Nordic Crime Library

 

  • Compiled by James M. Kaplan Ph.D.

  • Iceland: Arnaldur Indridason; Jar City, 2006; Silence of the Grave 2007; The Draining Lake ,2008; Voices, 2008; Arctic Chill , 2009; Hypothermia, 2011, Outrage (2012)
    Yrsa Sigurdardottir : Ashes to Dust (2010); Last Rituals (2007; My Soul To Take (2009).
    NORWAY : Jo Nesbø (Harry Hole /Oslo novels); The Devil’s Star, 2005; The Redbreast, 2006; Nemesis , 2008; The Redeemer, 2009; The Snowman, 2010; The Leopard, 2011; The Phantom, 2012; Police, 2013; Headhunters (book and film); Jackpot (2012) film. See jonesbo.com
    Anne Holt; ( two Oslo series: Detective Hanne Wilhelmsen ; Detective Adam Stubo/Johanne Vik) What Is Mine, 2006; What Never Happens, 2008; 1222 (2012); Blind Goddess; Death in Oslo, (2010), Blessed Are Those Who Thirst (2012).
    K.O. Dahl: (Oslo/Detectives Gunnarstranda and Frølich) Lethal Investments, (2011); The Fourth Man (2009); The Man in the Window (2009;) The Last Fix, (2010).
    Karin Fossum (Inspector Sejer Mysteries) The Indian Bride, 2008; Don’t Look Back,2005.; He Who Fears the Wolf, 2006; Black Seconds, 2009; The Water’s Edge, 2010; Bad Intentions, 2012.
    Gunnar Staalesen (Varg Veum novels and films– Bergen) Yours Until Death, The Writing on the Wall, Cold Hearts, The Consorts of Death.
    Vidar Sundstøl (Minnesota Trilogy) Land of Dreams, 2013; University of Minnesota Press.
    DENMARK: Peter Hoeg, Smilla’s Sense of Snow;
    Jussi Adler-Olsen (Department Q Series) The Keeper of Lost Causes; The Absent One, A Conspiracy of Faith, the Purity of Vengeance.
    SWEDEN: Maj Sjöwall and Pär Wahlöö: (Stockholm: Martin Beck mysteries, later 60’s early 70’s): Roseanna; The Man Who Went Up in Smoke; The Fire Engine That Disappeared, etc.
    Åke Edwardson: (Göteborg: Chief Inspector Eric Winter Novels). Sun and Shadow, 1999; Never End, 2000; Frozen Tracks 2001; Death Angels, 2009, etc.
    Helene Tursten: (Göteborg: Detective Inspector Irene Huss Investigations): Night Rounds; Torso, Glass Devil, Detective Inspector Huss ; The Golden Calf (2013).
    Camilla Läckberg: (Patrik Hedström- Erica Falck, Bohuslän novels): The Ice Princess; The Preacher; The Stonecutter; Hidden Child; The Gallows Bird.
    Åsa Larsson: (Rebecka Martinsson- Kiruna novels): The Blood Spilt; Until Thy Wrath Be Past,The Black Path, Sun Storm.
    Liza Marklund: (Annika Bengtzon: Stockholm and Norrland novels): Exposed, Red Wolf, The Bomber, Studio Sex.
    Kallentoft, Mons (Detective Malin Fors/ Linköping) Midwinter Blood (2012), Summertime Death (2012), Autumn Killing (2012) , Savage Spring (2013)
    Alvtegen, Karin: Stockholm novels, Missing, Shame, Betrayal.
    Stieg Larsson: Millennium Trilogy, Stockholm: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; The Girl Who Played With Fire; The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. (read : Jan-Erik Pettersson, Stieg Larsson: The Real Story).
    Kristina Ohlsson, (Detective Fredrika Bergman /Stockholm) Unwanted (2012), Silenced (2013).
    Mari Jungstedt : (Gotland , Inspector Anders Knutas Mysteries) Unseen, Unspoken, The Inner Circle, The Killer’s Art.
    Anna Jansson, (Maria Vern/Gotland) Killer’s Island, 2012.
    Johan Theorin: (Öland ) Echoes From the Dead; The Darkest Room; The Quarry.
    Henning Mankell, (Skåne, Kurt Wallander Mysteries) The Pyramid; The Dogs of Riga; The White Lioness; The Man Who Smiled; Sidetracked; One Step Behind; The Fifth Woman; Before the Frost; Firewall.
    Håkan Nesser, Mind’s Eye; Woman with Birthmark; The Inspector and Silence, etc.
    Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström , Three Seconds; Cell 8; Box 21.
    Guillou, Jan: (Carl Hamilton spy thrillers): Coq Rouge, 1986; The Democratic Terrorist, 1987; In the Interest of the Nation, 1988; Enemy’s Enemy: 1992; The Honorable Murderer, 1991; Vendetta 1991; No Man’s Land ,1992, etc. Guillou is a prolific and controversial author who also wrote Arn, a trilogy about the medieval crusaders and a successful novel about Swedish boarding schools: Evil.
    FINLAND:
    Jarkko Sipila, Helsinki Homicide: Against the Wall (2009); Vengeance (2010) Nothing But the Truth (2011). (Detective Takamäki novels)
    Harri Nykänen, Nights of Awe (2004), Raid and the Blackest Sheep (2010), Raid and the Kid (2012)See Films.
    Matti Joensuu, The Priest of Evil (2010); To Steal Her Love ( 2008).
    Leena Lehtolainen, My First Murder (2012).
    North Dakota:
    Ryn Pitts, Deadly Benefits, 2013.

  • Many DVDs of Scandinavian detective novels are available from www.mhznetworks.org/shop . Netflix and Amazon are good sources too. Get a “code free” DVD player to play Scandinavian DVDs . (see Amazon for this) See barbarafister.com (see link to her blog) She is a professor at Gustavus Adolphus College and has an excellent blog about Scandinavian “deckare” especially by women authors: http://scandinaviancrimefiction.wordpress.com.See also the New York Public Library’s excellent blog post: NYPL.org/blog/2013/01/14/Scandinavian-crime-fiction On this post there is a link to an excellent one hour BBC film: BBC Time Shift: Nordic Noir(2011) This film is on You Tube.
    See also: Scandinaviancrimefiction.com ; Also: Barry Forshaw, Death in a Cold Climate: A Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction (2012).
    See Mystery Readers Journal , vol. 23 number 3, Fall 2007: Scandinavian Mysteries
    Scandinavian detective novels for teens: See works by Karin Anckarsvärd, Nils-Olof Franzen, Jostein Gaarder, Astrid Lindgren (see the article in the preceding periodical Mystery Readers Journal: “The Children’s Hour: Scandinavian Mysteries”)Jo Nesbø: Doctor Procter books.