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The Women of Nordic Crime
If any genre has made translated fiction less scary to readers, it is the Nordic crime novel. English readers seem to have developed an almost insatiable appetite for dark crime stories from these countries—some of the safest countries in the world. And since the screen adaptations of Henning Mankell's Wallander series and Steig Larsson's Millenium Trilogy have helped those books become huge bestsellers, one can hardly find a Nordic crime novel that doesn't declare itself to be the "Norwegian answer to Kurt Wallander" or the "next Steig Larsson." Most readers I know approach such declarations with great skepticism. If truth be told--and as most regular crime readers know--even though crime novels share some common elements, each novel is itself as individual as the author who has written it. Besides the obvious differences in style and focus, crime novels may be mysteries or thrillers, police procedurals or psychological novels, urban or rural, historical or contemporary. As readers, it's unlikely we will enjoy each and every crime novel available; fortunately, there is a great variety to choose from, and finding the right one to read is just a matter personal preference. And so it is with the delightfully varied works by the equally varied authors we present here, twelve authors from four of the five Nordic countries, nearly all the authors award-winning, all successful, some fabulously so. Some have literary connections, while others have journalism or legal backgrounds. Some are quite young, others a bit older. But they do have two things in common: all of them write excellent crime novels and all of them are women. Kerstin Ekman (Swedish) writes literary fiction and crime fiction. Her first novel, Witches' Rings,written in the mid-70s and recently republished in English by Norvik Press, is the first of a tetralogy of village life set in 1870. The first book of her Wolfskin trilogy, God's Mercy, was recently translated into English and published by the University of Nebraska Press. God's Mercy was reviewed in an earlier issue of Belletrista. Her first crime novel, and the first of her books to be published in English, is Blackwater. Library Journal has described it as "a densely plotted psychological thriller set in northern Sweden near the Norwegian border. … [Ekman] infuses the novel with the eerie atmosphere of the North, where it's either always dark or light but never truly warm. Blackwater is rich in psychological nuance and character."
The other Norwegian "Queen of Crime" is author and lawyer Anne Holt. Holt debuted in 1993 with
Blind gudinne, (Blind Goddess) which features lesbian police office Hanne Wilhelmsen. There are
eight books in the series, two co-authored with Berit Reiss-Andersen. Her second series features former
FBI profiler Johanne Vik and Detective Inspector Adam Stubø of the Olso police department. The series
begins with Det som er mit, published as Punishment in the UK and What is Mine in
the US; the book appears to be available only through used book sources. Readers,
however, will be glad the hear that the most recent book of the Hanne Wihelmsen series, 1222,
has been published recently in the UK (the paperback release will be in June). Described
as an homage to Agatha Christie, 1222 sounds like an excellent introduction to this author.
Lisa Marklund (Swedish) is an author and journalist, and is currently co-owner of Sweden's largest
publishing house. Her crime series featuring Stockholm crime reporter Annika Bengtzon debuted with
Sprängaren (The Bomber) in 1998, which won several awards. The series now comprises
eight novels, which have not been written chronologically. Two books of the series have been adapted
to film in Sweden. The rights to the remaining six have been bought by the film production company
which adapted the Steig Larsson books and the English-language Wallander series. Although copies of
The Bomber might still be found, readers might do well to start with the most recently
translated Annika Bengtzon novel, Red Wolf.
Civil engineer Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (Icelandic) writes both crime novels and children's
literature. Her crime series features the lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdottír; they are set in
various locations around Iceland and often include historical elements. Her most recent installment
available in English is Ashes to Dust, which is set on the Westmann Islands and involves the "Pompeii of
the North" project—the unearthing of homes buried in the 1973 volcanic eruption that nearly closed
off the island's harbor. Readers should begin with the first book, Last Rituals. A fourth book
will be published in the UK this summer. Belletrista's review of her 2nd book, My Soul to Take, is
here.
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