Murder Away from Home

“Setting has been integral to some of the finest crime fiction through all periods. Think the misty docks and streets of Conan Doyle’s London. Think Hammett’s San Francisco, Chandler’s Los Angeles, Lawrence Block’s New York. Or think Georges Simenon’s Paris, its suburbs, and the villages where Maigret loves to relax, drink white wine, and play cards. Given the importance of setting, it seems natural that crime stories should prove especially attractive to those of us who like to travel in our minds as well as in trains, planes, cars, buses and boats.”

The passage above, from the opening entry in Peter Rozovsky’s new Detectives Beyond Borders blog, might also serve as part of its mission statement.

Rozovsky cites David Montgomery’s thoughtful comments on the 10 Greatest Detectives as providing at least part of the inspiration for Detectives Beyond Borders, though he focuses his attention on international detectives, “‘international’ in my case meaning outside the United States.”

In the few weeks since the blog’s launch on September 21, Rozovsky has commented on--and entertained comments about--Ian Rankin and the 215 Festival in Philadelphia (October 5-8); he’s also ruminated on the identity of the non-American “counterparts of the American ‘regular guy’ (or regular girl) detectives,” and more. Really a lot more, considering the very short time the blog has been live.

Rozovsky is a copy editor on the national/foreign desk at The Philadelphia Inquirer, so it’s no surprise that his thoughts are not only crisp and coherent, but they’re well edited. Detectives Beyond Borders is definitely one to bookmark.

Rozovsky and Detectives Beyond Borders can be found here.