We are celebrating National Crime Reading Month, hosted by the Crime Writers’ Association, by recommending some fabulous translated crime novels. Originating countries include Iceland, Norway, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Canada, and Uruguay. We are also celebrating of course, the translators. They have the incredibly difficult and I’m sure rewarding task of ensuring a seamless translation, so much so, that while reading you forget a translator was even involved. Some of these novels are award-winning bestsellers in their country of origin. These are books that thrill, not only with the great writing and translation, but also the exploration of a different country.

National Crime Reading Month runs throughout June and culminates with the prestigious CWA Daggers Award at the end of the month. You can find out more about the Awards on The Crime Writers' Association website or keep scrolling to see our selection of translated crime fiction and #PickUpAPageTurner.

French Fiction in Translation

The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun by Sebastien Japrisot was first published in the 1960’s but is still as readable and relevant now as it was back then. Ever wished you could just get in a car and drive? After Dany Longo drops her boss and his family at the airport in his beautiful Thunderbird she decides on an impromptu joyride. This psychological thriller becomes more tangled and twisted as the people she meets claim to recognise her from the previous day. Well worth the journey, this book is a startling, sophisticated and intriguing psychological thriller trasnlarted by Helen Weaver.

If you enjoy thrillers then Blood Song by Johana Gustawsson should be added to your reading list. The third instalment of the absolutely cracking Roy & Castells series, this riveting thriller follows Block 46 and Keeper, both of which we also recommend. You'll get your miles in as this book is set in London, Sweden and 1938 Spain while the duo hunt down a monstrous killer, explore corruption in the fertility industry and the atrocities of Spain's dictatorship. 

Maud Ventura lives in Paris. Before devoting herself to writing full-time, she led the podcast division of one of France's major radio stations. My Husband, her first novel, was a #1 bestseller in France and has been translated into more than ten languages. This intense, intimate portrait of an obsessive bourgeois marriage is a compulsive, daring, outrageously brilliant read — domestic unease has never been dissected with such sharp style. Her second novel Make Me Famous, also trasnlated by Emma Ramadan is another LoveReading fave.

Finnish Fiction in Translation

Another firm LoveReading favourite is Antti Tuomainen one of Finland's most acclaimed and award-winning crime fiction writers. For this collection we've selected Little Siberia, an eBook of the month when it was released in 2019 and a book that puts you in the middle of the culture and landscapes of northern Finland. Combining darker than black comedy and crime fiction that covers faith and disbelief, love and death and both literal and figurative bolts from the blue as a meteor strikes. Translated by David Hackston Little Siberia receives an enthusiastic thumbs up from us.

Slovak Fiction in Translation

This Room Is Impossible to Eat by Nicol Hochholczerová is the compulsive, disturbing story of Ivan, an older teacher, grooming a strange, hungry young girl Tereza. This first novel is a controversial bestseller, it has been banned, awarded prizes and is being widely translated across Europe. Rich with symbolism, its explosive themes - of eating disorder, abusive control and family dysfunction - are delicately handled with honesty and intelligence in this translation by Julia and Peter Sherwood.

Japanese Fiction in Translation

The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa is a LoveReading Star Book and Liz Robinson Pick of the Month, the second book in his series featuring Tiger the talking tabby cat. Quirky and deceptively simple, this Japanese novel sitting between fantasy and reality is a lovely choice for any book lovers out there. Author Sosuke Natsukawa challenges preconceptions and highlights the power of literature. We absolutely adored The Cat Who Saved Books too, which was also translated by Louise Heal Kawai, who excels in creating a known place in an unknown world.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past year, you'll have already heard about the runaway success that was Butter by Asakao Yuzuki. Translated by Polly Barton, it is a novel of multitudes. Part mystery thriller, part food blog and part feminist manifesto, this Japanese best seller based on a true story delivers on all of these disparate parts. It's delicious.

Korean Fiction in Translation

Counterattacks at Thirty by Sohn Won-pyung is a witty, soul-warming story that sees a bunch of unlikely prankster rebels tackle close-to-home moral injustices in cleverly comic style. Translated into English by Sean Lin Halbert this is contemporary fiction at its most brilliantly funny. We all fell for the writing and zeitgeisty story hook, line and sinker.

Swiss Fiction in Translation

Hunkeler's Secret by Hansjörg Schneider is another fiction in translation novel that comes with the LoveReading stamp of approval. This Swiss set crime novel with a somewhat grumpy lead is a fascinating mix of knotty crime investigation, complicated family relationships, glory of food, and love of place. Award-winning Swiss author Hansjorg Schneider lives in Basel, the sense of place is wonderful and we always feel transported to this corner of Switzerland on the French and German border. Hunkeler’s Secret is the fourth novel to be translated into English, we’ve read each one which began with The Basel Killings, and can most definitely recommend the series. Astrid Freuler again translates beautifully, you feel at home, yet feel the differences too.

Dutch Fiction in Translation

The History of My Sexuality by Tobi Lakmaker is a quiet yet bold, emotional and thought-provoking tale that sits alongside Sophie as she experiences her journey into adulthood in Amsterdam. The personal access ranges through the ups and downs that life offers, from raw grief through to wry humour. Translator Kristen Gehrman ensures that you are able to sink into the tale while being very aware that you are observing life in another country. 

Brilliantly absurd in its evocation of loneliness and minimum-wage life, Hard Copy by Fien Veldman tells the zeitgeisty story of the relationship between a young woman and a printer. Weird, incisive and unforgettable, Hard Copy is a debut novel from a promising new Dutch author.

Uruguayan Fiction in Translation

Crocodile Tears is a book that delivers on more than one front. Featured in our humorous and unexpectedly humorous collections, Mercedes Rosende's writing is sharp and pointed yet rich and earthy, drawing you in while you get acquainted with the characters and closer to the action. A crime caper set in Uruguay sees Diego released from prison and reluctantly roped in to holding up an armoured truck. A fresh but full-on and heady read, this is definitely a book to select if you're looking for more than a smirk of humour along with your crime fiction. Although Mercedes Rosende is Uruguayan, Crocodile Tears was translated from Spanish by Tim Gutteridge.

Spanish Fiction in Translation

This LoveReading Star Book by Juan Gómez-Jurado captivated our thriller-loving heart and soul with its smart story-telling and fabulous characters. The Red Queen project sets Antonia Scott and Jon Gutierrez against hitman Black Wolf as they hunt the fleeing wife of a murdered mafia figure. This is the second in the Antonia Scott trilogy, it can be read without having previously met Antonia and Jon but I do recommend starting with Red Queen which is now the basis of a steaming series on Amazon. I can see why this has been adapted, it is has huge visual impact, with the scenes playing out in my minds eye as I read. Black Wolf is translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza Garcia, I knew I was in a different country but immediately felt a part of this tale and didn’t stop to think about the translation until I had finished, always the sign of great work. We highly recommend Black Wolf, it’s a hugely entertaining, exciting, and satisfying read. 

Turkish Fiction in Translation

Defne Suman was born in Istanbul and grew up on Buyukada. We have been fans since her English language debut The Silence of Scheherazade: at once breathtakingly sweeping and textured with alluringly fine detail, this beautifully written story set in the Aegean city of Smyrna in the lead up to WWI is a sumptuous tour de force. Translated by Betsy Göksel this is a novel to savour, to be dazzled by, to learn from, and reflect on. It invites utter immersion.

For more fiction in translation recommendations, dive into our translated fiction category on LoveReading.

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