Favourite Euro Crime Reads of 2012 - Michelle

Continuing the series of Euro Crime reviewers' favourite reads of 2012 here are Michelle Peckham's favourite Euro Crime and/or translated titles, in the order she listed them:

Last Will by Liza Marklund tr. Neil Smith
Interesting link to Nobel Prizes, and biological scientists at the Karolinska Institute. A book that actually manages to depict science relatively accurately.

Temporary Perfections by Gianrico Carofiglio tr. Antony Shugaar
A favourite author of mine, his books feature the lawyer Guido Guerrieri, and in this one, he is set to work as an investigator, to find out what happened to a missing girl. The investigation plays a minor role, compared to his descriptions of discussions with friends, his response to the temptation of a pretty girl and general musings on his life.

The Chessmen by Peter May
Final book in a trilogy, Finn Macleod is living on Lewis, with a few last secrets to uncover from his childhood days there.

Deon Meyer (Blood Safari, 7 Days, Devil’s Peak, Trackers, Dead at Daybreak, Dead before Dying and Thirteen Hours). All different, all set in South Africa and all very satisfying reads - when I pushed her to choose one for my compilation list, Michelle replied: A hard choice, but I think probably Blood Safari (tr. K L Seegers), with the interesting bodyguard character (Lemmer) protecting Emma le Roux from some unknown potential danger, while she tries to find her missing brother, taking them all the way out to Limpopo, and against a background of corruption and poaching.

The Garnethill Trilogy by Denise Mina
An unlikely heroine, Maureen wakes up after a drunken night out to discover her boyfriend, dead in the flat with his throat cut. This starts a series of 3 books that follow up on Maureen’s determination to get to the bottom of stuff, and a great Glasgow setting

Ghostheart by R J Ellory
Despite the bad press for Ellory, I really like his novels, and this one was no exception. Features Annie, who runs a bookshop, and her discovery of the life she never knew.