Murder in Faraway Places
... compiled by Ricki Nordmeyer

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Enjoy these crime stories set in distant lands. All of these titles are located in the Adult Mystery section of the Library unless otherwise noted. Titles in bold are available at other libraries; ask a librarian to obtain these titles.

Brazil	Iceland	Netherlands
China	Ireland	Norway
Cuba	Israel	Russia
Egypt	Italy	Spain
France	Japan	Sweden
Germany	Laos

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Brazil

García-Roza, Luiz Alfredo. The Silence of the Rain. 2002.
#1 in the Inspector Espinosa series.

Rio de Janeiro's notoriously corrupt police force and lack of forensic technology prove challenging for Inspector Espinosa in his investigation of the shooting death of a corporate executive and the subsequent disappearance of his secretary.
Other titles in the series:
December Heat. 2003.
Southwesterly Wind. 2004.
A Window in Copacabana. 2005.
Pursuit. 2006.
Blackout. 2008.
Alone in the Crowd. 2009.

China

Robert van Gulik’s Judge Dee series, featuring a Tang Dynasty (7th century) traveling magistrate who encounters and solves puzzling murders, remains popular, though the author died in 1967. Van Gulik based his series on an old edition of Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee which featured traditional stories that had been handed down for three hundred years.

Titles in the series:
The Chinese Gold Murders. 1959.
The Chinese Bell Murders. 1960.
The Chinese Lake Murders. 1960.
The Haunted Monastery. 1961. 
The Red Pavilion. 1961.
The Lacquer Screen. 1962.
The Chinese Maze Murders. 1962.
The Emperor’s Pearl. 1963.
The Willow Pattern. 1965.
The Monkey and the Tiger. 1965.
The Phantom of the Temple. 1965.
Murder in Canton. 1966.
Judge Dee at Work. 1967.
Necklace and Calabash. 1967.
Poets and Murder. 1968.

Additional Chinese mysteries:

Xiaolong Qiu’s Inspector Chen police procedural series set in modern-day China.

Titles in the series:
Death of a Red Heroine. 2000.
A Loyal Character Dancer. 2002.
When Red is Black. 2004.
A Case of Two Cities. 2006.
Red Mandarin Dress. 2007.

Chinese government agent Liu Hulan and her American husband investigate crimes in present-day China in Lisa See’s Liu Hulan series.

Titles in the series:
Flower Net. 1997. (Fiction SEE)
The Interior. 1999. (Fiction SEE)
Dragon Bones. 2003. (Fiction SEE)

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Cuba

Padura, Leonardo. Adiós Hemingway. 2005.

When the bones of a man who was killed forty years ago are found at the Hemingway museum in Cuba, a former cop, Mario Conte, is asked to investigate. The museum, Finca Vigia, is the former estate of Ernest Hemingway and the police suspect it may have been Hemingway who committed the murder. To further complicate matters, an FBI badge is found near the body. The investigation unfolds in chapters that alternate between the time of the murder and Conte’s current investigation. A Cuban noir vivid with the atmosphere of Hemingway’s Havana.
Other titles in the series:
Havana Red. 2005.
Havana Black. 2006.
Havana Blue. 2007.
Havana Gold. 2008.
Havana Fever. 2009.

Egypt

Pearce, Michael. The Mamur Zapt and the Return of the Carpet. 1988.
#1 in the Mamur Zapt series

The Mamur Zapt (head of the British secret police in Cairo) is Welshman Capt. Gareth Owen, charged here with arrangements to guarantee the safety of Holy Carpet (an Islamic treasure on its annual visit to Cairo) against trouble fomented by local insurgents protesting both the British protectorate and the Khedive (the Egyptian monarch). Owen must also contend with the turbulent multi-ethnic population of Cairo, British army and government functionaries, Egyptian civil servants, and his counterpart in the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, Mahmoud el-Zaki. Mahmoud will become a trusted friend over the course of the series, but is extremely touchy and resentful of the British. And there is Zainab, Owen’s beautiful, aristocratic, feisty and atypically liberated (for her culture and for the time) lady love. All of the elements for an eminently satisfying mystery, filled with the pungent flavor of pre-World War I Cairo—think Eric Ambler, or a Peter Lorre/Sydney Greenstreet movie.
Other titles in the series:
The Mamur Zapt and the Night of the Dog. 1991.
The Mamur Zapt and the Donkey-Vous. 1992.
The Mamur Zapt and the Men Behind. 1993.
The Mamur Zapt and the Girl in the Nile. 1994.
The Mamur Zapt and the Spoils of Egypt. 1995.
The Camel of Destruction. 1996.
The Snake Catcher’s Daughter. 1997.
The Mingrelian Conspiracy. 1995.
The Fig Tree Murder. 1996.
The Last Cut. 1998.
The Death of an Effendi. 1999.
A Cold Touch of Ice. 2000.
The Face in the Cemetery. 2001.
The Point in the Market. 2005.
The Mark of the Pasha. 2008.

Additional Egyptian mysteries:

Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series of historical mysteries set in the world of archaeology and Egyptology in the first quarter of the 20th century.

Titles in the series:
Crocodile on the Sandbank. 1990. Also available: Cassette
The Curse of the Pharoahs. 1981. Also available: Large Type, Cassette, eAudiobook
The Mummy Case. 1985. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eAudiobook, eBook
Lion in the Valley. 1986. Also available: Large Type, Cassette, eBook
The Deeds of the Disturber. 1988. Also available: Large Type, CD 
The Last Camel Died at Noon. 1991. Also available: Large Type, Cassette, eAudiobook
The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog. 1992. Also available: Large Type,
Cassette
The Hippopotamus Pool. 1996. Also available: Large Type, CD
Seeing a Large Cat. 1997. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette
The Ape Who Guards the Balance. 1998. Also available in Large Type, Cassette, eBook
The Falcon at the Portal. 1999. Also available: Large Type, Cassette, eBook
He Shall Thunder in the Sky. 2000. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eBook
Lord of the Silent. 2001. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eBook
The Golden One. 2002. Also available: Large Type, Cassette, eBook
Children of the Storm. 2003. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eBook
Guardian of the Horizon. 2004. Also available: Large Type, CD, eBook
The Serpent on the Crown. 2005. Also available: Large Type, CD, eBook
Tomb of the Golden Bird. 2006. Also available: Large Type, CD, eBook

France

Black, Cara. Murder in the Sentier. 2002.
#3 in the Aimee Leduc Investigations series

On the same day that Jutta Hald (a convicted criminal from a 60s radical terrorist group and just released from prison) shows up with news from Aimee’s past, she is found murdered. A series of related killings leads Parisian detective Aimee Leduc to investigate the connections between these avowed radicals and her own long-lost mother. Set in the historic Sentier garment district of Paris, details are so vivid that the reader sees and smells the gritty streets. For fans of Simenon’s Maigret series, and Francophiles in general.
Other titles in the series:
Murder in the Marais. 1999.
Murder in Belleville. 2000.
Murder in the Bastille. 2003.
Murder in Clichy. 2005.
Murder in Montmartre. 2006.
Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis. 2007. Also available: Large Type
Murder in the Rue de Paradis. 2008. Also available: Large Type
Murder in the Latin Quarter. 2009.

Janes, J. Robert. Dollmaker. 2002.
#6 in the Inspector Jean-Louis St.-Cyr & Hermann Kohler series

French Surete Insp. Jean-Louis St.-Cyr and Gestapo officer Hermann Kohler continue as reluctant partners in crime-solving, this time traveling to occupied Brittany to look into the murder of a detested townsman, for which a U-boat captain has been arrested. Byzantine plotting, but compelling period detail and intensely real portraits of wartime deprivation and the despair of a conquered people.
Other titles in the series:
Mirage. 1992.
Carousel. 1999.
Kaleidoscope. 2001.
Salamander. 1998.
Mannequin. 1994.
Stonekiller. 1995.
Sandman. 1997.
Gypsy. 1997.
Madrigal. 1999.
Beekeeper. 2001.
Flykiller. 2002.

Vargas, Fred. Have Mercy on Us All. 2003.

In an interesting juxtaposition of modernity with the Middle Ages, mysterious inverted “4s” are being painted on apartment doors across Paris, to the consternation of Police Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg. His sources indicate that these are talismans to ward off the Black Death, and when a series of strangulations begins and the media reveals that the victims show evidence of rat-flea bites and have had their limbs and tongues blackened, a general panic ensues. Is this the work of a madman or a calculating murderer? A page-turner that leaves the reader hoping for more adventures of the Commissaire.
Other titles in the series:
Seeking Whom He May Devour. 2004.
Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand. 2007.
This Night's Foul Work. 2008.

Additional French mysteries:

Jean-Claude Izzo’s new Marseilles Trilogy, beginning with Total Chaos (2005). Also, try Martin O’Brien’s new Daniel Jacquot series which begins with Jacquot and the Waterman (2006).
 

Germany

Dold, Gaylord. The Last Man in Berlin. 2003.

Berlin in the 30s as Hitler’s emerging Nazi Party battles in the streets with German Communists. Detective Inspector Harry Wulff, pro-Weimar and in love with a Jewish psychoanalyst, investigates the murders of transvestite prostitutes. The trail of the killer leads inexorably to the inner circle of the Nazis, who have uses for twisted minds. Alive with the menace of that place and time.

Savarin, Julian Jay. Winter and the General. 2003.
#3 in the Muller-Pappenheim series

Aristocratic, pony-tailed Hauptkommissar Jens Muller is not your typical Berlin cop, especially not when out in his Porsche on an investigation with the overweight, working-class-and-proud-of-it Sgt. Pappenheim. This case harks back to the 1942 siege of Stalingrad, the victim with his throat cut turning out to be a former Nazi general, renowned for his cruelty and brutality in that battle. Muller and his female CIA colleague, Carey Bloomfield, uncover many secrets from WWII that have links to the present German government, in a mystery/thriller in the Len Deighton tradition.
Other titles in the series:
A Cold Rain in Berlin. 2002.
Romeo Summer. 2003.
A Hot Day in May. 2004.
Hunter’s Rain. 2004.
Summer of the Eagle. 2005.
Seasons of Change. 2005.
The Other Side of Eden. 2006.
Sunset and the Major. 2006.

Iceland

Indridason, Arnaldur. Jar City: A Reykjavík Thriller. 2005.
#1 in the Reykjavik Murders series

Murder cases taking place in Iceland are anecdotally supposed to be easy to solve. Not so for seasoned detective Erlendur Sveinsson. An older man is found murdered in his flat, seemingly hit on the head with an ashtray. Genetics and heredity and the isolated locale make this a fascinating, suspenseful dark read.
Other titles in the series:
Silence of the Grave. 2005.
Voices. 2007.
The Draining Lake. 2008.

Ireland

Gill, Bartholomew. Death in Dublin. 2003.
#16 of the Peter McGarr series.

Highly suspenseful police procedural follows Chief McGarr and his team as they race to recover precious manuscripts of Ireland’s Book of Kells, stolen from Dublin’s Trinity College Library and the “inside man” killed. Shunted aside by Gardai politics, McGarr (still grieving the murder of his wife two years earlier) perseveres on the trail of a group of anti-Christianity extremists calling themselves the New Druids. Insights into Irish religious history, plenty of political shenanigans, and hope for McGarr’s bruised heart: a very satisfying wrap-up to an exceptional series.
Other titles in the series:
McGarr and the Politician’s Wife. 1977.
McGarr and the Sienese Conspiracy. 1977.
McGarr on the Cliffs of Moher. 1978.
McGarr at the Dublin Horse Show. 1979.
McGarr and the P.M. of Belgrave Square. 1983.
McGarr and the Method of Descartes. 1984.
McGarr and the Legacy of a Woman Scorned. 1986.
The Death of a Joyce Scholar. 1989.
The Death of Love. 1992.
Death on a Cold, Wild River. 1993.
The Death of an Ardent Bibliophile. 1995.
Death of an Irish Sea Wolf. 1996.
The Death of an Irish Tinker. 1997. Also available: eBook
The Death of an Irish Lover. 2000.
The Death of an Irish Sinner. 2001.

Nugent, Andrew. The Four Courts Murder. 2005.

In what we can hope will the first of a series featuring Dublin Inspector Denis Lennon and Sgt. Molly Powers, the duo take on the case of an unpopular judge done to death in his chambers. Expertly plotted, full of Irish wit, sending up the corrupt and venal court system, and with a peek into the trade in stolen art; a very auspicious debut.

Additional Irish mysteries:

Erin Hart’s Nora Gavin series features pathologist Nora Gavin and archaeologist colleague Cormac Macguire in a wonderful blend of gothic suspense, Irish culture and folklore, and beautifully written characters.

Titles in the series:
Haunted Ground. 2003. Also available: CD
Lake of Sorrows. 2004. Also available: CD

Also try Ken Bruen’s very popular Jack Taylor Dublin P.I. series, which includes:

The Guards. 2003.
The Killing of the Tinkers. 2004.
The Magdalen Martyrs. 2005.
The Dramatist. 2006.
Priest. 2007.
Cross. 2008.
Santuary. 2008.

Israel

Gur, Batya. Bethlehem Road Murder. 2004.
#5 in the Michael Ohayon series

This book finds Chief Supt. Ohayon investigating the murder of a beautiful Yemenite Jew, living in an ethnically mixed neighborhood seething with Arab-Israeli and Ashkenazim-Mizrahim hostilities (European Jews vs. Jews from the Muslim world). Though some in the police readily lay blame on a Palestinian laborer, Ohayon delves deeper—the motive may’ve been the victim’s obsession with secrets from 1950s Israel that someone wants left buried, or the barely concealed racial hostility between (mostly black) Yemenites and (mostly white) Ashkenazim, or a more personal motive. Publishers Weekly compares Ohayon to P.D. James’ Adam Dalgleish, high praise indeed.
Other titles in the series:
The Saturday Morning Murder. 1992.
Literary Murder. 1993.
Murder on a Kibbutz. 1994.
Murder Duet: A Musical Case. 1999.
Murder in Jerusalem. 2006. Also available: eBook

Italy

Camilleri, Andrea. The Shape of Water. 2002. Also available: CD, eAudiobook
#1 in the Salvo Montalbano series

A police procedural set in Sicily, this is the first of six Inspector Montalbano mysteries, immensely popular in Europe. The scandalous circumstances of the death of a prominent politician (found in a car in an area frequented by hookers, his pants around his ankles…) arouse Montalbano's suspicions. Amidst poverty, cynicism and corruption, he unravels the complex threads of the murder in entertaining fashion. Montalbano, who Kirkus calls “a Latin re-creation of Philip Marlowe” is a worthy addition to the ranks of cynical and sardonic, wise and humane fictional Italian detectives (see below for the two stars of this niche—Michael Dibdin’s Aurelio Zen and Donna Leon’s Guido Brunetti).
Other titles in the series:
The Terra-Cotta Dog. 2002. Also available: CD
The Snack Thief. 2003. Also available: CD
Voice of the Violin. 2003. Also available: CD
Excursion to Tindari. 2005.
The Smell of the Night. 2005.
Rounding the Mark. 2006.
The Patience of the Spider. 2007.
The Paper Moon. 2008. Also available: Large Type
August Heat. 2009.

Dibdin, Michael. Blood Rain. 1999.
#7 in the Aurelio Zen series

Aurelio Zen, world-weary Rome detective and (so he thought) skillful combatant in the internecine struggles of Italy’s Interior Ministry, is sent to dangerous Sicily as punishment (in his view) for the successful resolution of two previous cases in Naples and the Piedmont. He is there to observe the operations of the Carabinieri’s anti-Mafia bureau (the DIA); his adopted daughter Carla (who entered his life in the previous series installment, A Long Finish) joins him there, having taken a job computerizing DIA files. Soon Zen and Carla both are enmeshed in a deadly struggle between local crime bosses, corrupt DIA agents and power-grabbing politicians, ending in tragedy for both. This may be the best of the Zen series, which is saying a lot! For fans of police procedurals and of excellently told, literate stories with wit and the ability to astonish the reader.
Other titles in the series:
Ratking. 1989.
Vendetta. 1991.
Cabal. 1993.
Dead Lagoon. 1994.
Cosi Fan Tutti. 1997.
A Long Finish. 1998.
And Then You Die. 2002.
Medusa. 2004.
Back to Bologna. 2006.
End Games. 2007.

Leon, Donna. Fatal Remedies. 1999. Also available: eAudiobook
#8 in the Guido Brunetti series

This is one of the excellent police procedurals set in Venice featuring Police Commissario Guido Brunetti, a thoughtful, ethical and empathetic detective. Unlike Zen (above), Brunetti is blessed with a happy home life (two teenagers and his English professor wife Paola, whom he is devoted to), but suffers to an equal degree from the lethargy and indifference if not outright corruption of Italian government officials. When a travel agency has its windows smashed in the middle of the night, Brunetti discovers to his dismay and surprise that it was done by his unapologetic wife! His personal and professional lives on a collision course, he must solve the related murder of the travel agency owner whose ties to sex tourism Paola sought to expose. In addition to loving depictions of Venice, which almost becomes a character in each story, we are treated to yummy descriptions of the meals Paola prepares for Brunetti, and his ruminations about the Latin and Greek classics he reads for pleasure. The development of ancillary characters such as his boss, Vice-Questore Patta, and Patta’s beautiful, subversive, oh-so-clever-with-computers secretary Signorina Elletra, adds quiet humor.
Other titles in the series:
Death at La Fenice. 1992. Also available: Cassette
Death in a Strange Country. 1993. Also available: Cassette 
Dressed for Death. 1994. Also available: Cassette 
Death and Judgment. 1995. Also available: Cassette
Acqua Alta. 1996. Also available: eAudiobook
Quietly in Their Sleep. 1997.
A Noble Radiance. 1998. Also available: CD, eAudiobook
Friends in High Places. 2000. Also available: eAudiobook
A Sea of Troubles. 2001.
Wilful Behavior. 2002.
Uniform Justice. 2003. Also available: eAudiobook
Doctored Evidence. 2004.
Blood from a Stone. 2005. Also available: CD, eAudiobook
Through a Glass, Darkly. 2006. Also available: CD
Suffer the Little Children. 2007. Also available: CD, eAudiobook
The Girl of His Dreams. 2008. Also available: Large Type, CD
About Face. 2009. Also available: Large Type  

Additional Italian mysteries:

Magdalen Nabb’s excellent Marshal Guarnaccia series, set in Florence:

Titles in the series:
Death of an Englishman. 1982.
Death of a Dutchman. 1983.
Death in Springtime: A Florentine Mystery. 1984.
Death in Autumn. 1984.
The Marshal and the Murderer. 1987.
The Marshal and the Madwoman. 1988.
The Marshal’s Own Case. 1990.
The Marshal Makes His Report. 1991.
The Marshal at the Villa Torrini. 1994.
The Monster of Florence. 1997.
Property of Blood. 2001.
Some Bitter Taste. 2002.
The Innocent. 2005.

Also, Iain Pears’ humorous Jonathan Argyll series featuring art expert Argyll and his wife Flavia di Stefano investigating murder, theft and corruption in the Italian art world.

Titles in the series:
The Raphael Affair. 1990.
The Titian Committee. 1993.
The Bernini Bust. 1994.
The Last Judgement. 1996.
Giotto’s Hand. 1997. Also available: Large Type
Death and Restoration. 1996.
The Immaculate Deception. 2000. Also available: Large Type

Japan

Browne, Marshall. Rendezvous at Kamakura Inn. 2005.

After Tokyo detective Hideo Aoki’s 18-month investigation of a powerful and corrupt politician with ties to the Japanese mafia is cancelled by the powers that be, his team is devastated, as is he. Sent to a mountain inn to recuperate after the suicide of his wife, Aoki finds himself snowed in with a murderer whose victims seem to have connections to his previous investigation. Isolated by the storm, cell phones not working, Aoki has only his wits to rely on. Satisfyingly complex and vividly detailed in plot, atmosphere, setting and characters, this could be a lovely first of a series!

Furutani, Dale. Death at the Crossroads. 1998.
#1 in the Samurai series

Matsuyama Kaze is a ronin, a masterless samurai warrior, his former Lord and Lady having been slain by treachery in a battle for supremacy between daimyos (feudal Japanese provincial rulers). On a quest to find and rescue the abducted nine year-old daughter of his patrons, he finds himself in a small village where local officials, peasants and a cruel and callous overlord seek to learn who murdered the merchant whose body was discovered nearby. Lots of authentically described swordplay, merciless brutality (true to the place and time), and surprising humor ensue as Kaze is drawn into the investigation in spite of himself. His overriding characteristics are honor and compassion, even for the peasants who every layer of feudal Japanese society despise and maltreat. Never have I been sorrier to see a series end, and I cherish the hope that Furutani will return to the story of the wise, witty and brave Matsuyama Kaze.
Other titles in the series:
The Jade Palace Vendetta. 1999.
Kill the Shogun. 2000. Also available: Large Type

Rowland, Laura Joh. The Assassin’s Touch. 2005.
#10 in the Sano Ichiro series

This latest installment in Rowland’s 17th century samurai series finds Ichiro promoted to Shogun’s chamberlain, but soon resuming his role of investigator when the sudden death of a top spy is revealed to be the fourth recent mysterious death of a government official. The lethal assassin and the secret organization controlling him are soon pursuing Ichiro even as he struggles to unmask them, protect his ruler, learn how his wife is involved, and stay alive!
Other titles in the series:
Shin-Ju. 1994.
Bundori. 1996.
The Way of the Traitor. 1997.
The Concubine’s Tattoo. 1998.
The Samurai’s Wife. 2000.
Black Lotus. 2001.
The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria. 2002.
The Dragon King’s Palace. 2003.
The Perfumed Sleeve. 2004.
Red Chrysanthemum. 2006. Also available: Large Type
The Snow Empress. 2007. Also available: CD
The Fire Kimono. 2008. Also available: CD
The Cloud Pavilion. 2009. Also available: CD

Additional Japanese mysteries:

Lucia St. Clair Robson’s The Tokaido Road (1991) is a wonderful adventure with strong male and female protagonists, plenty of swordsmanship, a vividly-described setting in medieval Japan, and a beautiful love story. It is shelved in the Fiction section.

Another read-alike might be Lian Hearn’s Tales of the Otori series. This is a trilogy set in an alternate medieval Japan, with similar political intrigues, sharply detailed period and physical settings, romance, and samurai culture.

Titles in the series (all shelved in Fiction):
Across the Nightingale Floor. 2002.
Grass for His Pillow. 2003.
Brilliance of the Moon. 2004.
The Harsh Cry of the Heron. 2006.
Heaven's Net is Wide. 2007.

Sujata Massey’s Rei Shimura series, which follows the sleuthing Japanese-American antiques dealer in modern-day Japan:

Titles in the series:
The Salaryman’s Wife. 1997.
Zen Attitude. 1998.
The Flower Master. 1999.
The Floating Girl. 2000.
The Bride’s Kimono. 2001.
The Samurai’s Daughter. 2003.
The Pearl Diver. 2004.
The Typhoon Lover. 2005.
Girl in a Box. 2006.
Shimura Trouble. 2008.

Also try I. J. Parker’s Sugawara Akitada historical mystery series.

Titles in the series:
The Dragon Scroll. 2005. Also available: CD
Rashomon Gate. 2002.
Black Arrow. 2006. Also available: CD
Island of Exiles. 2007. Also available: CD
The Hell Screen. 2003.
The Convict's Sword. 2009.

Laos

Cotterill, Colin. The Coroner's Lunch. 2004.
#1 in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series

Seventy-two year-old Dr. Siri Paiboun believed that when the Communist regime took over Laos, at long last retirement would be his. Think again, Dr. Paiboun. Not only did the Party insist he continue working, but they appointed him national coroner, a job he knew less about than the mildly retarded man and the ambitious, but untrained young woman assigned as his assistants. Emulating his favorite fictional detective, Jules Maigret, Dr. Paiboun soon discovers that when that fails, he sometimes has to resort to a little help from the “spirits.”
Other titles in the series:
Thirty-Three Teeth. 2005.
Disco for the Departed. 2006.
Anarchy and Old Dogs. 2007.
Curse of the Pogo Stick. 2008.

Netherlands

There are two important mystery series that take place in the Netherlands. The first is A.C. Baantjer’s Inspector DeKok series, now up to the 34th in the series. Unfortunately, not all titles have been translated into English from the Dutch. With the huge popularity of the series in Europe, expect to see more re-issues and new translations. The following titles are currently available in the U.S.:

Titles in the series:
DeKok and the Somber Nude.
DeKok and the Sunday Strangler.
DeKok and the Corpse on Christmas Eve.
DeKok and the Dead Harlequin.
DeKok and the Sorrowing Tomcat.
DeKok and the Disillusioned Corpse.
DeKok and the Careful Killer.
DeKok and the Romantic Murder.
DeKok and the Dying Stroller.
DeKok and the Corpse at the Church Wall.
DeKok and the Dancing Death.
DeKok and the Naked Lady.
DeKok and the Brothers of the Easy Death.
DeKok and the Deadly Accord.
DeKok and Murder in Séance.
DeKok and Murder in Ecstasy.
DeKok and the Begging Death.
DeKok and the Geese of Death.
DeKok and Murder by Melody.
DeKok and the Death of a Clown.
DeKok and Variations on Murder.
DeKok and Murder by Installment.
DeKok and Murder on Blood Mountain.
DeKok and the Dead Lovers.
DeKok and the Mask of Death.
DeKok and the Corpse Return.
DeKok and the Murder in Bronze.
DeKok and the Deadly Warning.
DeKok and Murder in First Class.
DeKok and the Vendetta.
DeKok and Murder on the Menu.
DeKok and Murder Depicted.
DeKok and the Dance Macabre.
DeKok and the Disfiguring Death.
DeKok and the Devil's Conspiracy.
DeKok and the Duel at Night.

The other major Dutch series is Janwillem Van de Wetering’s Grijpstra & De Gier stories about two offbeat Amsterdam police detectives; these seem to have ceased around 1999.

Titles in the series:
Outsider in Amsterdam. 1975. Also available: Large Type
Tumbleweed. 1976. Also available: Large Type
The Corpse on the Dike. 1976.
Death of a Hawker. 1977.
The Japanese Corpse. 1977.
The Blond Baboon. 1978.
The Maine Massacre. 1979.
The Mind-Murders. 1981.
The Streetbird. 1983.
Hard Rain. 1986.
The Sergeant’s Cat and Other Stories. 1987.
Just a Corpse at Twilight. 1994. Also available: Cassette  
The Hollow-Eyed Angel. 1996.
The Perfidious Parrot. 1997.
The Amsterdam Cops. 1999.

Norway

Karin Fossum. Don’t Look Back. 2002.
#1 in Inspector Sejer series

Psychological insight into each character (a la Ruth Rendell) is this author’s greatest strength,and here her quiet, hyper-observant widower detective, Inspector Konrad Sejer, delves beneath the placid surface of a mountain village, investigating the murder of a teenage girl. With very little evidence and no witnesses, Sejer and his assistant Jakob Skarre have to break through the villagers’ closed ranks against outsiders, probing old secrets and lies, finding plenty of skeletons in closets, peeling back layer after layer of deception until the shocking truth emerges.
Other titles in the series:
He Who Fears the Wolf. 2004.
When the Devil Holds the Candle. 2006.
The Indian Bride. 2005.
Black Seconds. 2007.
The Water's Edge. 2009.

Russia

Akunin, Boris. The Winter Queen. 2003. Also available: CD
#1 in Erast Fandorin Mysteries series

Erast Fandorin is the most junior member of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Police, so it's not too surprising that he's detailed to investigate an “open and shut case”, a very public suicide involving a young, wealthy student. Fandorin isn't satisfied with the obvious interpretation, however, and soon his inquiry leads him across Europe and into the center of a vast conspiracy. Excellent period detail, humor, good characters and intricate plotting make this a series that would appeal to Anne Perry fans.
Other titles in the series:
The Turkish Gambit. 2005. Also available: CD 
Murder on the Leviathan. 2004. Also available: CD 
Death of Achilles. 2006. Also available: CD
Special Assignments. 2007.  

Kaminsky, Stuart M. Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express. 2001.
#14 in the Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov series

Insp. Rostnikov is dispatched by his superiors at the Moscow Office of Special Investigation on the 6,000 mi. Trans-Siberian Express to retrieve a mysterious document from Czar Nicholas’ court due to be exchanged for cash somewhere en route. As with all of his assignments he is not told all that the higher-ups know, and is left to his usual skillful navigation through corrupt, dysfunctional post-Soviet Russian society. In the manner of police procedurals the world over, at least two other cases are being worked by Rostnikov’s team of detectives back in Moscow, and we enjoy renewing our acquaintance with Inspectors Karpo (“the Vampire”), Tkach (handsome and quick-witted, but with a small child and live-in mother creating stress at home), Zelach (a little slow but with surprising insights), and Iosef, Rostnikov’s son, in love with his detective partner Elena Timofeyeva. Rostnikov is one of the most endearing of fictional cops--a man of great wisdom, compassion and humor, who loves American jazz and detective stories. A superbly written entry in the series, and we can only hope it’s not the last.
Other titles in the series:
Death of a Dissident. 1991.
Black Knight in Red Square. 1984.
Red Chameleon. 1985.
A Fine Red Rain. 1987.
A Cold Red Sunrise. 1988.
The Man Who Walked Like a Bear. 1990.
Rostnikov’s Vacation. 1991.
Death of a Russian Priest. 1992. 
Hard Currency. 1995.
Blood and Rubles. 1996.
Tarnished Icons. 1997.
The Dog Who Bit a Policeman. 1998. Also available: Large Type
Fall of a Cosmonaut. 2000.
People Who Walk in Darkness. 2008. Also available: Large Type

Additional Russian mysteries:

Try Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko series, which includes:

Gorky Park. 1981. (Fiction SMI). Also available: Cassette
Polar Star. 1989. (Fiction SMI). Also available: Large Type, Cassette
Red Square. 1992. (Fiction SMI). Also available: Large Type, Cassette 
Havana Bay. 1999. (Fiction SMI). Also available: Large Type
Wolves Eat Dogs. 2004. (Fiction SMI). Also available: Large Type, CD
Stalin's Ghost. 2007. (Fiction SMI). Also available: CD

Spain

Jeffries, Roderic. An Intriguing Murder. 2003.
#27 in the Inspector Alvarez series

Mallorca’s indolent, food and brandy-loving detective Inspector Enrique Alvarez here looks into the stabbing death of an expatriate British millionaire, whose playboy ways and possible bribery of local bureaucrats provide plenty of suspects.
Other titles in the series:
Mistakenly in Mallorca. 1974.
Two-Faced Death. 1976. 
Troubled Deaths. 1978.
Murder Begets Murder. 1979.
Just Desserts. 1980.
Unseemly End. 1982.
Deadly Petard. 1983.
Three and One Make Five. 1984.
Layers of Deceit. 1985.
Almost Murder. 1986.
Relatively Dangerous. 1987. Also available: Large Type
Death Trick. 1988.
Dead Clever. 1989.
Too Clever by Half. 1990.
Murder’s Long Memory. 1992.
A Fatal Fleece. 1992.
Murder Confounded. 1993.
Death Takes Time. 1994.
An Arcadian Death. 1996.
An Artistic Way to Go. 1997.
A Maze of Murders. 1998.
An Enigmatic Disappearance. 2000.
The Ambiguity of Murder. 2001.
Definitely Deceased. 2001.
An Artful Death. 2002.
Seeing is Deceiving. 2002.
An Air of Murder. 2003.
A Sunny Disappearance. 2005.
Murder Delayed. 2006.
Murder Needs Imagination. 2007.
An Instinctive Solution. 2008.
Sun, Sea and Murder. 2009.

Pawel, Rebecca. Death of a Nationalist. 2003.
#1 in the Carlos Tejada series

Set in Madrid immediately following the Spanish Civil War, this Edgar-Award winning first mystery explores the deep seated, continuing hatred between the Nationalists (Fascists) and the Republicans (Communists). Sergeant Carlos Tejeda Alonso y Leon is a member of the Guardia Civil responsible for keeping order in a violence-filled city, where atrocities and reprisals are rampant. He is sent to investigate the murder of his best friend, a Guardia comrade, certain that he has been killed by a Nationalist. As the investigation unfolds he is even surer that the guilty man is a wounded Republican in hiding, but an innate sense of justice forces him to pursue the whole truth. There are no good guys or bad guys in this novel and Tejada has a most unusual ally in solving the crime.
Other titles in the series:
Law of Return. 2004.
The Watcher in the Pine. 2005.
The Summer Snow. 2006.

Sweden

Mankell, Henning. The Dogs of Riga. 2004. Also available: eAudiobook
#3 in the Inspector Kurt Wallander series

Chief Inspector Wallander, head of homicide in the provincial Swedish town of Ystad, investigates the murders of two men whose bodies have washed up on the coast. Various clues point to their Eastern Bloc origin, but as the affair turns into an international incident with Russian-Mafia connections, Wallander turns to a Latvian colleague for help. When the latter is himself killed, Wallander is off to Riga to search for the truth in a dangerous and corrupt totalitarian state. #1 and #5 in the series have not been published in English as yet.
Other titles in the series:
Faceless Killers. 1997.
The White Lioness. 1998.
Sidetracked. 1999. Also available: CD
The Fifth Woman. 2000. Also available: CD
One Step Behind. 2002. Also available: CD
Firewall. 2002. Also available: CD
The Man Who Smiled. 2005. Also available: Large Type, CD, eAudiobook
The Pyramid. 2008. Also available: CD

Additional Swedish mysteries:

Håkan Nesser’s Inspector Van Veeteren series which begins with Mind's Eye (1993). This Swedish Crime Writer’s Academy prizewinner about a contemplative veteran policeman is just beginning to be translated into English.
           Other titles in the series:
           Borkmann's Point. 2006.
           The Return. 2007.
           Woman with Birthmark. 2009.
Other titles in the series:

Also try Helene Tursten’s Inspector Huss series, which includes Detective Inspector Huss (2003), The Torso (2006), and The Glass Devil (2007).

And the older but classic and still popular Maj Sjöwall/Per Wahlöö Martin Beck series:

Roseanna. 1967.
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke. 1968.
The Man on the Balcony; The Story of a Crime. 1968.
The Laughing Policeman. 1970.
The Fire Engine That Disappeared. 1970.
Murder at the Savoy. 1971.
The Abominable Man. 1972.
The Locked Room: The Story of a Crime. 1973.
Cop Killer. 1975.
The Terrorists. 1976.

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List compiled by Lucy Drews (St. Louis Public Library, Schlafly Branch) with help from Ricki Nordmeyer (Skokie Public Library).