Saturday, January 16, 2016

Ten top mysteries set in Asia

Barry Lancet's Japantown, an international thriller, won the prestigious Barry Award for Best First Mystery Novel, and was selected by both Suspense Magazine and renowned mystery critic Oline Cogdill as one of the Best Debuts of the Year. His second book, Tokyo Kill, was a finalist for a Shamus Award for Best P.I. Novel of the Year and was selected as a must-read for Asian leaders by Forbes magazine. The third entry in the Jim Brodie series is Pacific Burn. One of Lancet's top ten mysteries set in Asia, as shared at The Strand Magazine:
Dragon Day by Lisa Brackmann

Ellie McEnroe knows all the quirks of modern China. The feisty, wryly observant ex–Iraq War vet with a bad leg and continuing pain has her arm twisted by slimy Chinese billionaire Sidney Cao to investigate his son’s new American friend. As she checks out the American, McEnroe is drawn into the decadent life of Cao’s three children. Before long, she finds herself neck-deep in murder, threats, harassment from the Domestic Security Police, and more. Spot-on modern China noir and brushstroke-perfect descriptions of the new China make Brackmann’s series a pleasure to read. Her writing is crisp, vivid, and masterful. A Seattle Times Best Mystery of 2015.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue