World War II: THE LOST AND THE BLIND by Declan Burke (Severn House, 2015). Journalist Tom Noone is hired to ghostwrite the biography of a forgotten thriller author but instead stumbles upon a tale of a never-discussed Nazi atrocity on Donegal. What it covered up (and if so, why) or has he been hooked by the ravings of senile old men? As he digs further and bad things start happening he realises that powerful people don't want anyone to know what's true or not. Author nationality: Ireland Status: Read and reviewed
2. New Zealand, Italy, and WWII: THE CASSINO LEGACY by Michael Wall (Penguin, 1999). Former SAS soldier turned ski patroller Adam Kennedy's life changes when he meets glamorous Italian art expert and keen skier Toni Travato in rural New Zealand. But when someone tries to kill them both and she disappears, he's left with hundreds of unanswered questions. Who was she really? What is really going on? And how does it relate to a military scandal from fifty years ago? Author nationality: New Zealand Status: Read. To be reviewed (4.5 stars)
3. USA and WWII: A SONG OF SHADOWS by John Connolly (Hodder & Stoughton, 2015). Charlie Parker is recovering from a near-fatal incident when he gets sucked into a swirling mix of past and present in a New England coastal town with historic links to Germany. Author nationality: Irish Status: Read and reviewed for Herald on Sunday. 

GENERAL COMMENTS AND LOG
31 March 2015: I'm on to my 24th book, and 16th crime novel of the year, and so far I've covered fifteen different authors of seven different nationalities, who have set their thrillers in six different countries. So that's not too bad a start! I'm looking forward to a lot of great authors and books to come, and am excited about some of the new-to-me authors on my bookshelf.

15 June 2015: I'm on to my 45th book, and 26th crime novel of the year. I've completed four of the seven continents (Australasia, Europe, North America, and the Seventh Continent), though still need to publicise some reviews of those books. I need to find some more books for Africa, Asia, and Latin America. So far the books I've read have been set in 11 different countries, and have been written by authors of ten different nationalities. So not too bad a spread. I'm excited about completing the challenge and discovering even more great authors.

2 September 2015: I'm on to my 65th book, and 38th crime novel of the year. I haven't completed any further continents since the last update (four out of seven), but I have added several reviews, found books for the Asian and Latin American continents, and added some other countries within Europe. So far the books I've read have been set in 19 different countries, and have been written by authors of 12 different nationalities, so that's pretty good going, with more diversity still to come.

Feedback welcome.

2015 Global Reading Challenge: Progress Report II

As I noted back in February, I've signed up for the 2015 Global Reading Challenge, a terrific initiative set up by crime bloggers back in 2010, encouraging people to read more widely, to try new authors, and try books written or set in a range of different countries and regions.

I've chosen the expert challenge: three books from each of seven continents, with each book to be from a different country/state.

I will focus on crime fiction for this challenge, and I'll be aiming to read books from as many different author nationalities, as well as settings, as possible. Here's my progress so far, with books read and acquired, as of 15 March 2015.

AFRICA (1 of 3)

1. South Africa: THE SERPENTINE ROAD by Paul Mendelson (Constable, 2015). A Cape Town cop who dates back to the dark days of the Apartheid era finds himself juggling politics and policing in modern-day South Africa when a rich heiress is found murdered and displayed in a macabre homage to the explicit art she promoted. Author nationality: UK Status: Read and to be Reviewed (4 stars)
2. Botswana: DEATH OF THE MANTIS by Michael Stanley (Headline, 2011). When a series of bizarre deaths point to a nomadic bushmen tribe, Detective "Kubu" Bengu must journey into the depths of the Kalahari to uncover the truth. What he discovers there will test all his powers of detection . . . and his ability to remain alive. Author nationality: South African/USA  Status: On shelf/To be read
3. Kenya: STRANGE GODS by Annamaria Alfieri (Minotaur, 2014). A British doctor's body is found with a tribal spear in his back. An idealistic policeman focuses on a local medicine man, but the case proves just as complicated and dangerous as the clash of colonial and local cultures. Author nationality: USA Status: On shelf/To be read

ASIA (1 of 3)

1. Yemen: THE ABRUPT PHYSICS OF DYING by Paul E. Hardisty (Orenda Books, 2015). An oil company engineer with a violent past is ensnared between opposing armies, controllers of the country’s oil wealth, Yemen’s shadowy secret service, and rival factions as he tries to rescue his friend who was kidnapped by a wanted terrorist who thinks his employer is poisoning a local village. Author nationality: Australian/Canadian. Status: Read. To be reviewed (5 stars).  
2. Sri Lanka: IN THE LION'S THROAT by Bob Marriott. Motivated by the death of his younger brother, undercover Interpol cop Brett Sadler searches for a missing friend and wages war against the tidal wave of drugs flowing out of South-East Asia. Author nationality: New Zealand. Status: To be read
3. TBC

AUSTRALASIA/OCEANIA (COMPLETED)

1. Christchurch, NZ: FIVE MINUTES ALONE by Paul Cleave (Penguin NZ, 2015). Old police colleagues Theo Tate and Carl Schroder, both trying to put their lives back together after several tough cases that almost destroyed them, are in action once more as someone is helping violent crime victims exact revenge on their attackers. Author nationality: New Zealand. Status: Read and reviewed. 
2. Australia and Fiordland, NZ: POISON BAY by Belinda Pollard (Small Blue Dog, 2014). Aussie TV journo Callie Brown joins friends from the past on a trek into New Zealand's most brutal wilderness, in the hope of healing a broken heart. What she doesn't know is that someone wants them all dead. Lost in every sense of the word, the hikers' primal instincts erupt. Author nationality: Australian. Status: Read and reviewed. 
3. Auckland, NZ: SOMETHING IS ROTTEN by Adam Sarafis (Echo Publishing, 2015). 

Other books read for this continent: BLOOD, WINE & CHOCOLATE by Julie Thomas (Waiheke Island, NZ); THE FIXER by John Daniell (NZ author, French setting); DATABYTE by Cat Connor (NZ author, US setting). 

EUROPE (COMPLETED)

1. France: AFTER THE CRASH by Michel Bussi (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2015). Eighteen years after a tragic airline crash, a French private eye prepares to commit suicide as he hasn't solved a longstanding mystery: just who was the baby found amongst the wreckage, the sole survivor? Then everything changes. Author nationality: France: Status: Read and reviewed. 
2. Iceland: FROZEN OUT by Quentin Bates (Robinson, 2011). The discovery of a corpse washed up on a beach sparks a series of events that propels the village of Hvalvik's police sergeant Gunnhildur into the deep waters of a cosmopolitan world of shady deals, hired killers, government corruption and violence. Author nationality: English. Status: Read and to be reviewed.  
3. Glasgow, Scotland: BEYOND THE RAGE by Michael J Malone (Saraband, 2015). Glasgow criminal Kenny O'Neill is angry. Not only has his high-class prostitute girlfriend just been attacked, but his father is reaching out to him from the past despite abandoning Kenny as a child after his mother s suicide. Kenny is now on a dual mission to hunt down his girl's attacker and find out the truth about his father... but instead he unravels disturbing family secrets and finds that revenge is not always sweet. Author nationality: Scottish. Status: Read. 

Other books read for this continent: PRAYER FOR THE DEAD by James Oswald (Scotland); BROKEN DOLLS by James Carol (England); THE MISTAKE by Grant Nicol (ICELAND); 

LATIN AMERICA

1. Cuba: HAVANA GOLD by Leonardo Padura (Bitter Lemon Press, 2011). A 24-year-old teacher is beaten, raped, and then strangled. Lieutenant Conde is pressured by 'the highest authority' to conclude his investigation quickly. Set in a Havana of crumbling, grand buildings, secrets hidden behind faded doors and corruption. Yet also a eulogy to Cuba: its life of music, sex and the great friendships of those who chose to stay and fight for survival. Author nationality: Cuban. Translated: from Spanish by Peter Bush. Status: On shelf/To be read. 
2. TBC
3. TBC

NORTH AMERICA (COMPLETED)

1. Washington DC/Virginia/Maryland (USA) + Iraq: THE NIGHT CREW by Brian Haig (Thomas & Mercer, 2015): Cocky US Army lawyer Lt Col Sean Drummond is forced to take a case with a fiercely anti-war civilian lawyer defending a naive or evil female prison guard accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners. As Drummond uncovers evidence that his client has been used as a pawn in a secret strategy involving torture, he realizes that he’s caught up in a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government. Author nationality: USA. Status: Read and reviewed. 
2. Canada & Mississippi: ONE NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI by Craig Shreve (Thomas Allen, 2015): After the Department of Justice starts going after old racist killers from the Civil Rights era, forty years later, drifter Warren Williams is inspired to search for justice for his brother Graden, leading to a surprising showdown north of the border. Author nationality: Canada. Status. Read and to be reviewed. 
3. Pennsylvania, USA: DEATH FALLS by Todd Ritter (Avon, 2015, originally published by Minotaur as BAD MOON in 2011). Decades after nine-year-old Charlie Olmstead went missing, presumed drowned, on the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Perry Hollow Police Chief Kat Campbell is convinced by Charlie's brother to follow newfound evidence that Charlie might have been abducted, and that he wasn't the only victim. Author nationality: USA. Status: Read and reviewed. 

Other books read for this continent: MISSING YOU by Harlan Coben (New York); DON'T LOSE HER by Jonathon King (Florida); CRASH & BURN by Lisa Gardner (New Hampshire); PAST CRIMES by Glen Erik Hamilton (Seattle); SOMETIMES THE WOLF by Urban Waite (Pacific Northwest); 

THE SEVENTH CONTINENT - REMEMBERING THE WARS (COMPLETED)
For the seventh continent, which used to be Antarctica (for expert readers), participants can chose their own category - historical murder mysteries, a particular theme, etc. I have decided that since we are currently commemorating the centenary of the Great War, I will focus on books that harken back to the two world wars - whether being written during that time, set there, or being modern books whose plotlines tie into things that happened during the war and have come home to roost for the contemporary characters.

1. Ireland and World War II: THE LOST AND THE BLIND by Declan Burke (Severn House, 2015). Journalist Tom Noone is hired to ghostwrite the biography of a forgotten thriller author but instead stumbles upon a tale of a never-discussed Nazi atrocity on Donegal. What it covered up (and if so, why) or has he been hooked by the ravings of senile old men? As he digs further and bad things start happening he realises that powerful people don't want anyone to know what's true or not. Author nationality: Ireland Status: Read and reviewed
2. New Zealand, Italy, and WWII: THE CASSINO LEGACY by Michael Wall (Penguin, 1999). Former SAS soldier turned ski patroller Adam Kennedy's life changes when he meets glamorous Italian art expert and keen skier Toni Travato in rural New Zealand. But when someone tries to kill them both and she disappears, he's left with hundreds of unanswered questions. Who was she really? What is really going on? And how does it relate to a military scandal from fifty years ago? Author nationality: New Zealand Status: Read. To be reviewed (4.5 stars)
3. USA and WWII: A SONG OF SHADOWS by John Connolly (Hodder & Stoughton, 2015). Charlie Parker is recovering from a near-fatal incident when he gets sucked into a swirling mix of past and present in a New England coastal town with historic links to Germany. Author nationality: Irish Status: Read. To be reviewed (5 stars)

GENERAL COMMENTS AND LOG
31 March 2015: I'm on to my 24th book, and 16th crime novel of the year, and so far I've covered fifteen different authors of seven different nationalities, who have set their thrillers in six different countries. So that's not too bad a start! I'm looking forward to a lot of great authors and books to come, and am excited about some of the new-to-me authors on my bookshelf.

15 June 2015: I'm on to my 45th book, and 26th crime novel of the year. I've completed four of the seven continents (Australasia, Europe, North America, and the Seventh Continent), though still need to publicise some reviews of those books. I need to find some more books for Africa, Asia, and Latin America. So far the books I've read have been set in 11 different countries, and have been written by authors of ten different nationalities. So not too bad a spread. I'm excited about completing the challenge and discovering even more great authors.

Feedback welcome.

2015 Global Reading Challenge: Progress Report

As I noted back in February, I've signed up for the 2015 Global Reading Challenge, a terrific initiative set up by crime bloggers back in 2010, encouraging people to read more widely, to try new authors, and try books written or set in a range of different countries and regions.

I've chosen to go for the expert challenge: three books from each of seven continents, with each book to be from a different country/state.

Participants can chose other parameters, beyond the 1-3 books per continent requirement. I will focus on crime fiction for this challenge (though I will read other books this year), and I'll generally list books by the setting first, while also seeking to read as many author nationalities as possible too - ie I will see if I can tick off the challenge on both fronts. I'll go for books at least partially set in exotic/unusual places, although I will list them by their main setting first.

Here's my progress so far, with books read and acquired, as of 31 March 2015.

AFRICA

1. Botswana: DEATH OF THE MANTIS by Michael Stanley (Headline, 2011). When a series of bizarre deaths point to a nomadic bushmen tribe, Detective "Kubu" Bengu must journey into the depths of the Kalahari to uncover the truth. What he discovers there will test all his powers of detection . . . and his ability to remain alive. Author nationality: South African/USA  Status: On shelf/To be read
2. Kenya: STRANGE GODS by Annamaria Alfieri (Minotaur, 2014). A British doctor's body is found with a tribal spear in his back. An idealistic policeman focuses on a local medicine man, but the case proves just as complicated and dangerous as the clash of colonial and local cultures. Author nationality: USA Status: On shelf/To be read
3. TBC

ASIA

1. Yemen: THE ABRUPT PHYSICS OF DYING by Paul E. Hardisty (Orenda Books, 2015). An oil company engineer with a violent past is ensnared between opposing armies, controllers of the country’s oil wealth, Yemen’s shadowy secret service, and rival factions as he tries to rescue his friend who was kidnapped by a wanted terrorist who thinks his employer is poisoning a local village. Author nationality: Australian/Canadian. Status: Read. To be reviewed.  
2. Sri Lanka: IN THE LION'S THROAT by Bob Marriott. Motivated by the death of his younger brother, undercover Interpol cop Brett Sadler searches for a missing friend and wages war against the tidal wave of drugs flowing out of South-East Asia. Author nationality: New Zealand. Status: To be read
3. TBC

AUSTRALASIA/OCEANIA

1. Christchurch, NZ: FIVE MINUTES ALONE by Paul Cleave (Penguin NZ, 2015). Old police colleagues Theo Tate and Carl Schroder, both trying to put their lives back together after several tough cases that almost destroyed them, are in action once more as someone is helping violent crime victims exact revenge on their attackers. Author nationality: New Zealand. Status: Read and reviewed in print
2. Fiordland, NZ: POISON BAY by Belinda Pollard (Small Blue Dog, 2014). Aussie TV journo Callie Brown joins friends from the past on a trek into New Zealand's most brutal wilderness, in the hope of healing a broken heart. What she doesn't know is that someone wants them all dead. Lost in every sense of the word, the hikers' primal instincts erupt. Author nationality: Australian. Status: Read and reviewed. 
3. Australia: TBC

Other books read for this continent: BLOOD, WINE & CHOCOLATE by Julie Thomas (Waiheke Island, NZ); 

EUROPE

1. Iceland: FROZEN OUT by Quentin Bates (Robinson, 2011). The discovery of a corpse washed up on a beach sparks a series of events that propels the village of Hvalvik's police sergeant Gunnhildur into the deep waters of a cosmopolitan world of shady deals, hired killers, government corruption and violence. Author nationality: English. Status: Read. 
2. Glasgow, Scotland: BEYOND THE RAGE by Michael J Malone (Saraband, 2015). Glasgow criminal Kenny O'Neill is angry. Not only has his high-class prostitute girlfriend just been attacked, but his father is reaching out to him from the past despite abandoning Kenny as a child after his mother s suicide. Kenny is now on a dual mission to hunt down his girl's attacker and find out the truth about his father... but instead he unravels disturbing family secrets and finds that revenge is not always sweet. Author nationality: Scottish. Status: Read. 
3. Greece: ASSASSINS OF ATHENS by Jeffrey Siger (Piatkus, 2009). When the body of a boy from one of Greece's most prominent families turns up in a dumpster in one of Athens' worst neighbourhoods, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis - now head of the Special Crimes Division - is certain there's a message in the murders. But who sent it - and why? Author nationality: USA. Status: On shelf/To be read. 

Other books read for this continent: PRAYER FOR THE DEAD by James Oswald (Scotland); 

LATIN AMERICA

1. Cuba: HAVANA GOLD by Leonardo Padura (Bitter Lemon Press, 2011). A 24-year-old teacher is beaten, raped, and then strangled. Lieutenant Conde is pressured by 'the highest authority' to conclude his investigation quickly. Set in a Havana of crumbling, grand buildings, secrets hidden behind faded doors and corruption. Yet also a eulogy to Cuba: its life of music, sex and the great friendships of those who chose to stay and fight for survival. Author nationality: Cuban. Translated: from Spanish by Peter Bush. Status: On shelf/To be read. 
2. TBC
3. TBC

NORTH AMERICA

1. Washington DC/Virginia/Maryland (USA) + Iraq: THE NIGHT CREW by Brian Haig (Thomas & Mercer, 2015): Cocky US Army lawyer Lt Col Sean Drummond is forced to take a case with a fiercely anti-war civilian lawyer defending a naive or evil female prison guard accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners. As Drummond uncovers evidence that his client has been used as a pawn in a secret strategy involving torture, he realizes that he’s caught up in a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government. Author nationality: USA. Status: Read. 
2. Canada: TBC
3. Pennsylvania, USA: DEATH FALLS by Todd Ritter (Avon, 2015, originally published by Minotaur as BAD MOON in 2011). Decades after nine-year-old Charlie Olmstead went missing, presumed drowned, on the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Perry Hollow Police Chief Kat Campbell is convinced by Charlie's brother to follow newfound evidence that Charlie might have been abducted, and that he wasn't the only victim. Author nationality: USA. Status: Read. 

Other books read for this continent: MISSING YOU by Harlan Coben (New York); DON'T LOSE HER by Jonathon King (Florida); CRASH & BURN by Lisa Gardner (New Hampshire); 

THE SEVENTH CONTINENT - REMEMBERING THE WARS
For the seventh continent, which used to be Antarctica (for expert readers), participants can chose their own category - historical murder mysteries, a particular theme, etc. I have decided that since we are currently commemorating the centenary of the Great War, I will focus on books that harken back to the two world wars - whether being written during that time, set there, or being modern books whose plotlines tie into things that happened during the war and have come home to roost for the contemporary characters.

1. Ireland and World War II: THE LOST AND THE BLIND by Declan Burke (Severn House, 2015). Journalist Tom Noone is hired to ghostwrite the biography of a forgotten thriller author but instead stumbles upon a tale of a never-discussed Nazi atrocity on Donegal. What it covered up (and if so, why) or has he been hooked by the ravings of senile old men? As he digs further and bad things start happening he realises that powerful people don't want anyone to know what's true or not. Author nationality: Ireland Status: Read and to be reviewed
2. New Zealand, Italy, and WWII: THE CASSINO LEGACY by Michael Wall (Penguin, 1999). Former SAS soldier turned ski patroller Adam Kennedy's life changes when he meets glamorous Italian art expert and keen skier Toni Travato in rural New Zealand. But when someone tries to kill them both and she disappears, he's left with hundreds of unanswered questions. Who was she really? What is really going on? And how does it relate to a military scandal from fifty years ago? Author nationality: New Zealand Status: Currently reading
3. TBC

GENERAL COMMENTS AND LOG
31 March 2015: I'm on to my 24th book, and 16th crime novel of the year, and so far I've covered fifteen different authors of seven different nationalities, who have set their thrillers in six different countries. So that's not too bad a start! I'm looking forward to a lot of great authors and books to come, and am excited about some of the new-to-me authors on my bookshelf.

Feedback welcome.

2015 Global Reading Challenge: My Reading Log

As I noted yesterday, I've officially signed up for the 2015 Global Reading Challenge, a terrific initiative set up by crime bloggers back in 2010, encouraging people to read more widely, to try new authors, to try books written or set in a range of different countries and regions.

I've chosen to go for the expert challenge: three books from each of seven continents, with each book to be from a different country/state.

I'll use this post here to update my progress throughout the year, listing the books I've read and reviewed under each continent, with links to the reviews I write both here on Crime Watch or elsewhere online. I'll also list the books on my bookshelf that I intend to read for each continent to complete the challenge, complete with current status. I'm fortunate that although I've only been in the UK for a few months, and have left more than 500 books on my TBR bookshelf/storage locker in New Zealand, that I've already acquired more than 60-70 books here in the UK, from a wide range of countries and author nationalities. So trying a new author or country/continent is as easy as walking over to my bookshelf (or digging through the packing boxes, as I've just moved house).

Participants can chose some parameters for themselves, beyond the one, two, or three books per continent requirement. In my case, I will focus on crime fiction for this challenge (though I will read other books this year), and I will generally list books by the setting first, while also seeking to read as many author nationalities as possible too - ie I will see if I can tick off the challenge on both fronts. I'll also go for books at least partially set in exotic/unusual places, although I will list them by their main setting first.

I am also restricting myself to books read after 1 January 2015, and not including books I read late last year but haven't reviewed until 2015 (which would have been helpful, ticking off several countries quickly).

Here's my progress so far, as of 21 February 2015.

AFRICA

1. Botswana: DEATH OF THE MANTIS by Michael Stanley (Headline, 2011). When a series of bizarre deaths point to a nomadic bushmen tribe, Detective "Kubu" Bengu must journey into the depths of the Kalahari to uncover the truth. What he discovers there will test all his powers of detection . . . and his ability to remain alive. Author nationality: South African/USA  Status: On shelf/To be read
2. TBC
3. TBC

ASIA

1. Yemen: THE ABRUPT PHYSICS OF DYING by Paul E. Hardisty (Orenda Books, 2015). An oil company engineer with a violent past is ensnared between opposing armies, controllers of the country’s oil wealth, Yemen’s shadowy secret service, and rival factions as he tries to rescue his friend who was kidnapped by a wanted terrorist who thinks his employer is poisoning a local village. Author nationality: Australian/Canadian. Status: Currently reading. 
2. Sri Lanka: IN THE LION'S THROAT by Bob Marriott. Motivated by the death of his younger brother, undercover Interpol cop Brett Sadler searches for a missing friend and wages war against the tidal wave of drugs flowing out of South-East Asia. Author nationality: New Zealand. Status: To be read
3. TBC

AUSTRALASIA/OCEANIA

1. Christchurch, NZ: FIVE MINUTES ALONE by Paul Cleave (Penguin NZ, 2015). Old police colleagues Theo Tate and Carl Schroder, both trying to put their lives back together after several tough cases that almost destroyed them, are in action once more as someone is helping violent crime victims exact revenge on their attackers. Author nationality: New Zealand. Status: Read. 
2. Fiordland, NZ: POISON BAY by Belinda Pollard (Small Blue Dog, 2014). Aussie TV journo Callie Brown joins friends from the past on a trek into New Zealand's most brutal wilderness, in the hope of healing a broken heart. What she doesn't know is that someone wants them all dead. Lost in every sense of the word, the hikers' primal instincts erupt. Author nationality: Australian. Status: Read. 
3. Australia: TBC

EUROPE

1. Iceland: FROZEN OUT by Quentin Bates (Robinson, 2011). The discovery of a corpse washed up on a beach sparks a series of events that propels the village of Hvalvik's police sergeant Gunnhildur into the deep waters of a cosmopolitan world of shady deals, hired killers, government corruption and violence. Author nationality: English. Status: Read. 
2. Glasgow, Scotland: BEYOND THE RAGE by Michael J Malone (Saraband, 2015). Glasgow criminal Kenny O'Neill is angry. Not only has his high-class prostitute girlfriend just been attacked, but his father is reaching out to him from the past despite abandoning Kenny as a child after his mother s suicide. Kenny is now on a dual mission to hunt down his girl's attacker and find out the truth about his father... but instead he unravels disturbing family secrets and finds that revenge is not always sweet. Author nationality: Scottish. Status: Read. 
3. Greece: ASSASSINS OF ATHENS by Jeffrey Siger (Piatkus, 2009). When the body of a boy from one of Greece's most prominent families turns up in a dumpster in one of Athens' worst neighbourhoods, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis - now head of the Special Crimes Division - is certain there's a message in the murders. But who sent it - and why? Author nationality: USA. Status: On shelf/To be read. 

LATIN AMERICA

1. Cuba: HAVANA GOLD by Leonardo Padura (Bitter Lemon Press, 2011). A 24-year-old teacher is beaten, raped, and then strangled. Lieutenant Conde is pressured by 'the highest authority' to conclude his investigation quickly. Set in a Havana of crumbling, grand buildings, secrets hidden behind faded doors and corruption. Yet also a eulogy to Cuba: its life of music, sex and the great friendships of those who chose to stay and fight for survival. Author nationality: Cuban. Translated: from Spanish by Peter Bush. Status: On shelf/To be read. 
2. TBC
3. TBC

NORTH AMERICA

1. Washington DC/Virginia/Maryland (USA) + Iraq: THE NIGHT CREW by Brian Haig (Thomas & Mercer, 2015): Cocky US Army lawyer Lt Col Sean Drummond is forced to take a case with a fiercely anti-war civilian lawyer defending a naive or evil female prison guard accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners. As Drummond uncovers evidence that his client has been used as a pawn in a secret strategy involving torture, he realizes that he’s caught up in a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government. Author nationality: USA. Status: Read. 
2. Canada: TBC
3. Pennsylvania, USA: DEATH FALLS by Todd Ritter (Avon, 2015, originally published by Minotaur as BAD MOON in 2011). Decades after nine-year-old Charlie Olmstead went missing, presumed drowned, on the night Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, Perry Hollow Police Chief Kat Campbell is convinced by Charlie's brother to follow newfound evidence that Charlie might have been abducted, and that he wasn't the only victim. Author nationality: USA. Status: Read. 

THE SEVENTH CONTINENT
To be decided.


GENERAL COMMENTS AND LOG
21 February 2015: I'm on to my 12th book, and eighth crime novel of the year, and so far I've covered eight different authors of six different nationalities, who have set their thrillers in five different countries. So that's not too bad a start! I'm looking forward to a lot of great authors and books to come, and am excited about some of the new-to-me authors on my bookshelf.

Feedback welcome.

I'M IN: Global Reading Challenge 2015!

This year, I'm very pleased to once again participate in the Global Reading Challenge, an outstanding annual online reading event created by Danish crime fiction enthusiast, author, and book blogger Dorte Jakobsen back in 2010. More than 100 book bloggers from around the world participated.

Dorte, who isn't blogging as much nowadays as she has now gone on to write several of her own mystery stories, created the Global Reading Challenge to encourage fellow book enthusiasts to read more widely, reading books written by authors from, and set in, a range of countries and regions.

I was a keen participant in the first two Global Reading Challenges in 2010 and 2011; in fact my keenness in the first challenge led to the creation of a new level (the extremist), which later became the new threshold for the expert level. Unfortunately I didn't end up participating in later challenges, although I have continued to read widely, trying new authors and new settings as much as I could as I went about being a crime fiction reviewer, and generally keen reader personally, while travelling a lot and working in several countries the past few years.

As I'm now semi-settled, and have more of a reading focus again in 2015, I'm stoked to sign up for the 2015 Global Reading Challenge (see official page here). Since Dorte created the challenge in 2010, I've seen similar challenges spring up everywhere, from library websites, to various reading groups. Nowadays some of the crime fiction bloggers I had the most to do with back then (it wasn't just crime bloggers doing the original challenge) seem to congregate on a new website created by Kerrie Smith of Mysteries in Paradise, who helped Dorte with the initial challenges and has taken up the website baton.

Participants in the Global Reading Challenge choose a level to aim for (easy, medium, expert), which equates to one, two, or three books from each of seven continents for the year (so 7, 14, or 21 books from different places). Where you choose medium or expert, the books should be from different countries/states in the continent. So the idea is to broaden our reading, in authors and settings, as much as possible.

The Seven Continents are: Australasia/Oceania, Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, South America (or Latin America), and the Seventh Continent. The latter could either be Antarctica, or you can choose your own Seventh Continent (eg historical mysteries, sci-fi thrillers, space, etc). At the official page, there are then pages for each continent where you can link to the books you've read for the challenge. It's a terrific challenge, and if you're a keen reader who might be interested, feel free to join me by signing up here.

I'm signing up for the Expert Level (21 books from 7 different continents, and 21 countries/regions). I haven't settled on my Seventh Continent yet, but am mulling historic mysteries that were written at their time (eg not set in the past as much as written in the past but set in the author's present, eg pre-1950s Ngaio Marsh, Agatha Christie, Fergus Hume, Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins etc). Or I may come up with something else.

What do you think about the global reading challenge? Do you intentionally try to read widely? Have you read books from all six or seven continents in your lifetime? Do you read beyond UK and US authors and settings? Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section

Currently reading: SHADOW SISTER by Simone Van Der Vlugt

As I said last week, in 2011 I am once again participating in the Global Reading Challenge. , created by writer, reviewer and blogger Dorte Jakobsen of DJ's Krimiblog and CANDIED CRIME fame.

This year have already read more than the three European novels needed for the Expert level, and from at least three countries (Scotland, Ireland, England, Sweden). However I've decided that I will try to expand my European choices to include more translated fiction, so I am currently reading SHADOW SISTER by Simone Van Der Vlugt, who is dubbed "Holland's Queen of Crime".

SHADOW SISTER was originally published in Dutch in 2005, but has recently become Van Der Vlugt's second psychological thriller to be translated into English. Here is the blurb for the English-language version (pictured):

"Lydia and Elisa, twin sisters, identical in appearance, different in every other way. When Lydia is threatened by one of her students, her sister is the first person she turns to. But Elisa is powerless to stop what follows: threatening letters, smashed windows. How far will this student go? Or is someone else taking advantage of the situation? And what part does Elisa play in all of this? Twins are close… aren’t they?"

I am about 60 per cent of the way through, and enjoying it thusfar. There's a creeping sense of unease, and the way the story shifts between the perspectives of the two twin sisters, the reader is very well aware from the start that something horrific has happened. We just don't know why, or by who, or exactly what, yet.

Have you read SHADOW SISTER or any of Van Der Vlugt's other novels? Have you read any other Dutch crime fiction? Do you like trying translated crime novels? Are you participating in the 2011 Global Reading Challenge? Thoughts welcome.

Currently reading: MIXED BLOOD by Roger Smith

I've been doing a lot of reading the first three months of this year, but I am a little behind in my reviewing. And my reading choices have been a little constrained too - along with reading new New Zealand books and upcoming or recently released books for some newspaper columns and in preparation for feature interviews with the likes of Robert Crais, Peter Corris, Michael Connelly, and Henning Mankell, I am also participating in Dorte Jakobsen's excellent 2011 Global Reading Challenge.

For one of my 'Africa' crime novels for the expert level of the challenge, I have now started reading a book from a 'new-to-me' author, Roger Smith. I've heard some very good things about Smith's writing, so when I saw a new copy of MIXED BLOOD on a discount table at Whitcoulls a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't resist grabbing it.

Here's the short blurb for MIXED BLOOD: "An American, hiding out in Cape Town, South Africa, after being blackmailed into a bank heist back home, is building a new life for his pregnant wife and young son, when an incident of random violence sets him on a collision course with street gangs and a rogue cop who loves killing almost as much as he loves Jesus Christ."

Smith was born in Johannesburg, and now lives in Cape Town. Before becoming a crime writer, he was a screenwriter, producer and director. MIXED BLOOD was his debut novel, and was published in the US and Germany in 2009. It won the Deutschen Krimi Preis 2010 in Germany and has been nominated for a Spinetingler Best Novel award. His second book is WAKE UP DEAD. According to Smith's website, GreeneStreet Films (NYC) is developing the movie version of MIXED BLOOD – scheduled to start shooting in Cape Town in 2011 – starring Samuel L. Jackson, with Phillip Noyce directing.

Have you read MIXED BLOOD or WAKE UP DEAD? Do you like South African-set crime fiction? Are you participating in the 2011 Global Reading Challenge? If so, what African novels have you chosen? Thoughts welcome.

The 2011 Global Reading Challenge

Last year, respected book blogger and Danish author Dorte Jakobsen created the Global Reading Challenge, a terrific initiative that had dozens of book reviewers and bloggers from around the world stretching themselves reading-wise, by encouraging them to read far more broadly.

I signed up for the Expert Level (14 novels, 2 from each of seven continents, each by a different author and set in a different place, preferably new-to-you authors too) and completed that in early May 2010 (you can read my summary and reviews of each of the 14 novels here). Dorte then added a fourth, 'Extremist', level for those ultra-keen global readers amongst us.

Unfortunately I must confess to failing to achieve that level in the remaining eight months of 2010 - I read more than 70 crime novels over the course of last year, and completed several of the continents many times over, but fell one book short of the Extremist Level: I only read two novels from South America. I did read another novel or two that were partially set there, but for me it would kind of feel like I hadn't really earned the level if I included those (rather than a novel by a local author, translated) in order to complete the Extremist Level. To be honest once I'd achieved the Expert Level in early May I started directing my crime fiction attention elsewhere, like the many author interview features I wrote in the second part of 2010, and the organisation of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel.

However, I am very pleased to say that following the success of the 2010 Global Reading Challenge, Dorte (with the assistance of Kerrie of Mysteries in Paradise fame) has brought back the GRC for 2011. Almost 100 people have already signed up, and the reading is well underway.

You can read about the challenge, the three levels (easy, medium, expert), and sign up for the 2011 Global Reading Challenge (I recommend it) here.

I have signed up, and will be aiming for Expert Level (which is the equivalent of Extremist from last year, with the adjustment being that the 'seventh continent' doesn't have to be Antarctica):

The Expert Challenge
Read three novels from each of these continents in the course of 2010:

• Africa
• Asia
• Australasia
• Europe
• North America
• South America (please include Central America where it is most convenient for you)
• The Seventh Continent

Select novels from twenty-one different countries or states if possible. (For Australasia, selecting a different state for your last book will be acceptable)
I will post some updates soon - I've already read 20+ crime novels in the past three months, set in several countries, including many 'new-to-me' authors, so I've made some good progress on several continents. Latin America will once again be my bugbear - it's the only continent I can't complete to the Expert Level solely from my TBR bookshelves at home. So it will be off to the library and bookstores I go...
Are you taking part in the 2011 Global Reading Challenge? What books have you read thusfar? Do you like to read globally? Are such challenges a good way to introduce yourself to authors and settings you might not otherwise have tried? What were your favourite books from last year's challenge?

Currently reading: STILL MISSING by Chevy Stevens

Having finished THE SENTRY by Robert Crais, I looked up on my creaking bookshelves last night to decide what to read next. So many choices, so many good recommendations, so many new-to-me authors to try...

Having read US (several states/regions), Scottish, Cambodian, Thai, New Zealand and Australian crime fiction in the past few weeks, I thought I should give another country/region a go now - especially as I have signed up once more for the 2011 edition of Dorte Jakobsen's excellent Global Reading Challenge (highly recommended - information available and register here).

For whatever reason, I felt like something Canadian. There are many terrific Canadian crime writers out there - like New Zealand authors they are often overlooked, in favour of lesser but more publicised authors from bigger markets, by many readers and reviewers. I have a few 'new-to-me' ones waiting on my TBR shelves, and after a bit of mulling, decided to give STILL MISSING, a debut thriller by Chevy Stevens, a go. I'd heard very good things about this book, but hadn't yet got around to it. Time to fix that.

It's set on Vancouver Island too, which is a bonus. For those who aren't familiar with Vancouver Island, it's a lovely, rugged setting off the west coast of British Columbia. I really enjoyed spending a couple of days there when I was in Canada in 2008. Several crime writers actually live on Vancouver Island or the Gulf Islands (an array of smaller islands in the area) off the Canadian coast, including the iconic William Deverell, who I had the pleasure of meeting in Vancouver, and Ngaio Marsh Award judge Lou Allin. I can understand why - it's a terrific place.

Here's the blurb for STILL MISSING: "On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a thirty-two year old Realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever- patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor of the day pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.

Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent captive of a sadistic psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered spirit back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

The truth doesn’t always set you free."

The book is written as a series of 'shrink' sessions where Annie recounts both what is happening to her now, and what happened to her back then. After starting the book late last night, I'm already well-hooked, and am flying through it. There's a nice 'narrative voice' to Annie's first-person narration - some personality and interesting ways of looking at things. The intrigue and mystery is building nicely too - which is a great effort by Stevens considering it's obvious from the first page that Annie survived the abduction. But there are many other important things to answer... I wouldn't be surprised if I finish this compelling tale sometime later today.

I will share my thoughts in due course, but in the meantime you can read more about Chevy Stevens and her writing at her website here.

Have you read STILL MISSING? If so, what did you think? Do you like reading 'globally' when it comes to crime fiction? Who are some of your favourite Canadian crime writers?

Review: BLOOD SAFARI by Deon Meyer

Originally for my third book in the African leg of the Extremist level for the excellent 2010 Global Reading Challenge (following crime novels set in Ancient Egypt and contemporary Botswana), I intended to read LIKE CLOCKWORD by South African author Margie Orford. However a lot of my fellow participants have been raving about Deon Meyer's books, so when I saw a copy of BLOOD SAFARI in a second-hand store a few weeks ago, I took the opportunity to grab myself a copy.

In BLOOD SAFARI, Lemmer is a freelance bodyguard for Body Armor, a personal security company in South Africa. Lean, angry, violent, he sees himself as being way down on the price list where the bargains are to be found.

Emma le Roux wants to find her missing brother, who supposedly died twenty years ago, but whom she is convinced she's seen on the news as a suspect in the recent killing of a witch doctor and four poachers. She hires Lemmer to watch her back when she goes looking for answers. Lemmer thinks they're on a wild goose chase, but still feels a need to protect Le Roux.

As Le Roux and Lemmer search for clues in the rural Lowveld, it becomes obvious someone wants to keep them in the dark. Someone who will go to any lengths to stop them asking questions. When they are attacked and almost killed, Lemmer decides to go after whoever is hunting them - against all odds.

Overall, Meyer pens an absorbing and exciting story filled with intriguing characters. I particularly enjoyed the way he threaded some interesting African themes issues, including fresh views on the enviroment, history and politics, throughout the page-turning tale. There is plenty of intrigue - just who wants Lemmer and le Roux to stop digging? - and Meyer nicely evokes a sense of the layers and complexity of both modern South Africa, and the natural environment.

I wasn't quite as enamoured with Meyer as I expected however, from all the praise I'd heard. For some reason I enjoyed the book, but wasn't totally caught up and engaged by it. Some of the dialogue seemed a bit clunky (that could have been the translation) and overall it seemed to fall into the 'good book, would read more of this author' category, rather than the superior 'fantastic book, want to read more of this author ASAP' category that several other authors fall into.

Overall however BLOOD SAFARI is an enjoyable and gritty mystery in an exotic setting.

3 1/2 STARS.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are you part of Dorte's terrific 2010 Global Reading Challenge? Do you try to read crime and mysteries from a variety of countries? Have you read any of Deon Meyer's books, or other South African crime novels? Thoughts and comments welcome.

Currently reading: THE CASE OF THE MISSING SERVANT

Regular Crime Watch readers may have noticed a lot of 2010 Global Reading Challenge related posts earlier this year, particularly from January-May. The Global Reading Challenge is a fantastic web-based initiative sparked by fellow crime fiction enthusiast and blogger Dorte Jakobsen of Denmark-based DJ's Krimiblog. There are more than 100 reviewers participating.

The aim of the 2010 Global Reading Challenge is to encourage participants to read books from (or set in) a wide variety of countries, in the coming year. Participants sign up on the website - here - and then attempt one of three (now four) levels of reading challenge over the 12 months of 2010:

• Easy Challenge: read one novel from each of six continents (Africa, Asia, North/Central America, South America, Europe, Australasia) in 2010 - trying to find novels/countries/authors that are new to the reader;
• Medium Challenge: read two novels from each of the six continents, trying to read and review novels from 12 different countries if possible;
• Expert Challenge: as above, plus two novels set in Antarctica (14 books); and
• Extremist Challenge: three novels from each of the six main continents, two novels which are set in Antarctica, and one 'wildcard' - a novel from a place or period that is NEW to you (21 books).

I finished the Expert level in early May, and so then after a bit of a break where I was concentraing on reviewing new books from authors I was interviewing, and helping with the organisation of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, I have turned my sights on the new 'Extremist' level that Dorte added. And as Dorte has said, "If you are really an extreme reader, you will do your best to read novels from 21 different countries or states".

Technically I only have one South American novel to go to complete the extremist level, however I am adding another 'Asian' novel, since the three I'd read were all set in Southeast Asia, and two took place in Thailand (one solely in Thailand, one partially in Thailand and partially in other nearby countries). So I don't feel that I have really been broad enough yet to say I've ticked off the Asian region. As such, I've now started reading THE CASE OF THE MISSING SERVANT by Tarquin Hall. Here's a blurb:

"The portly Vish Puri is India’s most accomplished detective, at least in his own estimation, and is also the hero of an irresistible new mystery series set in hot, dusty Delhi. Puri’s detective skills are old-fashioned in a Sherlock Holmesian way and a little out of sync with the tempo of the modern city, but Puri is clever and his methods work. The Case of the Missing Servant shows Puri (“Chubby” to his friends) and his wonderfully nicknamed employees (among them, Handbrake, Flush, and Handcream) hired for two investigations. The first is into the background of a man surprisingly willing to wed a woman her father considers unmarriageable, and the second is into the disappearance six months earlier of a servant to a prominent Punjabi lawyer, a young woman known only as Mary.

The Most Private Investigator novels offer a delicious combination of ingenious stories, brilliant writing, sharp wit, and a vivid, unsentimental picture of contemporary India. And from the first to the last page run an affectionate humour and intelligent insights into both the subtleties of Indian culture and the mysteries of human behaviour."

Are you part of Dorte's terrific 2010 Global Reading Challenge? Do you try to read crime and mysteries from a variety of countries? Have you read any of the Vish Puri series, or other Indian/Asian-set crime fiction? Does it interest you?

Currently reading: BLOOD SAFARI by Deon Meyer

Regular Crime Watch readers may have noticed a lot of 2010 Global Reading Challenge related posts earlier this year, particularly from January-May. The Global Reading Challenge is a fantastic web-based initiative sparked by fellow crime fiction enthusiast and blogger Dorte Jakobsen of Denmark-based DJ's Krimiblog. There are more than 100 reviewers participating.

The aim of the 2010 Global Reading Challenge is to encourage participants to read books from (or set in) a wide variety of countries, in the coming year. Participants sign up on the website - here - and then attempt one of three (now four) levels of reading challenge over the 12 months of 2010:

• Easy Challenge: read one novel from each of six continents (Africa, Asia, North/Central America, South America, Europe, Australasia) in 2010 - trying to find novels/countries/authors that are new to the reader;
• Medium Challenge: read two novels from each of the six continents, trying to read and review novels from 12 different countries if possible; and
• Expert Challenge: as above, plus two novels set in Antarctica (14 books)
• Extremist Challenge: three novels from each of the six main continents, two novels which are set in Antarctica, and one 'wildcard' - a novel from a place or period that is NEW to you (21 books).

I finished the Expert level in early May, and so then turned my sights on the new 'Extremist' level that Dorte added. And as Dorte has said, "If you are really an extreme reader, you will do your best to read novels from 21 different countries or states".

However a few other things have taken priority since then - along with some new projects and a significantly increased workload at work, I have also had a lot of freelance writing to do (eg author interviews for the Weekend Herald), and have been working on the (now postponed) inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. So unfortunately my 'global reading' has been on hiatus somewhat, although I still have been reading a lot - just predominantly NZ, US and UK crime fiction - often in preparation for author interviews or other reviews etc.

Right now, in terms of completing the extremist level, I officially have two more books to go - one African crime novel and one South American crime novel. However, I may tweak or bolster my final 21 book line-up with a replacement Asian or North American crime novel, to add even more variety than I currently have in those continents (e.g. try and read a Mexican or Cuban crime novel, rather than having two US and one Canadian etc).

So, getting back on the 2010 Global Reading Challenge horse, I've now just started reading BLOOD SAFARI by Deon Meyer, as my third African crime novel (following crime novels set in Ancient Egypt and contemporary Botswana). I've heard lots of great things about Meyer's crime writing, so I'm looking forward to reading this South African tale.

In BLOOD SAFARI, Lemmer is a freelance bodyguard for Body Armor, a personal security company in South Africa. Lean, angry, violent, he is way down on the price list where the bargains are to be found.

Emma le Roux wants to find her missing brother, who supposedly died twenty years ago, but whom she is convinced she's seen on the news as a suspect in the recent killing of a witch doctor and four poachers. She hires Lemmer to watch her back when she goes looking for answers.

As le Roux and Lemmer look for clues in the Lowveld, it becomes clear someone wants to keep them in the dark. Someone who will go to any lengths to stop them asking questions. When they are attacked and almost killed, Lemmer decides to go after whoever is hunting them - against all odds.

I am really looking forward to reading this, and its great to get back into some more 'global reading'. Dorte has done such a fantastic job with the challenge.

Have you read any of Deon Meyer's novels? What do you think of South African-set crime fiction? Are you participating in the 2010 Global Reading Challenge? Do you like trying books from a diverse range of countries and authors? Comments welcome.

2010 Global Reading Challenge: Extremist Level

Following my completion of the 'Expert' Level of the 2010 Global Reading Challenge, a web-based initiative sparked by fellow crime fiction enthusiast and blogger Dorte Jakobsen of Denmark-based DJ's Krimiblog, and a few playful comments about adding another, higher, level, Dorte obliged by creating the "Extremist Level".

The aim of the 2010 Global Reading Challenge is to encourage participants to read books from (or set in) a wide variety of countries, in the coming year. Participants sign up on the website - here - and then attempt one of three (now four) levels of reading challenge over the 12 months of 2010:

• Easy Challenge: read one novel from each of six continents (Africa, Asia, North/Central America, South America, Europe, Australasia) in 2010 - trying to find novels/countries/authors that are new to the reader;
• Medium Challenge: read two novels from each of the six continents, trying to read and review novels from 12 different countries if possible; and
• Expert Challenge: as above, plus two novels set in Antarctica (14 books)
• Extremist Challenge: three novels from each of the six main continents, two novels which are set in Antarctica, and one 'wildcard' - a novel from a place or period that is NEW to you (21 books).

And as Dorte has said, "If you are really an extreme reader, you will do your best to read novels from 21 different countries or states".
After a little breather, and reading a few non-challenge books, I'm now back into the swing of 2010 Global Reading Challenge things, with the Extremist Challenge in my sights. My personal requirements also include to read only crime or thriller fiction books, preferably from completely new to me authors. I also want to include a few translated books. My selections at this point include the following books (the ones I’ve already read are marked as such):

Africa:

1. A DEADLY TRADE by Michael Stanley (Botswana) - read
2. THE ANUBIS SLAYINGS by PC Doherty (Ancient Egypt) - read
3. LIKE CLOCKWORK by Maggie Orford (South Africa) - TBR

Asia:

1. A BALI CONSPIRACY MOST FOUL by Shamini Flint (Indonesia) - read
2. BANGKOK EIGHT by John Burdett (Thailand) - read
3. TBC (see comment below)

My third Asian book is likely to be either THE GIGOLO MURDERS by Mehmet Murat Somer (Turkey - if Turkey counts as Asia in this challenge), THE CASE OF THE MISSING SERVANT by Tarquin Hall (India), or PLAYING FOR THRILLS by Wang Shuo (China), as I have all three of these on my bookshelf at home. I have further books by Flint and Burdett too, as I enjoyed both their novels, but I want to include three different authors and countries.
Australasia:

1. A MURDER OR THREE by Laurie Mantell (Wellington, New Zealand) - read
2. BLACK ICE by Leah Giarratano (Sydney, Australia) - read
3. BLEED FOR ME by Michael Robotham (Australian author, set in UK) - read*

*I have already read several other books by Australian and Kiwi authors this year, including Paddy Richardson, Paul Cleave, and Neil Cross, amongst others. However I may still decide to read another author, in order to get an even more diverse trio of authors/settings - e.g. perhaps George C. Muller's ECHOES IN THE BLUE - a Kiwi author's eco-thriller set in the Southern Ocean in amongst Japan's questionable whaling practices.
Europe:

1. THE BLACK MONASTERY by Stav Sherez (Greece) - read
2. SELF's MURDER by Bernhard Schlink (Germany) - read
3. ANGELS IN ARMS by Mike Ripley (England and Brittany) - read

North America:

1. NEVER WALK AWAY by Linwood Barclay (Canada) - read*
2. A THIEF OF TIME by Tony Hillerman (Arizona, USA) - read
3. 61 HOURS by Lee Child (South Dakota, USA) - read*

* I may replace either or both of these books in due course - the Barclay one because I had previously read his work before this challenge, and although he is a Canadian author he doesn't blatantly set his books in Canada, and the Child one because although he is new-to-me in 2010, I might want to really stretch myself and find a book by a Cuban or Mexican author, set in those places.
South America:

1. SOUTHWESTERLY WIND by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza (Brazil) - read
2. AMERICAN VISA by Juan de Recacoechea (Bolivia) - read
3. TBC (see below)

I still need to find one more South American crime/thriller title. I've heard good things about Leighton Gage, but ideally I will find a third country. I like Jose Ignacio Escribano's selections of RED APRIL by Santiago Roncagliolo (Peru) and THURSDAY NIGHT WIDOW'S by Claudia Piñeiro (Argentina), especially as I have spent time in both those countries. So I will see if I can source something like that.
Antarctica:

1. ICE STATION by Matthew Reilly (Australian author) - read
2. WHITE FOR DANGER by David Stevens (NZ author) - read

Wildcard:

1. A WATERY GRAVE by Joan Druett (an 1800s murder mystery on colonial era sailing ships, set in the waters off USA/Central and South America) - read

I like this final choice, as it is an historical mystery (something I don't read much of), from a new-to-me author (I have several of Druett's books, but this is the first I read), and is largely set somewhere that is kind of a wild card in itself (the high seas, rather than a particular country). Plus it's a Kiwi author, so that seems appropriate too.
So overall I have read 18 of the 21 books for the Extremist level (just another Africa, Asia, and South America to go). However I may replace an Australasian and one or two of the North American books, to give me an even more diverse, and totally new-authors-to-me 'final 21' books. In terms of sourcing books, I just need to get my hands on another South American title. There are plenty of choices on my bookshelf for the others (although another Canadian new-to-me author wouldn't hurt, as most of the unread Canadian fiction on my bookshelf is from the likes of William Deverell, Linwood Barclay, and Peter Robinson - all of whom I'd read pre-2010).
What do you think?