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10 international book series that transport readers without leaving home

Do you love traveling to exotic destinations? New things to explore around every turn? Me, too.

But here’s the bad news: Airfare prices are soaring even as we speak, grounding those of us who aren’t Bill Gates. But here’s the good news: Readers can still enjoy these thrills just by sitting in their armchairs and opening a book.

Everyone knows Sherlock Holmes in London, of course, but you might be surprised at the vast number of detective stories set in remote destinations, such as Laos, Thailand, Botswana, India, Italy, the Scottish Highlands and more. When I read these — or listen to them on audio — I find myself thrust into a colorful new place that not only entertains me, but teaches me something about the world. Sometimes you can find this called “anthropological fiction.”

It’s impossible to list all the interesting choices, but here are a few of my favorites, listed by country:

Various locations in one series:

The Good Thief’s Guide series by Chris Ewan (Minotaur)

This series is just plain fun, and if you learn something while you’re laughing, all the better. The protagonist is globe-trotting Charlie Howard, who writes successful thrillers about a burglar named Faulks. But in his spare time, Charlie himself is also a discreet thief-for-hire for a discriminating clientele. To date, Charlie’s adventures have included Amsterdam, Paris, Las Vegas, Venice and Berlin. His unsuspecting sidekick is his editor, Victoria, who lives in London and has no idea in the beginning about his unusual pastime. British author Ewan has recently veered off into writing other types of suspense, I can only hope he’ll give us another Charlie Howard story soon.

Botswana

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith (Vintage)

A Scotsman who was born in Zimbabwe, the author lived in Botswana for years before writing this series, which became an international sensation and sparked a dozen sequels as well as a radio drama and HBO series. It tells the story of Mma Precious Ramotswe, a “traditionally built,” ingenious, brave, kind-hearted but determined woman who uses a small inheritance from her cattle-rearing father to become the first female private detective in Botswana. It’s a unique and often humorous glimpse into life in the Kalahari desert, where your car could stall because a deadly snake has coiled itself around the engine, and a long-lost father could show up demanding lifelong care, only to be proven to be a fake. The mysteries and lives of the charming yet eccentric characters keep you hooked. The New York Times called her the “Miss Marple of Botswana.”

Cuba

Mario Conde Investigates series by Leonardo Padura (Bitter Lemon Press)

Moody, deteriorating yet fascinating Havana is the setting for these popular police procedurals, in which investigator Mario Conde looks into the deaths of a Communist party official, a schoolteacher and others during the series. Author Padura was an investigative journalist before turning his hand to fiction. His original novels are known as the “Havana Quartet.” While a cop, the hard-drinking, cynical Conde fantasizes about becoming a writer, and the mystery plots are filled with details from Cuba’s past and present. This is a chance to peek inside the cultural and daily life of Cuba — a land without U.S. influence for decades — which is mostly closed off to Americans due to the trade embargo. The quartet inspired the Netflix series “4 Seasons in Havana.”

India

The Wyndham & Banerjee series by Abir Mukherjee (Pegasus)

This is a fascinating glimpse into 1920s Calcutta (now called Kolkata) under the British Raj, when revolution was beginning to foment. If you like your history with a side of mystery, these novels are for you. Author Mukherjee has paired two friendly detectives with opposing viewpoints — one an English police investigator and his partner, an Indian who’s come to loathe English rule and favors its overthrow — who investigate mysteries together. It’s a heady combination that keeps the mystery alive, all the while teaching us about Bengali customs and people. It’s addictive. Ex-Scotland Yard detective Capt. Sam Wyndam has arrived in Calcutta for a fresh start with the Imperial Police Force in Calcutta after the death of his young wife. In contrast, police Sgt. Surendranath Banerjee is the son of a wealthy Bengali family who was educated in England before returning home to India. The port city of Calcutta and the state of Bengal in the 1920s are important characters in the series. The author doesn’t shy away from describing the racism inherent in British rule.

Italy

Commissario Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri (Penguin)

Try not to read these books when you’re hungry, because they’re filled with details of the delicious-sounding Sicilian specialties that Montalbano lovingly consumes daily. This police inspector from Sicily is cynical yet compassionate, an iconoclast with a dry wit who doesn’t suffer fools gladly. The Mafia manages to make an appearance, but Montalbano quietly fights all forms of corruption, including his own colleagues. He also argues occasionally with his lover, Livia, who lives elsewhere and must fly in for visits. The Sicilian scenery is spectacular and the characters are amusing and easy to befriend.

English Cotswolds

The Agatha Raisin Mysteries by M.C. Beaton, continued by R.W. Green (St. Martin’s)

Agatha Raisin is a grumpy yet lovable middle-aged woman who grew up in the slums of Birmingham, but became a successful public relations person in London due to her bullying, pugnacious personality and refusal to take no for an answer. After making a pile of money, she decided to retire early at 53 and fulfill her lifelong fantasy of buying a thatched cottage in the Cotswolds, ending up in the fictional village of Carsley. But she has trouble making friends and fitting into village life. In her first adventure, she tries to circumvent this by buying a quiche at a store in London and entering it in a village baking contest as if it were her own. Unfortunately, the quiche was poisoned and killed someone, revealing to everyone her fraud. Agatha takes on the role of amateur sleuth to find out who actually poisoned the quiche. These humorous mysteries show the comic side of village life, along with Agatha’s dogged pursuit of her neighbor, military history author James Lacey. Author Beaton penned some 30 bestsellers about Raisin’s comic adventures before her death. Today, the series is continued with Beaton’s permission by author and collaborator Green. The series was made into a mediocre Acorn TV series with a glamorized version of Agatha and her friends.

Laos

The Coroner Siri Paiboun mysteries by Colin Cotterill (Soho)

This utterly unique and charming series is set in 1976, involving Dr. Siri Paiboun, a 72-year-old doctor who was ready to retire when he was ordered by the Communist Pathet Lao party to become the country’s chief coroner. Although he’s spent his life as a faithful party member, even helping the Viet Cong fight the American forces during the war, he’s reluctant to take on this job with no training in pathology. But no one is interested in hearing his protests, and there’s no refusing a party assignment. So, the cynical, brilliant and witty Dr. Siri Paibourn starts his job, which involves investigating mysterious deaths when the corpses come into his office. This can be tricky, if the Party doesn’t want the truth. During the course of the series, he has some supernatural experiences that are well understood by his fellow Laotians. Author Cotterill is a British expat who’s lived in Southeast Asia for decades. If you love history, exotic locales and dry wit, these stories will be catnip to you.

Scotland

The Hamish Macbeth Mysteries by Beaton, continued by Green (Grand Central)

Cleverly drawn and colorful characters are matched by the beauty and ferocity of the Scottish Highlands in this series, based in the fictional remote village of Lochdubh, (lock-doo). Hamish Macbeth is a tall, lanky, red-haired police sergeant who patrols his large, rural and scattered beat, watching out for the safety of the locals as well as for wrongdoing when he finds it. He lives by himself in a small police station, accompanied by his dog and occasionally by a wildcat he has taken in. His romantic adventures become part of the plots in this long-popular series that sparked a British TV series. Hamish might turn a blind eye to a little salmon poaching in the local river, but don’t think you’re going to get away with murder on his turf. He always solves the case, but gives the credit to others, because he dreads a promotion that would take him away from his bucolic life in the village. Amusing characters, such as fisherman Archie, whose clothes are always too tight because his wife insists on boiling them in bleach, add to the fun.

Sweden

Millennium series by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)

One of the best-selling crime series of all time, this Swedish noir series follows the adventures of Lisbeth Salander, a 25-year-old woman, security expert and brilliant hacker who has a hard time fitting into Swedish society. The series is credited with popularizing the category known as “Nordic Noir.” Reportedly, Larsson came up with the character by imagining what the children’s character Pippi Longstocking would be like as an adult. The other central character in the series is investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who often works with Salander. The books contain fascinating characters but also have graphic violence and brutal themes, including sexual abuse, human trafficking, and institutional corruption. Known as the Millennium trilogy, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Girl Who Played with Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” have sold some 100 million copies worldwide. Larsson created outlines for 10 planned books but, sadly, he died from a heart attack at age 50 in 2004. To date, the series has been continued by two authors.

Thailand

Sonchai Jitpleecheep series by John Burdett (Vintage)

Based in Bangkok, this series about incorruptible and likeable police investigator Sonchai Jitpleecheep opens the world of Bangkok’s famed red-light district to Western eyes. Sonchai is a devout Buddhist, despite being the son of a Bangkok bar girl and an American G.I. He tries to ignore or fight the constant corruption around him.  In the first book, he and his partner discover an American killed by a mass of venomous cobras, and that’s only the first of bizarre happenings in this fascinating novel and its sequels. Drug smuggling, the jade trade, sex workers in Thailand and sly humor make this an unusual take on police procedurals, although it has been criticized as inaccurate by some. Author Burdett is an English expatriate who now lives in Thailand and France.

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