Our list of best crime and thriller novels set in Ukraine features work of International authors who’ve created characters and plots set in Ukraine.
This is, unfortunately, due to the fact that most of the existing genre literature from local authors are still not available in English. Having said that, the following titles all provide a great perspective on the norms and culture of the country in the past as well as modern times and are great picks for all crime fiction fans.
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Best crime novels and thrillers set in Ukraine include:
- The Child Thief by Dan Smith
- Close Quarters by Adrian Magson
- Widows Dance: Selected Short Stories of Contemporary Ukraine by Scott H. Lewis
- Battlefield Ukraine by James Rosone and Miranda Watson
- The Bloody Meadow by William Ryan
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The Child Thief by Dan Smith
December 1930, Ukraine. Luka is a war veteran who now wants only to have a quiet life with his family in his village. But everything changes the day the stranger arrives, pulling a sled bearing a terrible cargo. In the chaos that ensues, a little girl vanishes. Luka is the only man with the skills to find who could have stolen a child in these frozen lands – and besides, the missing girl is best friend to Luka’s daughter.
Together with his sons, Luka sets out in pursuit across lands ravaged by war. Soon they realize that the man they are tracking is no ordinary criminal, but a skillful hunter with the child as the bait. It will take all of Luka’s strength to battle the harshest of conditions, and all of his wit to stay a step ahead of Soviet authorities.
Close Quarters by Adrian Magson
When a US State Department official on a fact-finding mission to Ukraine is placed under house arrest, the CIA hire Portman (codename: Watchman) to get him safely out of the country.
Widows Dance: Selected Short Stories of Contemporary Ukraine by Scott H. Lewis
This is a great collection that has some noir pieces (but not everything is in the crime genre): The eight short fictional stories by American writer Scott Lewis examine the slightly dark side of life in modern Ukraine. Told with a sense of humor and easy, almost conversational style, each tackles a different aspect of the country’s business, family, political and folkloric life.
The author, who resided in Kyiv for a decade, is a former newspaper editor and presently is a public relations consultant.
Battlefield Ukraine by James Rosone and Miranda Watson
December 1930, Ukraine. Luka is a war veteran who now wants only to have a quiet life with his family in his village. But everything changes the day the stranger arrives, pulling a sled bearing a terrible cargo. In the chaos that ensues, a little girl vanishes. Luka is the only man with the skills to find who could have stolen a child in these frozen lands – and besides, the missing girl is best friend to Luka’s daughter.
The Bloody Meadow by William Ryan
This title was originally released in the U.S. as “The Darkening Field”.
Following his investigations in The Holy Thief, Captain Alexei Korolev is uneasy– his new-found knowledge is dangerous, and if some of his actions during the case come to light, he will face deportation to the frozen camps of the far north.
But when the knock on the door comes, in the dead of night, it is not Siberia Korolev is destined for. Instead, the detective is asked to look into the suspected suicide of a young woman, Maria Lenskaya, and when the detective arrives on the set for Bloody Meadow, in the bleak, famine-scarred Ukraine, he soon discovers that there is more to Lenskaya’s death than meets the eye.
The Bloody Meadow was shortlisted for the 2013 Irish crime novel of the year.
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Mystery Tribune’s Reading Lists provide a comprehensive coverage of the most notable titles in crime, mystery and thriller genre from across the world and are available here.
