Tony Park's favourite crime novels from around the world

A place, a city, or a country aren't just backdrops to a story but are vital characters in any novel. Tony Park, author of Red Earth, picks his favourite crime books from around the world. 

Travel to Namibia, medieval Japan and beyond, in these international whodunnits chosen by Tony Park, author of action-packed thrillers Red Earth, Captive, the Cull and more. 

If you're looking for more inspiration, discover our edit of the best crime books, here.

Blood Rose

by Margie Orford

Book cover for Blood Rose

Orford returns to the country of her birth, Namibia, for this episode of her serial killer profiler series featuring Clare Hart. I love Namibia and set my last book, An Empty Coast, there. Margie captures the beautiful emptiness of the country perfectly.

Gold Coast

by Nelson DeMille

Book cover for Gold Coast

DeMille is one of my favourite authors and this book, slightly quirkier than his other thrillers, is about what happens when a mafia family moves in next to a blue-blood rich American lawyer and his wife – a fascinating look at how crime can seduce . . .

The Lincoln Lawyer

by Michael Connolly

Book cover for The Lincoln Lawyer

For my money, this is probably Connelly’s best, introducing a fast-talking legal eagle who works out of his town car. It’s also a great example of how a successful author can take a dramatic change of tack and gain, rather than lose, devoted readers.

The Concubine's Tattoo

by Laura Joh Rowland

Book cover for The Concubine's Tattoo

Korean-American Rowland writes beautifully descriptive whodunnits set in medieval Japan with samurai detective Sano Ichiro as her leading man. This offering is intriguing, demurely sexy and, like all her books, well-told.

Savages

by Don Winslow

Book cover for Savages

Former TV script writer Don Winslow is, I reckon, one of the best crime writers in the world. He managed to make me fall in love with a trio of drug dealers in this book – and his stark, confronting writing style is inspirational.

Thirteen Hours

by Deon Meyer

Book cover for Thirteen Hours

South Africa has some great crime writers and Meyer is the king. His recovering alcoholic detective Benny Griessel is Africa’s Harry Bosch, but better. In this book, Griessel is trying to find a missing American back-packer in Cape Town. I wish I’d written this.


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Book cover for 9781509815449

On the outskirts of Durban, Suzanne Fessey fights back during a vicious carjacking. She kills one thief but the other, wounded, escapes with her baby strapped into the back seat.

Called in to pursue the missing vehicle are helicopter pilot Nia Carras from the air, and nearby wildlife researcher Mike Dunn from the ground. But South Africa's police have even bigger problems: a suicide bomber has killed the visiting American ambassador, and chaos has descended on KwaZulu-Natal.

As Mike and Nia track the missing baby through wild-game reserves from Zululand to Zimbabwe, they come to realize that the war on terror has well and truly arrived . . .