May’s Best International Crime Fiction

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This month’s international crime fiction roundup brings you plenty of corruption, coverups, and conspiracies. Sleuths in Iceland, Quebec, and Taiwan go all the way to the top for answers, a housebreaker in Egypt leverages state secrets to make his way to the center of society, a Parisian illusionist finds himself the target of his rich clients, and an unhappy bride is stalked by an admirer who knows far too much about her life in China. Perhaps you’ll even be able to take these books on a long-delayed vacation!

Sergio Schmucler, The Guardian of Amsterdam Street
Translated by Jessica Mendez Sayer
(House of Anansi Press)

In Mexico City, Galo has confined himself to Amsterdam Street since a traumatizing experience in his childhood, but his world is still rich in characters and drama, as he interacts with revolutionaries and refugees, exiles and intellectuals, and hopes for those he once lost to one day return. Melancholy, moody, and infused with the angry passions and complex divisions of 20th century politics.

Mario Giordano, Auntie Poldi and the Lost Madonna
Translated by John Brownjohn
(Houghton Mifflin)

Mario Giordano’s riotous creation Auntie Poldi is back, this time as a suspect in a bizarre case involving an exorcism gone awry and the death of a nun. Why was the woman undergoing the exorcism pretending to be Auntie Poldi? And why does everyone in the bewigged Bavarian’s village seem inclined to believe her?

Ashraf El-Ashmawi, The Lady of Zamalek
Translated by Peter Daniel
(Hoopoe Press)

A century ago, in booming Jazz-Age Cairo, a businessman was murdered in a robbery gone wrong, and four men were soon arrested for the crime. The Lady of Zamalek reimagines this real-life story to include a fifth accomplice, who uses secret documents stolen from the victim’s safe to rise to the top of Egyptian society. This is Ashraf El-Ashmawi’s first novel to be translated into English, and I hope to see the rest of his works soon follow.

Geling Yan, The Secret Talker
Translated by Jeremy Tiang
(HarperVia) 

Geling Yan has crafted a steamy slow-burn psychological thriller in The Secret Talker. A woman trapped in an unhappy marriage begins to receive erotic messages from a stranger online, who appears to be stalking her every move. And so, the woman decides to stalk her stalker, in a cat and mouse game that will keep you guessing to the last page.

Roxanne Bouchard, The Coral Bride
Translated by David Warriner

In spare and beautiful prose, Bouchard sends her series detective after a missing woman who disappeared while captaining a fishing trawler. Strangely, it seems that no one wants the woman found—not the department, not the fisheries, and perhaps no one in the entire province of Quebec. A perfect read for those who appreciate the quiet thoughtfulness, quirky locals, and lush Canadian landscapes of Louise Penny.

Lilja Sigurdardottir, Betrayal
Translated by Quentin Bates
(Orenda Books)

Lilja Sigurdardottir’s newly translated Betrayal is the essence of Nordic Noir. The restless Ursula has traveled the world as an aid worker, but now she’s returned to Iceland, burnt out and hoping a new government job will help her feel less hopeless in the face of human suffering. Misery continues to dog her footsteps, however, as she tries to help a woman who’s been attacked by a policeman and finds herself caught up in a vast coverup and corruption scandal.

Chang Kuo-Li, The Sniper
Translated by Roddy Flagg
(Spiderline)

In this high-octane conspiracy thriller, a former elite soldier finds his quiet retirement as a chef disrupted when he receives orders to take out a government official. Meanwhile, a weary detective close to retirement is called in to investigate a naval officer’s apparent suicide, and finds evidence of both murder and a coverup. Chang Kuo-Li based The Sniper on a real-life murder and corruption scandal in the Taiwanese military that I now would very much like to read a true crime book about, please and thank you.

Gilles Legardinier, The Paris Labyrinth
Translated by Kate Robinson
(Flammarion-Pere Castor)

Here at CrimeReads, we’re always on the lookout for new books or movies featuring magicians—we just really like illusionists in thrillers, okay? But regardless of your criteria, The Paris Labyrinth delivers. In this lush historical mystery set in Belle Epoque Paris, a brand-new Eiffel Tower is the controversial new backdrop to a tale of intrigue, murder, and many, many hidden rooms (also secret hallways).

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