Favourite Euro Crime Reads of 2012 - Norman

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

The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri tr. Stephen Sartarelli

At last the old maestro win the CWA International Dagger with his usual mixture of mafia, sex, humour and intrigue.

Another Time, Another Life by Leif G W Persson tr. Paul Norlen

Another veteran crime writer with the second book in a trilogy that covers 25 years full of events, from the seizing of the West German Embassy in 1975 by terrorists, to a murder in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening of the Stasi records, to a reopening of the case in 1999/2000. Facts,satire, humour, mystery and some strong female characters to go along with Persson's usually obnoxious policemen.

The Blind Goddess by Anne Holt tr. Tom Geddes

My discovery of the year, the Hanne Wilhelmsen series.

Last Will by Liza Marklund tr. Neil Smith

Annika Bengtzon, the most popular and attractive journalist in Scandinavia continues the struggle to balance her career and family. In this brilliant book the reader learns about Alfred Nobel, his prize, how a media outlet is organised, and tales of scientific rivalry. No wonder Liza Marklund was one of Maxine's favourite authors.

Spies of the Balkans by Alan Furst

One of Furst's other wartime thrillers, Spies of Warsaw, is being televised at the moment, starring David Tennant.

Spies of the Balkans is a superbly crafted story of Costa Zannis, a detective in Salonika who deals with political cases, in late 1940. It is the story of a society under tremendous pressure, war , intrigue, Nazis, spies, coup d'etats and escaping Jews all blended in with some historical information and a love story. At the very end of the novel Alan Furst puts in a lovely little unexpected twist, which can almost, but not quite make you forget what really happened to Salonika's ancient Jewish population during the war.