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One of my favorite ways to travel is through a good detective novel. These mysteries are set across Asia, each so rooted in its place that you feel like you’ve been there.
India
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee. A British detective in 1919 Calcutta. Rich history, sharp mystery.
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. Bombay’s first female lawyer investigates in the 1920s. Elegant and absorbing.
The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh. A genre-bending mystery weaving science and the supernatural. Unusual and clever.
Japan and China
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. A physicist covers for his neighbor in Japan’s best-loved crime novel. A perfect puzzle.
Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong. A poet-detective in 1990s Shanghai. As much about a changing China as the crime.
Southeast Asia
Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint. A rumpled Singaporean detective in Kuala Lumpur. Witty and warm.
A last word
Pick a country and let the detective be your guide. It’s the cheapest trip to Asia you’ll ever take.