The allure of a riveting mystery centered around an international destination is undeniable. The fever-pitch popularity of franchises like The White Lotus and Knives Out is rooted, at least in part, in the exotic, enticing, far-flung worlds they explore. Count me in for odysseys to the tropical paradise of Isla Colel; a globetrotting world adventure spanning the English countryside, St. Lucia, and Dubai; a remote English estate; a rugged Scottish island; a world-class spa nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas; and the red cliffs and sprawling ruins of Petra. My latest locked-room mystery, The Safari, fits squarely into this category, featuring a sixty-something matriarch and CEO who is about to marry for the second time—to a man twenty-five years her junior. She invites her children, grandchild, and best friend/assistant to their wedding on safari in South Africa, where her family has deep roots and even deeper secrets. But the festivities quickly devolve into murder…
As the latest season of The White Lotus has concluded and we’re all jonesing for our next international destination thriller, enjoy an armchair travel extravaganza via this stellar list.
The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz. A new release also out the same day as The Safari, I was fortunate to receive an early copy of Bartz’s latest stunner. This sinuous thriller involves a woman’s search for answers after her fiancée’s abrupt and mysterious death on a small island paradise. As she engrains herself with the local expat community—who are all harboring secrets about her fiancée—the woman begins to suspect that one of them is a killer and will go to any lengths to keep the truth buried. Bartz excels at evocative prose that brings the island setting to life, and the book abounds with tense claustrophobic vibes and deeply satisfying twists. A surprising, scintillating, immersive read that We Were Never Here fans will lap up.
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. A beloved mystery writer and one of my perennial favorites, Richard Osman of The Thursday Murder Club acclaim is back with a new series just as gripping, witty, and wise as his previous, but this time with an international bent. A retired investigator enjoying his quiet countryside life is drawn into murder and mayhem when his daughter-in-law—a private security phenom protecting a mega-bestselling author—puts out an SOS. Together they traverse the world, on a private jet no less, as dead bodies turn up left and right. The characters are endearing and hysterical, firing off snappy dialogue and chasing the bad guys (and being chased in return) across picturesque backdrops. And the mystery is delightful, twisty, and fast-paced, elevated by the bevy of international hijinks. Ten out of ten recommend!
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter. One of my favorite madcap reads, Carter—long acclaimed in the romance space—crafts a highly original mashup of the mystery and romance genres. Two thriller authors are invited under mysterious circumstances to a snowy English estate by the most famous author in the world. When their host vanishes, the pair digs for clues, each clue bringing them closer to the truth—and to each other. The sprawling estate with its myriad secret tunnels and hidden library cupboards, replete with much English Christmastime cheer, give excellent assists to the sizzling mystery and romance. Cunning, crafty, and hilarious, I dare you not to rip through the pages at warp speed. And just when you think you’ve unwrapped the last surprise, Carter pulls the rug out on her readers a final zinging time.
The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha. I was immediately sucked into this remote Scottish island thriller by debut author Sakhlecha. Part Succession and part The White Lotus, the book centers around the Agarwals, whose patriarch is about to announce his succession plan for the family’s multi-million-dollar Delhi-based company. With unreliable narrators and characters who all have something to hide, Sakhlecha utilizes the creepy, luxe island setting to maximal effect. There is a dense pine forest where potential villains lurk, amping up the menace, and native inhabitants face off with the wealthy interlopers, bringing the tension to a boil. Add to that one of the most jaw-dropping thriller endings I’ve ever read!
Death in the Air by Ram Murali. Featuring the memorable, enigmatic Ro Krishna, who is looking for some R&R at a fancy spa in the Himalayas, this mystery is stylish and insightful in equal parts. As the body count rises, nothing is quite as it seems…including Ro himself. I cackled out loud at Ro’s antics and witticisms, flipped manically through the pages trying to sleuth out the villains, and delighted in the skewering depictions of the elite one-percent navigating their fraught spiritual journeys. Brilliant, sophisticated, and transportive.
Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie. No roundup of international destination mysteries would be complete without at least one of the several epic, eligible Christies. Appointment with Death is one of the Queen of Mystery’s most atmospheric and exotic forays, set in both the Old City of Jerusalem and Petra, Jordan. Inspired by Christie’s real-life Middle Eastern expeditions with her archaeologist husband, the featured locales—with their historic and religious backdrops, awe-inspiring, red-rock ruins, warm hospitality, and remote desert landscapes—are infrequently portrayed in modern mysteries and thus all the more intriguing. Here, our favorite Belgian detective must solve the murder of the most detestable woman he’d ever met. Petra’s harsh beauty and remoteness heightens the claustrophobia and serves to exacerbate the characters’ emotional unraveling. Of course, twists and turns abound, while the murderer remains cleverly concealed until Poirot’s little gray cells perform their ingenious analysis of psychological motivations and catalyze a most astonishing unveiling.
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