English Translations of Scandinavian/Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Must also check out the BBC book club show!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...

Felt the same reading Mary Lawson. All three books were very good reads and made me think back to my youth and family and community history.
Graham Norton Home Stretch was a fantastic good read. Glad to have read it and have started his book A Keeper just now.

Thanks for the link Sharon. I also downloaded A Keeper last year. Can’t wait to find out what you think of it!

Icewineanne wrote: "Thanks for the link Sharon. I also downloaded A Keeper last year. Can’t wait to find out what you think of it!"

I grew up in what most would call a hamlet (Canadian prairie) and the stories of everyone’s history was always a cause of knowing or conjecture and this read really brought that home plus having cleared out my mother’s home and discovering so much about my parents when they were younger than I ever knew and having helped with the same cleaning up of my mother-in-laws home, it really made this a good read. Combine that with being an only child.

Interesting format starting with Before, continuing with many Now, Then and ending with After! Creative and works well. Found this an emotional and satisfying good read. Highly recommend.

Also find it a pleasure to read books about humans of every orientation, which is much more a proper representation of the real world.
IMHO he is a very good writer. Managed to form each character without pages of build.....

You have such wonderful authors in Canada - Mary Lawson, Carol Shields, Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro. In particular, Munro's Ontario reminds me quite a bit of rural Norway where I grew up.

Tone wrote: "You have such wonderful authors in Canada - Mary Lawson, Carol Shields, Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro. In particular, Munro's Ontario reminds me quite a bit of rural Norway where I grew up."

Agree. My list Canadian writers

Carol Shields
Mordecai Richler
Margaret Atwood since 70s
Michael Ondaatje since 76
Mary Lawson
Gail Anderson-Dergatz all exceptional on GRs
Louise Penny GRs FB
Ernest Hillen
Alice Munro
Colleen Cross
Iain Reid aka Simon Jericho
RM Greenaway
Peter Robinson UK/Ontario
Kathy Reichs US/Quebec
Maggie Helwig
Etc etc....

Thank you, Sharon. That's a list you Canadians can be proud of.
My favourite crime fiction writer, Margaret Millar, was born and raised in Canada, although she lived in California for the most of her life. Her husband, Ross McDonald, also came from Canada.

Tone wrote: "Thank you, Sharon. That's a list you Canadians can be proud of.
My favourite crime fiction writer, Margaret Millar, was born and raised in Canada, although she lived in California for the most of ..."

While I am Canadian born, I have lived in Europe so long it is often difficult to keep up. But I do try.

I'm going to give a review of a book I read, but it isn't on Goodreads yet. It is on Amazon. The author is Aaron Michael Ricossa and the books called "That Feeling You Get" Its Book 1 in the Hunter Series.
I read this book because it's in Copenhagen, Denmark. Also for brief periods it's in Washington D.C.. The author is not on Goodreads yet.
The first character we meet and is named is Viraj, he is a taxi driver. We've met the main characters but without names so far. We are next introduced to Dan Harold, a fat, pudgy guy who works for the CIA. Were in a bar in Copenhagen, Denmark, the girl (Luisa Stein) who is there is an American who just came from Germany with a man (Hunter) who just asked her to come with him on the train. Next were introduced to Loony Lin but we don't meet her yet. But we meet one bad guy who is with the CIA called Stevenson. We meet a retired DSIS agent called Bruxton. All these people are the main characters that Aaron uses to control what he's attempting to do. In hindsight we're introduced to Loony Lin, because she raised Hunter from a boy. Unknown to Luisa she was meeting her father for the first time in 15 years when he asked if she would go with him on the train. There's other people who fit into the mix but you need to read this story to see what happens. That Feeling You Get is a real feeling that Luisa doesn't have under control until her father shows her how to control it. There's good and bad feelings that go along with Luisa and Loon Lin comes into play so she knows her father is Hunter. He is an EX-CIA agent who was found to kill and take the money from a man who was presumed dead. I won't tell you what happens and we'll see if you like the story as much as I did. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars because I liked it.

Well I don't know about you but I've read the book The Lost Village by Camilla Sten and it was a pretty good story. What I would like is for someone who's done this before let us know what her relationship is to Vivica Sten, I see she's been working with her books with her but why?

Ken wrote: "Well I don't know about you but I've read the book The Lost Village by Camilla Sten and it was a pretty good story. What I would like is for someone who's done this before let us know what her rela..."


DescriptionViveca Sten is a Swedish writer and lawyer. She has a law degree from Stockholm University and has an MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics. Wikipedia
Born: June 18, 1959 (age 61 years), Stockholm, Sweden
Spouse: Lennart Sten
Children: Camilla Sten
Albums: Stille wateren, Vannacht ben je dood, Hogere Kringen, Onschuldig verleden
Education: Stockholm University, Stockholm School of Economics

Sharon wrote: "Ken wrote: "Well I don't know about you but I've read the book The Lost Village by Camilla Sten and it was a pretty good story. What I would like is for someone who's done this before let us know w..."

Very interesting Sharon. I still haven’t gotten around to reading CS but seeing that I share a birthday with her mother, I’ll try to find one of her books first.

Well I am at a loss, I got a message form Samantha which read. "I HATE THIS BOOK SO MUCH, BECAUSE...more" it was Kerry Greenwood's newest book "Death In Daylesford", now I've read a lot of Kerry Greenwood's books but this message has me upset because I can't find why Samantha is so angry, it seems she is no longer on Goodreads. If anybody knows Samantha, let me know. I thought the book was good. I can only think of several reasons why she didn't like it and it's driving me wild to come up with the answer.

Ken wrote: "Well I am at a loss, I got a message form Samantha which read. "I HATE THIS BOOK SO MUCH, BECAUSE...more" it was Kerry Greenwood's newest book "Death In Daylesford", now I've read a lot of Kerry Gr..."

Perhaps she dislikes the free-spirited nature of Miss Fisher 🤔 😂

Icewineanne wrote: "Ken wrote: "Well I am at a loss, I got a message form Samantha which read. "I HATE THIS BOOK SO MUCH, BECAUSE...more" it was Kerry Greenwood's newest book "Death In Daylesford", now I've read a lot..."

It must be that.

Whats this I hear about Mørke by Jussi Adler-Olsen. It's not in the U.S.A. or U.K. Amazon. It's suppose to be after Department Q? Anyone know?

Did you mean that there is a book by Jussi Adler-Olsen with the title "Mørke" in Danish? I have tried to search for it, but have not been able to find it either.

Tone wrote: "Did you mean that there is a book by Jussi Adler-Olsen with the title "Mørke" in Danish? I have tried to search for it, but have not been able to find it either."

There was a person on facebook who said this, I wonder if it's true?

Ken wrote: "Tone wrote: "Did you mean that there is a book by Jussi Adler-Olsen with the title "Mørke" in Danish? I have tried to search for it, but have not been able to find it either."

There was a person o..."

I don't think so.

Tone wrote: "Ken wrote: "Tone wrote: "Did you mean that there is a book by Jussi Adler-Olsen with the title "Mørke" in Danish? I have tried to search for it, but have not been able to find it either."

There wa..."

According not his posts on Facebook and what I see from the writer’s website, there is a new book in the Q series. Victim 2117....

https://www.orderofbooks.com/authors/...
&

http://jussiadlerolsen.com/
& his wiki has an excellent listing of all books with some language help too.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jussi...


The Q films are on Netflix and all very good!

I found another Nordic author, Ragnar Jonasson from Iceland, who has written a novel called "Mørket" (The Darkness in English translation). Could this be it?

'Ragnar Jonasson writes with a chilling, poetic beauty - a must-read addition to the growing canon of Iceland Noir'. Peter James,

At sixty-four, Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir of the Reykjavik Police is about to take on her last case before she retires: A young woman, an asylum seeker from Russia, found murdered on the seaweed covered rocks of the Vatnsleysustrond in Iceland. When Hulda starts to ask questions it isn't long before she realizes that no one can be trusted, and that no one is telling the whole truth. Spanning Reykjavik, the Icelandic highlands and the cold, isolated fjords, The Darkness is a thrilling new crime thriller from one of the biggest new names in Scandi noir.

Delightful read.
https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/jorn-...

Jorn Lier Horst on Henning Mankell

Sharon wrote: "Tone wrote: "Ken wrote: "Tone wrote: "Did you mean that there is a book by Jussi Adler-Olsen with the title "Mørke" in Danish? I have tried to search for it, but have not been able to find it either..
According not his posts on Facebook and what I see from the writer’s website, there is a new book in the Q series. Victim 2117....
"

Victim 2117 is the 8th and most recent of the Department Q novels, but was first published March 2019 in Denmark; the English translation coming out a year later.

Victim 2117

Carl Mørck is the name of the central character, but I can't find any versions named after him.

Let me tell you I just made the biggest mistake you can make. I put a person on the wrong country (Denmark) and I was going to put him in Iceland so I highlighted him. Now this is the bad part, rather than going to the edit feature and cutting him (this would have worked) I went to the delete below the box and deleted the whole thing. Now we don't have any authors in Denmark. What was I thinking!

Ken wrote: "Let me tell you I just made the biggest mistake you can make. I put a person on the wrong country (Denmark) and I was going to put him in Iceland so I highlighted him. Now this is the bad part, rat..."

Yikes - so sorry, Ken. Good luck reconstructing.

Well, Amazon must be feeling good because on the 5th page there is Camilla Sten's book. I never found an author of Scandinavian/Nordic decent before page 10. I've been doing this for 10 years now.

My computer is giving me problems. I'm trying to put where people are that have written for Denmark. Every time I put a persons place of residence or birth and update it. It takes off the next to the last persons data. It won't keep it. I'll have to have my 43 year old son who's an IT specialist look at it. Ha, I figured it out and have fixed it. The system has a bug and I had to fix it all at once.

Ken wrote: "Let me tell you I just made the biggest mistake you can make. I put a person on the wrong country (Denmark) and I was going to put him in Iceland so I highlighted him. Now this is the bad part, rat..."

Feel for you Ken. Think we’ve all done something similar. Technology can be very frustrating 🤯

I've just started reading the second book with Joona Linna Paganinikontraktet by Lars Kepler or as it's called in english The Nightmare. (A somewhat boring title as the original title means "The Paganini Contract" and refers to the contract that the great violinist Paganini was supposed to have signed with the Devil).

Anyway, as a woman from Sweden I have long been wondering why so many people across the world loves the Nordic Noir when the best crime novels (according to me) comes from Britain.

Now I've finally started to find some great crime writers from my own country (I've tried plenty but they have never reached the british standard that I so love) and I've also read a really good crime novel from Denmark. I do find this book by Kepler very thrilling. I think I have to start exploring writers from my neighbouring nordic countries as well. =)

Finished reading The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen and was quite thrilled that it was not a noir story for once. We can only think that rabbit ears are something that are lethal.

Finished The Weekend Away (5 star)
& just started [[book:The Night Shift|57693427]

Nike wrote: "I've just started reading the second book with Joona Linna Paganinikontraktet by Lars Kepler or as it's called in english The Nightmare. (A somewhat ..."

If you look at the difference between Britain and the Scandinavian countries. Britain has years on Scandinavia that only in the last 22 years the Scandinavian countries have been at it. And we have to factor in that Scandinavian countries mostly use noir in their books which may turn off some of the people wanting to read crime dramas. Does anyone have other views on this? Like number of people, etc.

Ken wrote: "Nike wrote: "I've just started reading the second book with Joona Linna Paganinikontraktet by Lars Kepler or as it's called in english The Nightmare...."

I don't really understand what you mean with 22 years, there has been crime novels written here way earlier.
I do love the noir, that does not turn me off, there is something else I'm missing. Mostly I believe it's the environment. I get bored with sterile police offices in Stockholm for example, whereas a lot of the crimes in British novels takes place in villages on the country side which makes them more of chamber plays, a dramatic setting which enhance the atmosphere of tension. That is also true with number of people solving the case, in British novels there are few and that is also typical for chamber plays, whereas in Swedish crimes there are always teams with a lot of people and that disturbs me. I also prefer if the books does not concentrate so much on the lifes and typical problems of the members of the teams. There is always someone with a difficult divorce and that I find boring. If I wanted to read about relationship problems than I would chose something else than a crime novel. I know this is getting more common in British crimes as well unfortunately.

I'm with you on that, Nike. Some of the scandi/noir are nothing but chick lit. Not fond of that. I'm always on the lookout for books that are not getting a whole lot of attention.....if any. I've found some good ones on the Nordic Watch List.

Ken wrote: "Nike wrote: "I've just started reading the second book with Joona Linna Paganinikontraktet by Lars Kepler or as it's called in english The Nightmare...."

Like Nike I wonder how you came up with the number of 22 years, Ken.
I don't know when the other Scandinavian countries started, but Norwegians have been at it since 1839, when the first crime fiction novel was released. This was in fact two years before Edgar Allen Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", often described as the world's first modern detective story.
I would also like to mention the 1909 masterpiece "The Iron Chariot" by Stein Riverton. This book is said to have inspired Agatha Christie to write "The Murder of Roger Acroyd" in 1926.

Also wondering about that 22yrs comment Ken, as Sjöwall & Wahlöö published the first book in their popular Beck series back in 1965.

Icewineanne wrote: "Also wondering about that 22yrs comment Ken, as Sjöwall & Wahlöö published the first book in their popular Beck series back in 1965."

They did it in 1965 but most of the others have done it in the 2000's. I've been doing this from 2008 and haven't seen much before 2000.

Icewineanne wrote: "Also wondering about that 22yrs comment Ken, as Sjöwall & Wahlöö published the first book in their popular Beck series back in 1965."

Talking about Swedish authors, Maria Lang made her debut in 1949 with "The Murderer is not the only Liar".

Ken wrote: "Icewineanne wrote: "Also wondering about that 22yrs comment Ken, as Sjöwall & Wahlöö published the first book in their popular Beck series back in 1965."

They did it in 1965 but most of the others..."

I see. You are referring to the approximate time when the world at large became aware of Scandinavian crime fiction. Still, it excisted in abundance long before that, ranging from cozy mysteries to noir, many of very high quality.

Yes, I agree with that and basically it started mainly with Stieg Larsson, but other people like Peter Høeg.

So well I remember when Smilla’s Sense of Snow came out in the early 90s. With all the buzz around it, I rushed out to get a copy, which I still have sitting on my bookshelf, but for whatever reason, never read 🤔

Emelie Flygare-Carlén started writing crime novels in the late 1830's just like the Norwegian example above.

We have wellknown crime writers from the 1940's and 1950's like Kerstin Ekman, Maria Lang and Folke Mellvig. Sjöwall and Wahlöö, Stig Trenter and Henning Mankell is known throughout the world.
Those elder crime novels I often find much better than the modern ones.

Noted, I'm just saying there's a lot more authors now, than before I have 6 to 10 books each month now, when I started there were only 2 to 4 and some months none.

Ken wrote: "Noted, I'm just saying there's a lot more authors now, than before I have 6 to 10 books each month now, when I started there were only 2 to 4 and some months none."

Yes, I get that but it was an answer to your claim that we hadn't so much experience of writing crime novels in the Nordic countries. And I just wanted to mention that we do even if they haven't been translated into other languages earlier or at least not so many into English. I think most of the translations (if any) earlier has been into the other Nordic languages and maybe to German. So the difference is that they are now translated into English and therefore have been more widely read. But I still do prefer the older crime novels like the books by Maria Lang, a Swedish Agatha Christie. I don't know whether they can be found in English or not.

This sounds very reasonable, we have the translators to be thankful for.

Nike wrote: "Ken wrote: "Noted, I'm just saying there's a lot more authors now, than before I have 6 to 10 books each month now, when I started there were only 2 to 4 and some months none."

Yes, I get that but..."

As far as I can tell, only three of Maria Lang's books have been translated into the English. However, she's had a revival with the TV-series lately, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for more books in English!

Molly wrote: "I've just started "Jar City" by Arnaldur Indridason, which is a nice break from the Swedish crime bender I've been on. So far, I'm really enjoying it!"

That's the book that got me hooked on this genre! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I just finished an ARC of Outside by Ragnar Jonasson and absolutely loved it.

I want to read Blaze Me a Sun: A Novel About a Crime by Christoffer Carlsson . It's in my pile of ARC's to read. But it's bugging me because it is a #1 best seller in Sweden now and it marks the youngest winner of The Best Swedish Crime Novel Of the Year Award, the top prize for Swedish Crime Writers whose past winners which include Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell. I remember reading about Stieg Larsson in a magazine and buying his books in the U.K. 3 years prior to them being in the U.S. It's a lot better now. But my glasses are now itching me to read this novel.