Ice Cold: The Day is Dark, by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

August 15, 2011

Icelandic crime fiction writer Yrsa Sigurdardottir is back with a new novel about Reykjavik lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdóttir. I am a fan of Icelandic crime fiction, and enjoy reading both Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Arnaldur Indridason. Indridason is more well-known internationally, but Sigurdardottir is getting better and better and is in the process of building a big [...]

Read the full article →

Until Thy Wrath be Past, by Asa Larsson

August 9, 2011

This is the fourth book in Swedish author Asa Larsson’s series about Rebecka Martinsson and Inspector Anna-Maria Mella. Following the terrible events in the previous book, The Black Path, where she killed three men in self-defense, Rebecka Martinsson has now moved to the town of Kiruna in the Northern part of Sweden, where she works [...]

Read the full article →

Nothing But The Truth, by Jarkko Sipila

August 7, 2011

Nothing But The Truth is the third book translated into English in the prize-winning crime fiction series Helsinki Homicide by Finnish writer Jarkko Sipila. Like the two previous books in the series, it focuses on the Violent Crimes Unit in the Helsinki Police. The key characters are Detective Lieutenant Kari Takamäki and the undercover detective [...]

Read the full article →

Anders Roslund & Börge Hellstrom wins the International Dagger 2011

August 2, 2011

Excellent news for Swedish and Scandinavian Crime Fiction: The dynamic, Swedish crime writing duo Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström won The 2011 CWA International Dagger with Three Seconds. Roslund & Hellström write hard, tough, and quite critical books – in the tradition of Sjöwall and Wahlöö, who were also very socially and politically engaged, they [...]

Read the full article →

The Birds, by Tarjei Vesaas

July 30, 2011

The Birds (original title: Fuglane) by Norwegian writer Tarjei Vesaas is a true literary masterpiece – most likely one of the most beautifully haunting novels you will ever read. It is perhaps less known than The Ice Palace, by the same author, but in my opinion it is an even more remarkable and penetrating novel. [...]

Read the full article →

The Hidden Child, by Camilla Lackberg – review

July 15, 2011

The Hidden Child (original title Tyskungen) is the fifth novel in Camilla Läckberg’s bestselling Swedish crime fiction series, and the sequel to The Gallows Bird. Like many Swedish fathers, Detective Patrik Hedstrom has chosen to take a paternity leave to stay home for awhile with his one year old daughter Maja. His wife, Erica Falck, [...]

Read the full article →

Burned, by Thomas Enger

July 13, 2011

Meet a new Norwegian crime fiction writer: Thomas Enger. I first introduced him in a post on Nordic Bookblog about one year ago. A writer whose name you will probably learn well in the years ahead if you’re into Scandinavian crime fiction. Burned (Skinndød) is his debut novel, but the Norwegian publisher Gyldendal thought it [...]

Read the full article →

Doctor Glas, by Hjalmar Söderberg

July 8, 2011

Doctor Glas is a classic Swedish novel. When it was first published in Sweden, in 1905, it caused a scandal, as it deals with sensitive matters that were not discussed in public at the time: Death, sex, lust and abortion. Hjalmar Söderberg (1869-1941) seemed to be advocating abortion and euthanasia. He also discussed how a [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →