GLOBE and MAIL: The Aosawa Murders is certain to top a lot of Best Books this year and Alison Watts’s masterful translation is part of the reason. Can this book open up the world of Japanese crime in the way that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo opened up Scandi Noir? I hope so.

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Ms. Onda’s novel—part psychological thriller, part murder mystery—is audacious in conception and brilliant in execution.

 

Read more

“With its intense rage, corrosive boredom and low-life scams, Brunet’s South of France is saturated with broken dreams. And the last flickers of childhood are terrifying, proving that, even under the strong sun, social barriers remain implacable.”--Paris Match  Read more

In this solid spin-off from Cuban author Pedro’s Havana Quartet, police detective Mario Conde investigates the 1989 murder of 73-year-old Pedro Cuang, a dry cleaner, in Havana’s Chinatown. Fans of the Havana Quartet will welcome Conde’s return. Publishers Weekly

How nice it is to watch a high-powered talent at work on a form that too often relies on flat-footed prose. Booklist

Padura on his very best form. Once again, we have Padura’a irresistible combination of quirky storytelling and a vivid evocation of the city of Havana –the translation by Peter Bush does full justice to the novel, which was inspired by the author’s work as a journalist when investigating the history of Havana’s Barrio Chino. ELN Barry Forshaw

 

Read more

Publishers Weekly Starred Review: Set in 1937, Pastor’s outstanding sixth mystery featuring German investigator Martin Bora (after 2017’s The Road to Ithaca) makes effective use of the death of Federico García Lorca, the celebrated poet, during the Spanish Civil War… Pastor does an excellent job of creating a back-story for her lead that fits in well with the previous books. 

Midwestern Book Review: An expertly crafted mystery by a master of the genre, that is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.95), "The Horseman's Song" is an especially recommended addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections. Also very highly recommended for dedicated mystery buffs are the other novels by Ben Pastor that feature the character of Martin Bora. 

NB Literary Magazine: An accomplished historical thriller set in Spain in 1937. This novel is confidently plotted and the tempo is judged to perfection… a thoughtful intelligent thriller that plays with a historical mystery in a manner respectful of the known facts. Documents released in 2015 appear to verify the claim that the Grenada fascists killed García Lorca in 1936, but his body has never been found. 

Foreword Reviews: Pastor weaves a poignant, convincing portrait of life during wartime. Bora himself is a compelling protagonist, erudite enough to recite Aristotle to himself while repelling an ambush and innocent enough to fall for a local lass who changes his perspective on love.

 

Read more

“This is how I like my noir fiction: no cops with unlikely hang-ups, no copycat serial killers, no ‘here-we-go-again’ plots. Olguín concentrates instead on villains and victims and several dollops of savage sex." SHOTS Read more

Of all rites of passage, few burn so deep in the memory as interviews. The artist Vaughan Grylls certainly has strong recall of the many times he has presented himself for a job: there is horrible credibility in his recollection of every interview...Despite many happy outcomes, a sense emerges of how ill-fitting – yet how vital to survival – is the relationship between artists and institutions. A useful thing to be reminded of. Read more