One of our favorite people – the superb author Sarah Stewart Taylor – is someone we turn to when we need a great new book or author to read. Thus, we were thrilled when she agreed to turn her recent trip to Ireland into a Book Jam post about some authors she discovered while abroad. In this post, Sarah discusses the power of literature one discovers when traveling, and how literature provides superb armchair travel when hopping on a plane is just not possible. We hope you enjoy her suggested reading list as much as we do. Thank you Sarah! And, happy travels to all.
On a trip to Dublin, Ireland recently, I ducked into a fantastic little bookshop in Sandymount. The tables were piled high with new and used books of all kinds, and I asked the proprietor to recommend some Irish mysteries for me. An obsessive fan of both Ireland and crime fiction, I love revisiting one of my favorite places on earth through the works of the Irish crime writers Tana French and John Banville (one of my favorite Irish novelists, writing mysteries as Benjamin Black), and I needed some more titles to get me through until their next ones are published.
He obliged very nicely and I came home with an extra bag to contain all the books I’d bought. I discovered some terrific new-to-me Irish crime writers, among them Gene Kerrigan, Jane Casey (who is Irish but writes mysteries set in London), Declan Hughes, Adrian McKinty, Brian McGilloway, and Stuart Neville.
Reading mysteries about a place is one of my favorite ways to prepare for travel, to prolong the fun of an adventure once I’m home. Donna Leon’s Venice mysteries are among my favorites, focusing on the cases (and the meals) of the appealing Inspector Guido Brunetti and reminding me of past trips to that magical city. I love the mysteries of Cara Black, which always bring me back to trips to Paris.
It’s also fun to read mysteries about places I haven’t yet been lucky enough to visit. Jason Goodwin’s Inspector Yashim novels, set in the 19th century Ottoman Empire, have made me obsessed with visiting (modern-day) Turkey and Colin Cotteril’s wonderful mysteries set in Cambodia have added that country to my travel bucket list. I absolutely loved a novel by Richard Crompton, set in Kenya and titled Hour of the Red God. It stars a Masai detective named Detective Mollel and was one of my favorite new mysteries of the past few years.
So — what are your favorite mysteries about places you’ve visited — or would like to?
This is such a great posting! I’m a librarian at Woodstock’s Norman Williams Library and we’ve been dreaming about just such a list which would recommend books for travelers -armchair and otherwise- for every country. I get this sort of request all the time. If your readers do comment, will you post the list and can I use it? I’d name the Book Jam as the source, of course.
Sometime ago, I did a Pages in the Pub with you at Bentleys and had a great time.
Thank you so much , Kathy Beaird
Kathy — We are so very happy to help you and any readers you serve. You might wish to search on the Book Jam blog under our armchair travelers category. For some more ideas. You have also provided an idea for a future post – books by country they allow you to visit.
Lisa and Lisa
I’ve read almost all of the Irish mystery authors mentioned in your great post.
We are so glad that you found us and Sarah’s superb post.
[…] – our summer reading list for adults or summer recommendations for younger readers or crime and travel with author Sarah Stewart Taylor or… Well, you get the picture. Happy […]