Women in Translation Month: 15 books to add to your TBR
Frosty noir, cult horror, domestic psychological thrillers, inexplicable dystopia, and more
Translated fiction is an art that connects stories from around the world, enriching the global literary landscape and deepening our understanding of diverse cultures and traditions. But, sometimes, these voices aren’t heard.
August is designated as Women in Translation Month (#WITMonth), an annual celebration of female storytellers worldwide who write in languages other than English. Now in its tenth year, this campaign has done an excellent job addressing the underrepresentation of women authors in translated literature and underscores the importance of sharing their works globally.
I've read some exceptional fiction translated from other languages - from hardboiled Scandinavian noir and stomach-turning Argentinian horror to Japanese Shakai detective stories. So, to celebrate, I've compiled a list of crime novels, thrillers, and horror stories by female authors worldwide. Remember: this is just a small selection of what's out there.
So, if you're ready to take flight, grab your passport, put on your flight compression socks, sit back, relax, and let’s discover some of the most exciting voices in international crime, thriller, and horror writing together.
(Psst! I recommend checking out Women in Translation for reading lists and additional resources.)
Argentina
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez
Translated by Megan McDowell
Six-year-old Gaspar fears he has inherited his father Juan's eerie abilities to commune with the dead and harness the Darkness. Now, on the run, Gaspar and Juan are hunted by the Order, a wealthy cult willing to do anything to control these powers. Among their pursuers is Gaspar's grandmother, driven by her dark desires. Can they escape the horrors that surround them?
Our Share of Night is a meaty, insidious story of demonic communion, cursed inheritance, and parental sacrifices spanning Argentina’s turbulent military dictatorship and its aftermath.
Publisher: Granta Books | Page count: 736
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Belgium
The Scorpion’s Head by Hilde Vandermeeren
Translated by Laura Watkinson
Gaelle wakes up injured in a Berlin psychiatric hospital with no memory of a recent family holiday. Her son is in a coma, and the police believe she tried to kill him. Gaelle is convinced of her innocence, but can she prove it? Meanwhile, Michael, a contract killer for the shadowy organisation named Scorpio, defies his ruthless boss, Dolores, by refusing a job that stirs up old memories. Now, he's on the run for his life. Gaelle and Michael soon collide and discover how far they'll have to go to survive.
Longlisted for the CWA Crime Fiction Translation Prize 2022, The Scorpion’s Head proves that intelligent noir exists beyond Scandinavia.
Publisher: Pushkin Press | Page count: 288
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Brazil
Nothing Can Hurt You Now by Simone Campos
Translated by Rahul Bery
Lucina has always lived in the shadow of her glamorous model sister, Viviana. But when Viviana suddenly disappears in São Paulo, Lucina uncovers her sister's secret life as a high-end sex worker. Believing that someone from Viviana's client list is responsible, Lucina teams up with Viviana's girlfriend, Graziane, to uncover the truth.
Nothing Can Hurt You Now is an unflinching thriller that fearlessly examines the perception of women and femininity in today's ruthless society.
Publisher: Pushkin Press | Page count: 224
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Denmark
The Corpse Flower by Anne Mette Hancock
Translated by Tara Chace
Danish journalist, Heloise Kaldan, is in deep trouble - one of her sources has been caught lying, jeopardising her career. Then suddenly, she starts receiving cryptic letters from a wanted killer who has been in hiding for three years. When the reporter who originally covered the case is found murdered, Detective Erik Schafer suspects the historic killer has resurfaced. But why do the clues lead straight to Heloise? As she digs deeper, Heloise realises that uncovering the killer’s story means confronting her own darkest past and crossing the person she vowed never to face again.
The Corpse Flower is an unapologetic debut novel that fearlessly explores the darker aspects of human nature with a protagonist on her very own relentless pursuit of redemption.
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books | Page count: 336
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Finland
Dog Park by Sofi Oksanen
Translated by Owen F. Witesman
Helsinki, 2016. From her bench, Olenka watches a family play in a dog park. Suddenly, a stranger sits beside her - someone Olenka would recognise anywhere, as she was the one who ruined this woman's life. Now, this woman might be ready to do the same to Olenka. For a brief, fragile moment, they sit together, observing their children being raised by others before the extraordinary happens.
Dog Park is a horrifyingly compelling story centred around egg donation, the black market, and the commodification of the female body that seamlessly transitions between modern-day Finland and Ukraine in the early days of its post-Soviet independence.
Publisher: Atlantic Books | Page count: 368
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
France
My Husband by Maud Ventura
Translated by Emma Ramadan
From the outside, ‘she’ seems to have it all: a successful career, beauty, an enviable home, two healthy children, and the perfect husband. After fifteen years, she remains besotted with him but constantly questions whether he feels the same. Determined to maintain perfection, she meticulously plans their interactions, watches his every move, and punishes his mistakes to help him improve. She sets traps to test his love until, one day, she realises she may have gone too far.
Winner of the CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger 2024, My Husband is an unsettling novel that thoroughly dissects society’s notion of what constitutes a perfect and healthy marriage.
Publisher: Cornerstone | Page count: 272
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Germany
The Acapulco by Simone Buchholz
Translated by Rachel Ward
A serial killer is terrorising Hamburg, targeting dancers from The Acapulco Club in the red-light district, taking their scalps as trophies, and replacing them with plastic wigs. State prosecutor, Chastity Riley, is on the case, working with the police to understand what makes the killer tick. Her strength lies in thinking like a criminal, but her weaknesses - pubs, bars, and destructive relationships - complicate matters. As she battles her own personal demons and the gloomy Hamburg weather, she encounters dead-end after dead-end. However, with panic in the city rising and the death toll climbing, it becomes clear that time is running out.
The Acapulco is a cinematic tour-de-force with a jagged and colourful protagonist navigating the depths of Hamburg’s underbelly.
Publisher: Orenda Books | Page count: 276
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Iceland
Cold as Hell by Lilja Sigurdardóttir
Translated by Quentin Bates
Icelandic sisters Áróra and Ísafold live in different countries and aren't on speaking terms. When their mother loses contact with Ísafold, Áróra reluctantly returns to Iceland to find her. She soon realises Ísafold hasn't been avoiding her - she has vanished without a trace. Áróra confronts Ísafold's abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend, Björn, and begins to investigate her sister's reclusive neighbours, who have their own secrets. As she navigates the conflicting details of Ísafold's life, Áróra teams up with police officer, Daníel, to trace her sister's last movements. But, she isn't the only one watching.
Set in Iceland during the 24-hour daylight of summer, Cold as Hell fearlessly confronts the complexities of personal control over our own life events and challenges the human ability to maintain decency in a world determined to strip us of our dignity.
Publisher: Orenda Books | Page count: 276
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Italy
Ashes in the Snow by Oriana Ramunno
Translated by Katherine Gregor
Auschwitz, 1943. As snow falls outside, a young Jewish boy discovers the body of an SS Officer in the confines of Block 10. Hugo Fischer is dispatched to investigate the officer's mysterious death. But Hugo harbours a secret: he suffers from a degenerative disease. To survive, he must support the Reich and conceal his condition. However, he is soon forced to confront not only a complex murder but also the horrifying reality of the ‘Final Solution’. Hugo must decide what matters most and who, if anyone, he should try to save.
Ashes in the Snow is a devastating story that goes beyond typical crime fiction. Stepping into historical storytelling, this novel isn’t just about man's wickedness; it's a testament to how even small acts of kindness can be powerful ammunition against evil.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers | Page count: 336
Japan
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
Translated by Stephen Snyder
On an unnamed island, objects mysteriously vanish - hats, ribbons, birds, roses. Most inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten. When a young novelist learns her editor is at risk from the Memory Police, she becomes determined to save him. Hiding beneath her floorboards, with fear and loss closing in around them, they cling to her writing in a final attempt to preserve the past. As hiding his memories grows harder, the question remains: what will disappear next?
Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020, The Memory Police is a dystopian novel exploring themes of power, trauma, and state surveillance with a laser-like focus that scars every page.
Publisher: Vintage Publishing | Page count: 288
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Mexico
Blood Ties by Verónica E. Llaca
Translated by Mark Fried
When writer, Ignacio Suárez, receives photos of two murdered women mirroring scenes from his novel, he becomes determined to find the killer. Unbeknownst to him, the origins of these crimes trace back to Felícitas Sánchez, a 1940s midwife turned infamous child-killer known as The Ogress of Colonia Roma. Through diary entries and newspaper articles, Ignacio unpicks Felícitas's transformation from a small-town girl in La Huasteca to a notorious murderer in Mexico City, linking her past atrocities to a current wave of killings.
Blood Ties confronts the chilling reality of the inheritance of evil and forces us to confront the extreme measures we might take to liberate ourselves from its grip.
Publisher: Mountain Leopard Press | Page count: 304
Netherlands
We Had to Remove this Post by Hanna Bervoets
Translated by Emma Rault
Kayleigh broke and, out of options, took a job as a content moderator, reviewing online horrors and hate. She's good at it and finds friends and even a new girlfriend among her colleagues. For the first time, her future seems bright. However, the job soon begins to warp Kayleigh's world in alarming ways. In the screen's glare, how long can she cling to her humanity?
This pertinent debut novel dives deep into social media's dank and cruel corners, revealing the true impact self-creation can have on the human experience.
Publisher: Pan Macmillan | Page count: 144
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Norway
Reptile Memoirs by Silje Ulstein
Translated by Alison McCullough
Liv harbours many secrets. After a party in her Ålesund apartment, she becomes obsessed with getting a pet python. Soon, Nero, a baby Burmese python, becomes the apartment's fourth roommate, and Liv forms an intense bond with him. Thirteen years later, in Kristiansund, Mariam Lind’s argument with her eleven-year-old daughter, Iben, leads to Iben's disappearance. Detective Roe Olsvik, new to the Kristiansund police, takes on the case. As he questions Mariam, he suspects her, but the truth behind Iben's disappearance is far more complex.
Reptile Memories delves into the complicated web of family dynamics, the legacy of trauma, rebirth, and the inherent darkness of humanity in a world where no one can truly shed their skin.
Publisher: Grove Press UK | Page count: 464
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Sweden
We Know You Remember by Tove Alsterdal
Translated by Alice Menzies
Lina Stavred went missing 20 years ago, and a local boy confessed to her murder, but her body was never found, and the records were sealed. Since then, the people of Ådalen have avoided discussing that painful summer, preferring to leave the past in the past. But this tragedy isn’t easily forgotten, especially when Lina's confessed murderer has unexpectedly reappeared. Detective Eira Sjödin is determined to untangle the historic case and unearth its buried secrets. However, the truth is something Ådalen would rather forget.
We Know You Remember is a world-class Scandinavian mystery that deals with guilt, unreliable memories, and the harsh realities of blame to weave a considerate police procedural story without being overwhelming.
Publisher: Faber & Faber | Page count: 448
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
South Korea
The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong
Translated by Chi-Young Kim
Inspired by a true story, Yu-jin wakes up covered in blood and discovers a body downstairs; he hides the evidence and decides to hunt down the killer himself. As young women start disappearing in his hometown, Yu-jin's investigation forces him to confront the dark secrets surrounding his brother and father, who died years ago. Who is he really hunting, and what truth lies buried in his family's past?
The Good Son is a ‘whydunnit’ rather than a ‘whodunnit,’ compelling readers to look into their own mirrors and boldly ask, "Who am I?" and "Who will I be?"
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group | Page count: 320
Bookshop.org | Waterstones | Amazon
Wow, this was quite a long post, but it was absolutely worth it!
What do you think? Are you intrigued by any of these books? Do you have other recommendations to share?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
As always, happy reading!
Until next time,
Sian | Criminally Creepy Books
Any links mentioned above are non-affiliated, and I do not make any money from these companies. These are the places I shop at regularly. No affiliations, just recommendations!