Slovakia? Bratislava?

Michael Genelin has a wonderful new police Commander, Jana Matinova, who is featured in one of the better reads to come along in a while. The two book series, (so far) is based in Bratislava, Slovakia; but ranges to the Ukraine and to France and Austria, but mostly Slovakia - the piece of Czechoslovakia that isn't Czech Republic now that they have parted company.

Siren of the Waters is the first Commander Jana Matinova and introduces the dark landscape of Slovakian crime.

Dark Dreams is the second in the series.

Both books are in our collection and I recommend them to anyone following my trip around the world reading mysteries. They are well written, well plotted, the mystery is big enough for the story, and the characters are quirky and memorable. I like this author and hope for a long run of satisfying mysteries. These books were originally written in English, they are not translations.

I recently read the latest by Andrea Camilleri, August Heat. This is such a good series. I love reading about Salvo Montalbano the Sicilian police inspector. The mysteries are wonderful stories firmly set in the Sicilian landscape, filled with somewhat quirky Sicilian characters. Camilleri takes a strong interest in the eating habits of his Sicilian characters and his descriptions make me want to visit Sicily to sample some of the delights he serves his characters. This series is written in Italian and translated by a very skilled artist. Don't miss this series.