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Passports to Crime: Finest Mystery Stories from International Crime Writers
Derived from a series launched in 2003 by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, called Passports to Crime, this volume collects stories from some of the world's most popular and talented crime writers. Originally published monthly in Ellery Queen, these stories are appearing for the first time in book form. Authors Boris Akunin, a major bestseller in Russia, who has many other works translated in the U.S.; Ingrid Noll, Germany's "Queen of Crime," whose books have been translated into 23 languages and adapted for German television; Ruben Fonseca, one of Brazil's best-known literary figures; Baantjer, the most widely read author in the Netherlands, with over 5 million books sold in a country with a population of 15 million; Paul Halter, the winner of two of France's coveted literary awards; France's most admired author of traditional mysteries - Dominic Manotti, a winner of the French Crime Writers Association prize for best thriller; and Rene Appel, three-time winner of the Netherlands' Jouden Strop Prize
- GenresShort StoriesMystery
420 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 4, 2006
4 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Janet Hutchings
240 books15 followersEllery Queen's Mystery Magazine editor 1991-present.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 28, 2024
A selection of international mystery stories featured in the Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine section "Passport to Crime," beginning in 2003. The stories cover a wide range from the homages to Poe and Queen to professional criminals to serial killers to domestic crime. And, as with all anthologies, there is a wide range of quality--well, the writing overall is excellent. But, as far as meeting the qualifications for mystery, not all manage that. As far as I can tell "Eighteenth Summer," "The Precision of the Agent of Death," and "L." are not mysteries at all. And "L." is a very dissatisfying story altogether. The best of the bunch are "Who's Afraid of Ed Garpo," "Moonglow," "The Call of the Lorelei," and "An Urban Legend Puzzle." "Table Talk, 1882" and "There Are No Pockets in Our Graveclothes" are close behind while the rest are merely okay. ★★★
"Who's Afraid of Ed Garpo?" by Fred Kassak [France]: An interesting twist on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart."
"Silk Road" by Beatrix Kramlovsky [Germany]: A young man thinks he's found a way to get rid of his hated father--which will leave him and his mother alone for good. Of course, nothing is a simple as it seems.
"Table Talk, 1882" by Boris Akunin [Russia]: Erast Fandorin solves the mystery of the missing princess without leaving the dinner table where the story was told to him.
"Fisherman's Friend" by Ingrid Noll [Germany]: Two women find a way to get rid of their annoying husbands through an inadvertent swap.
"Eighteenth Summer" by Mitsuhara Yuri [Japan]: A young woman plots revenge on her married lover, but when she meets his son her plans go awry.
"The Red Mercedes" by Theo Capel [Netherlands]: You never know what might happen when you try to scam a bank over a car loan.
"Moonglow" by Kjersti Scheen [Norway]: All Herman wants is to find out who stole his record collection. Who knew such a simple quest could lead to murder?
"Victor Scarpazo, or The End of the Pursuit" by Marco Denevi [Spain]: The mystery of the missing art enthusiast--a plot worthy of The Twilight Zone or perhaps The Night Gallery.
"The Wind" by Carmen Iarrera [Italy]: A woman discovers that the reason her husband has been behaving so out of character is because he's been having an affair. Perhaps the windiest cliff in Italy wasn't the best place to tell her...
"Guilty" by Luis Adrian Betancourt [Spain]: A man gets a chance for a retrial--after serving time for a murder he confessed to and didn't commit. While he waits for a new hearing, he heads home hoping for a brief reunion with his family....
"DeKok & the Hammer Blow" by A. C. Baantjer [Netherlands]: A woman kills her abusive husband before her son has the chance to do so.
"There are no Pockets in Our Graveclothes" by Beril Falk [Sweden]: An elderly woman decides that her family doesn't deserve the uncut diamond left by her husband. So, when she knows that she will soon be following her husband to the grave, she finds a way to keep the diamond from the heirs.
"Winning the Game" by Rubem Fonesca [Brazil]: The only way to win the game against the rich is to have a bigger yacht. But how can you win if you can't afford a boat?
"The Call of the Lorelei" by Paul Halter [France]: Hans Georg, a German, has become engaged to a French girl--and none of his family approve. They tell him the story of the Lorelei who lure boats to destruction and men to their death. And when he's drowned in a pond one snowy night--with only his footprints in the otherwise unbroken snow, it appears that he was unable to resist the siren's call.
"Heroic Proportions" by Daliso Chaponda [Malawi]: A tyrant is assassinated and several of his rivals clamor for the credit. A cop with no political ties is asked to determine who really shot the dictator in the bathroom with the revolver...
"Wedding in Voerde" by Gunter Gerlach [Germany]: A couple of criminals just released from prison seek out an accomplice who has hidden the loot. They're suddenly moved by the entrepreneurial spirit.
"Ramon Acuna's Time" by Isaac Aisemberg [Spain]: Ramon Acuna decides to go straight--and succeeds for about six months. Then temptation beckons and he can't resist a little bank fraud. He thinks his luck is in...but a time of reckoning may be at hand.
"A Deadly Joke" by Richard Macker [Norway]: Two men go on their annual vacation together and one plays a pretty nasty joke on the other. So, when his prank victim tells him that the stranger they've taken in on a bitterly cold night is really a recently escaped killer, he naturally thinks the man is just getting his own back.
"Full Moon" by Mischa Bach [Germany]: A German town is terrorized by a serial killer who has been dubbed the Werewolf (he seems to kill with the full moon). A new journalist in town is assigned the story and has an extraordinary experience that will lead her to the killer.
"Bloody Hot" by Rene Appel [Netherlands]: A woman suspects her husband and friend are having an affair. She struggles with wanting to kill one of them. And then the wrong person dies...
"The Precision of the Agent of Death" by Isaka Kotaro [Japan]: A real agent of death (yes, one of Death's minions) must decide if it's time for a miserable young woman to die.... [NOT really a mystery in any sense of the word....]
"L." by Georgi Gospodinov [Bulgaria]: A well-known writer is expected to submit a mystery short story for a contest...but what if the story is true? [again, NOT really a mystery--and a pretty dissatisfying story overall]
"With a Little Help from Your Friends" by Jutta Motz [Germany]: When Nonna Anna comes to live with her grandchildren and announces that she plans to live until she is ninety, their friends decide to help out the burdened young people.
"Zero Tolerance" by Dominque Manotti [France]: What happens when a police officer discovers that a man has a habit of beating people up...sometimes with deadly results?
"German Summer" by Frauke Schuster [Germany]: A man who bullies a new immigrant couple seems to get what's coming to him.
"An Urban Legend Puzzle" by Norizuki Rintaro [Japan]: A second-year university student is killed after a drinking party and an Ellery Queen style detective and his chief inspector father have to determine which of his fellow students did it.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
"Who's Afraid of Ed Garpo?" by Fred Kassak [France]: An interesting twist on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart."
"Silk Road" by Beatrix Kramlovsky [Germany]: A young man thinks he's found a way to get rid of his hated father--which will leave him and his mother alone for good. Of course, nothing is a simple as it seems.
"Table Talk, 1882" by Boris Akunin [Russia]: Erast Fandorin solves the mystery of the missing princess without leaving the dinner table where the story was told to him.
"Fisherman's Friend" by Ingrid Noll [Germany]: Two women find a way to get rid of their annoying husbands through an inadvertent swap.
"Eighteenth Summer" by Mitsuhara Yuri [Japan]: A young woman plots revenge on her married lover, but when she meets his son her plans go awry.
"The Red Mercedes" by Theo Capel [Netherlands]: You never know what might happen when you try to scam a bank over a car loan.
"Moonglow" by Kjersti Scheen [Norway]: All Herman wants is to find out who stole his record collection. Who knew such a simple quest could lead to murder?
"Victor Scarpazo, or The End of the Pursuit" by Marco Denevi [Spain]: The mystery of the missing art enthusiast--a plot worthy of The Twilight Zone or perhaps The Night Gallery.
"The Wind" by Carmen Iarrera [Italy]: A woman discovers that the reason her husband has been behaving so out of character is because he's been having an affair. Perhaps the windiest cliff in Italy wasn't the best place to tell her...
"Guilty" by Luis Adrian Betancourt [Spain]: A man gets a chance for a retrial--after serving time for a murder he confessed to and didn't commit. While he waits for a new hearing, he heads home hoping for a brief reunion with his family....
"DeKok & the Hammer Blow" by A. C. Baantjer [Netherlands]: A woman kills her abusive husband before her son has the chance to do so.
"There are no Pockets in Our Graveclothes" by Beril Falk [Sweden]: An elderly woman decides that her family doesn't deserve the uncut diamond left by her husband. So, when she knows that she will soon be following her husband to the grave, she finds a way to keep the diamond from the heirs.
"Winning the Game" by Rubem Fonesca [Brazil]: The only way to win the game against the rich is to have a bigger yacht. But how can you win if you can't afford a boat?
"The Call of the Lorelei" by Paul Halter [France]: Hans Georg, a German, has become engaged to a French girl--and none of his family approve. They tell him the story of the Lorelei who lure boats to destruction and men to their death. And when he's drowned in a pond one snowy night--with only his footprints in the otherwise unbroken snow, it appears that he was unable to resist the siren's call.
"Heroic Proportions" by Daliso Chaponda [Malawi]: A tyrant is assassinated and several of his rivals clamor for the credit. A cop with no political ties is asked to determine who really shot the dictator in the bathroom with the revolver...
"Wedding in Voerde" by Gunter Gerlach [Germany]: A couple of criminals just released from prison seek out an accomplice who has hidden the loot. They're suddenly moved by the entrepreneurial spirit.
"Ramon Acuna's Time" by Isaac Aisemberg [Spain]: Ramon Acuna decides to go straight--and succeeds for about six months. Then temptation beckons and he can't resist a little bank fraud. He thinks his luck is in...but a time of reckoning may be at hand.
"A Deadly Joke" by Richard Macker [Norway]: Two men go on their annual vacation together and one plays a pretty nasty joke on the other. So, when his prank victim tells him that the stranger they've taken in on a bitterly cold night is really a recently escaped killer, he naturally thinks the man is just getting his own back.
"Full Moon" by Mischa Bach [Germany]: A German town is terrorized by a serial killer who has been dubbed the Werewolf (he seems to kill with the full moon). A new journalist in town is assigned the story and has an extraordinary experience that will lead her to the killer.
"Bloody Hot" by Rene Appel [Netherlands]: A woman suspects her husband and friend are having an affair. She struggles with wanting to kill one of them. And then the wrong person dies...
"The Precision of the Agent of Death" by Isaka Kotaro [Japan]: A real agent of death (yes, one of Death's minions) must decide if it's time for a miserable young woman to die.... [NOT really a mystery in any sense of the word....]
"L." by Georgi Gospodinov [Bulgaria]: A well-known writer is expected to submit a mystery short story for a contest...but what if the story is true? [again, NOT really a mystery--and a pretty dissatisfying story overall]
"With a Little Help from Your Friends" by Jutta Motz [Germany]: When Nonna Anna comes to live with her grandchildren and announces that she plans to live until she is ninety, their friends decide to help out the burdened young people.
"Zero Tolerance" by Dominque Manotti [France]: What happens when a police officer discovers that a man has a habit of beating people up...sometimes with deadly results?
"German Summer" by Frauke Schuster [Germany]: A man who bullies a new immigrant couple seems to get what's coming to him.
"An Urban Legend Puzzle" by Norizuki Rintaro [Japan]: A second-year university student is killed after a drinking party and an Ellery Queen style detective and his chief inspector father have to determine which of his fellow students did it.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
September 19, 2012
This is exactly what I like about short story collections. This is particularly what I like as it's made up of a series of stories from authors all over the world.
Whilst there is no particular theme, the collection really gives you a feel for interpretations of crime fiction in a lot of different countries and cultures.
As always, ones that worked beautifully, ones that weren't for me, others from authors I already knew about, many from new to me authors who promptly made it onto the "book watch" list.
Whilst there is no particular theme, the collection really gives you a feel for interpretations of crime fiction in a lot of different countries and cultures.
As always, ones that worked beautifully, ones that weren't for me, others from authors I already knew about, many from new to me authors who promptly made it onto the "book watch" list.
December 26, 2022
I only read "An Urban Legend Puzzle" for now, but I found it enjoyable enough. I don't agree fully with the logic though. When the father said (paraphrasing) "maybe the murderer only thought of the minor advantages and that's why he left it", the son says the father himself pointed out how clever the murderer was, and it would take a clever murderer to stay in the dark and hide in the room. I disagree. That doesn't take much thinking and is the most passive and easiest default reaction to do. I don't think you can discredit that first guy based on it.
That said, I did actually deduce it was the friend coming back later after the fact to commit the murder and thought the logic pointing to her makes sense. I don't think it's strong enough to be incriminating, mind you, but I thought it was strong enough to suspect her and was the original reason I suspected her as well.
Anyway, overall, I see why the person is praised for the Ellery Queen style logic, but I did not love the story. It was fine though and enjoyable and rational enough.
Uncertain if I'll read the other short mystery fiction. I don't usually like short mystery stories and prefer longer narratives, but maybe I will read them one day. Leaving review here for now for just An Urban Legend Puzzle.
That said, I did actually deduce it was the friend coming back later after the fact to commit the murder and thought the logic pointing to her makes sense. I don't think it's strong enough to be incriminating, mind you, but I thought it was strong enough to suspect her and was the original reason I suspected her as well.
Anyway, overall, I see why the person is praised for the Ellery Queen style logic, but I did not love the story. It was fine though and enjoyable and rational enough.
Uncertain if I'll read the other short mystery fiction. I don't usually like short mystery stories and prefer longer narratives, but maybe I will read them one day. Leaving review here for now for just An Urban Legend Puzzle.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2023
Unlike most mystery short story collections, the quality of the stories in this volume are actually quite good. Some of the stories fall outside of what may be traditionally called mysteries, but they are still very interesting.
A collection of international mystery short stories, many of them translated for the first time into English, by authors that also haven't been translated as well. Excellent variety, excellent collection.
A collection of international mystery short stories, many of them translated for the first time into English, by authors that also haven't been translated as well. Excellent variety, excellent collection.
i-get-the-picture
January 16, 2026A large collection of international crime stories (publ 2012) collected from EQMM. I”m not able to cut & paste the TOC. Sorry.
October 4, 2010
Reading a story here and a story there ... on the Kindle. Uneven quality but interesting overall and I am finding a few new authors to look for, even though it sounds as if their works might be difficult to find in English.
Update: overall these were fairly good detective stories and the difference in styles was not as great as one might expect in reading stories from all over the worlds. Perhaps that is because a mystery is a mystery to everyone in general in the same way, regardless of other cultural differences. Or it might be that the American dominance of this genre in the past, especially in reference to detective and hard-boiled stories, may have influenced everyone else greatly in their understanding of the genre. Regardless, still every enjoyable.
Update: overall these were fairly good detective stories and the difference in styles was not as great as one might expect in reading stories from all over the worlds. Perhaps that is because a mystery is a mystery to everyone in general in the same way, regardless of other cultural differences. Or it might be that the American dominance of this genre in the past, especially in reference to detective and hard-boiled stories, may have influenced everyone else greatly in their understanding of the genre. Regardless, still every enjoyable.
December 28, 2015
Probably the best collection of international crime fiction I've come across. Many previously not available in English, the collection really broadened my scope and reading list.
Read
November 17, 2017English translations of three very very good Japanese short stories - Eighteenth Summer (Mitsuhara Yuri), The Precision of The Agent of Death (Isaka Kotaro), and An Urban Legend Puzzle (Norizuki Rintaro) - make it worth picking up, and there are several more little gems besides.
Want to read
March 16, 2019Synopsis: includes Boris Akunin, Ingrid Noll, Ruben Fonseca, Baantjer, Paul Halter, Dominic Manotti, and Rene Appel.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews