This is for everything else that doesn't quite fit or if you don't know where a certain book belongs you can put it here until we find a place for it.

A number of Scandanavian authors are now available in translation and are very, very good. I didn't know quite where to put them - police procedural, traditional whodunnit, psychological mystery - all seem to apply but here are a few of my favorite.

Henning Mankell, Åsa Larsson, Arnaldur Indriðason, Karin Fossum, and hakan nesser

I have a Henning Mankell Wallander book which I can't wait to read. I saw the TV series recently with Kenneth Brannagh which was fantastic. I don't think it started from the first book though which is good.

I hadn't heard of the others though - thanks Donna for bringing them to attention.

I wonder how many books are out tehre which aren't trasnlated into the English language?

I think that a good many of the Mankell books are now in translation and it seems that more and more of the Scandanavian authors are being translated in a year or two of original publication.

By the way, I saw the Swedish TV Wallander series - with subtitles - and I actually liked it better than the Kenneth Brannagh series. While Brannagh was good I thought he was just bit over the top. I liked the little more contained Rolf Lasgaard in the Swedish version

Fiona wrote: "I wonder how many books are out tehre which aren't trasnlated into the English language?"

I highly recommend Andrea Camilleri, an Italian screenwriter and journalist who took to writing mysteries. His Detective, Commissario Montalbano, lives and works in a fictitious Sicilian village and is a wonderfully crusty character. Great series of TV movies produced by the RAI (Italian State TV), written by the author and extremely well done.

The character's name Montalbano, is Camilleri's homage to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, the Spanish writer, journalist, etc., who wrote a series of mysteries featuring the 50-year-old gastronome-detective Pepe Carvalho. The first is Yo Mate a Kennedy (I killed Kennedy, 1972).

I haven't read any of the Carvalho series, but I love Camilleri's, which have been translateed, but I don't know how well. In Italian they are full of Sicilian dialect and are lots of fun.

*whew* sorry... I do tend to be long winded....

Hi Hayes, I love the Montalbano books and TV show. We get it here in the US on an independent TV station and my husband and I really enjoy it.

The books by Montalban are new to me so I just added one to my TBR list. Thanks for the recommendation.

Oh wow!! I'm so glad to hear that!

I forgot to ask you, Donna... are they in Italian with subtitles? or dubbed into English?

I ask just because I'm curious how they managed with the character of Catarella, the bumbling telephone operator and general helper.

Hi Hayes, The shows are in Italian with subtitles. My husband went to school in Rome and still remembers some Italian so he tries to listen to the actual dialog. I have to read the subtitles. My husband says the translation for Catarella is very loose but you do get the feel for the character.

Funny thing about watching something with subtitles - especially TV series - after a while you hear the character's voice as you read his or her dialogue and you do pick up their personality and emotions.

This TV station that carries Montalbano also carries the German Tatort series, the Swedish Wallander and Martin Beck, and they had a wonderful mini series from Finland called Raid.

Wow... Catarella is my favorite!

How fun to have someone across the world watching my favorite TV show!! It always happens in this direction; I mean, we get American, Canadian and British TV here, but not so often in the other direction.

A few years ago this same station carried 2 Australia detective shows - Water Rats and Murder Call - that I really enjoyed and no subtitles necessary. Sometime later I was at a baseball game and the people nearby were Australian. Conversation started and they were simply floored that I had seen Water Rats and Murder Call. Small world isn't it.

I caught one of those Montalbano mysteries on one of our PBS stations a couple months ago. I'd never heard of the writer before. It was pretty good. It was in English, no subtitles. It was a nice break from the typical British fare....

Cool... I bet you're in New England, aren't you? WGBH/PBS was always a great channel. (Spent my summers on the North Mass. shore)

Lobstergirl wrote: "I caught one of those Montalbano mysteries on one of our PBS stations a couple months ago. I'd never heard of the writer before. It was pretty good. It was in English, no subtitles. It was a ni..."

No, midwest. But I think WGBH does let PBS stations across the country air their productions. I don't know if this one was a WGBH production.

Can we discuss tv shows here or is there a seperate topic that are crime related? CSI, law and order, bones etc?

Fiona wrote: "I have a Henning Mankell Wallander book which I can't wait to read. I saw the TV series recently with Kenneth Brannagh which was fantastic. I don't think it started from the first book though which..."

Mankell writes great books. ?You get absorbed in it and it is written very strong.

Hayes wrote: "Fiona wrote: "I wonder how many books are out tehre which aren't trasnlated into the English language?"

I highly recommend Andrea Camilleri, an Italian screenwriter and journalist w..."

I almost bought a Camilleri last friday but chose a book by Lucarelli which accordibg to my boyfriend and his brother is very good too.

Jeane wrote: "Fiona wrote: "I have a Henning Mankell Wallander book which I can't wait to read. I saw the TV series recently with Kenneth Brannagh which was fantastic. I don't think it started from the first boo..."

I am excited to read them! Just wish I knew where it was in my bookshelf lol.

Jeane wrote: "...but chose a book by Lucarelli..."

Fess up Jeane! Title? Author? Any good? I'm always on the look out for new things.

The lucarelli book is Almost Blue. Don't know yet how Io uccido.is, will let you know.

I've read Carte Blanche by Carlo Lucarelli. It't the first in a trilogy set in 1945 Italy during the fall of Mussolini. It was very good and I am looking forward to reading the next two. I read this in English.

Not into psychopathic things, but Carte Blanche, etc. looks good!!

Donna wrote: "I've read Carte Blanche by Carlo Lucarelli. It't the first in a trilogy set in 1945 Italy during the fall of Mussolini. It was very good and I am looking forward to reading the next t..."

Good to know!

I just started The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam and I am really enjoying it. It has a quick pace and so far a number of interesting twists and turns. I do like Charlie "the Good Thief".

I just finished The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam and it was very good. Quick pace, twisty plot, very entertaining. Certainly not a "cozy" but not too dark or graphic either. I am looking forward to the next in the series.

I have only been familiar with American writers, except for a few English ones. Thanks for expanding my author list. This is great.