The Bat (A Harry Hole Mystery) by Jo Nesbo
Oooh... good book and series.
For folks who aren't familiar with it, here's what makes this book unique:
The central character is a police detective in Oslo, Norway. You'd expect pretty much the same setup in the first book of any such series - meeting the central character, learning a bit about where he lives, meeting his boss and co-workers, his partner and his favorite bar. And all the while solving the murder case.
This book is distinctive as the first in a detective series because the murder case takes the character halfway around the world to Australia. So you meet the central character, but that's it. The only introduction to his boss is a few phone calls home. You don't learn anything about where he lives, favorite restaurant, where he works, co-workers, etc..
I thought it was a pretty unique and daring beginning to a detective series. Just imagine the first book of the Harry Bosch series having him travelling to Madrid to assist the detectives there in solving a murder case and you get the idea.