Tag: books in translation

When nineteen-year-old Iselin Hanssen disappears during a run in a popular hiking area in Bodø, Northern Norway, suspicion quickly falls on her boyfriend.

For investigator Jakob Weber, the case seems clear-cut, almost unexceptional, even though there is some suggestion that Iselin lived parts of her life beneath the radar of both family and friends.

But events take a dramatic turn when another woman disappears in similar circumstances – this time on the island of Røst, hundreds of miles off the Norwegian coast, in the wild ocean. Rumours that a killer is on the loose begin to spread, terrifying the local population and leading to wild conspiracies.

But then Jakob discovers that this isn’t the first time that young women have vanished without a trace in the region, and it becomes clear that someone is hiding something. And another murderous spree may have just begun…

Ørjan Karlsson (b. 1970) grew up in Bodø, in the far north of Norway. A sociologist by education, he received officer training in the army and has taken part in many missions overseas. He has worked at the Ministry of Defence and is now head of department in the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection. He has written a wide range of thrillers, sci-fi novels and crime fiction, and been shortlisted for or won numerous awards, with a number of his books currently in production for the screen. He lives in Nordland, where the Jakob Weber crime series is set, and Into Thin Air is the first book in his first detective/police procedural series.  

My thoughts: This was a really good, tense crime thriller, with lots of twists and shocking moments, totally gripping.

Set in northern Norway, where the midnight sun makes detective Noora unable to sleep, a young woman goes missing while out on a run. As the police start to investigate her disappearance, questioning her friends and on/off boyfriend, another woman goes missing, but on a small island. Is this the same culprit?

The team step up their investigation, looking for both missing women, and find it has happened before, some years ago. Was it the island’s odd duck doctor or someone else, easily overlooked by the community?

It’s a race against time, the longer the women are gone, the more likely it is they’ll end up dead. When even lead detective Jakob’s dog Garm gets involved, because dogs make excellent investigators, and they’re beginning to lose hope, finally the clues start to stack up and the team have their suspects. Or do they?

An excellent and exciting new voice in translated crime fiction, I cannot wait to read more.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

To celebrate the paperback of Dead Sweet, I’m re-sharing my review from the hardback tour. You can get a copy from all good bookshops and here.

When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn’t until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging. As Óttar’s shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís’s own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…

Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off a mind-blowing new series.

Katrín Júlíusdóttir has a political background and was a member of the Icelandic parliament from 2003 until 2016. Before she was elected to parliament, Katrín was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector. She worked from a young age in the fishing industry, was a store clerk and also worked the night shift at a pizza restaurant. She studied anthropology and has an MBA from Reykjavík University. Katrín’s debut novel Dead Sweet received the Blackbird Award and was an Icelandic bestseller upon publication. She is married to critically acclaimed author Bjarni M. Bjarnason, who encouraged her to start writing. They have four boys and live in Garðabær.

My thoughts: this was really good, but also really awful because when the truth comes out about the victim, Óttar, he turns out to have been one bad man and I didn’t really want the cops to find his killer, because weirdly I felt bad for them – not him!

SigurdÍs is a really good investigator, even if she does go off on her own – she just wants to prove to her bosses that she’s a great cop and not keep getting left out of investigations or given paperwork to shuffle.

I really hope this grows into a series as I was completely hooked, the writing (and Quentin’s brilliant translation work) was so gripping and compelling, even as I realised, oh no, he’s guilty of really gross and horrible things, I wanted to keep reading.

To celebrate the paperback release of Yule Island (just in time for Christmas!) I’m sharing my review from the hardback tour. Get your copy here or in all the usual places!

Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found. Emma must work alone, and with the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide? As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants. When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories of his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key? Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter…

Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press, and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in 23 countries. A TV adaptation is currently under way in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding was a number-one bestseller in France, receiving critical acclaim across the globe, and Yule Island has won multiple awards, including Book of the Year with France’s biggest retailer, Cultura, and has been optioned for the screen. Johana lives in Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.

My thoughts: this is not a Christmas book, despite the title, it’s a creepy, dark read about obsession, murder, and how twisted some minds can get.

And it is also so, so good. Totally compelling, very enjoyable as I like dark, weird stuff, and peopled with very normal individuals, and some very disturbed ones passing as normal. Which of course makes it worse.

There are several narratives that once you realise what’s happening and how they interconnect, build to reveal the total horror that has taken place in the Gussman family’s manor house.

This is the second book I’ve read from this author, and it is deeply chilling but incredibly interesting and her writing (and the excellent work of the translator) just sucks you into the world Johana has created on this island. It’s that good. If you prefer your winter reading to be dark and full of horrors, monsters hidden in plain sight, then this is absolutely for you.

Two years ago, Alexander Blix was the lead investigator in a missing person’s case where a young mother, Elisabeth Eie, was kidnapped. The case was never solved. Blix’s career in law enforcement is now over, but her kidnapper is back, leaving evidence of Elisabeth’s murder in Blix’s mailbox, as well as hints that there are other victims.

At the same time, Emma Ramm has been contacted by a teenage girl, whose stepfather has been arrested on suspicion of killing a childhood friend. But there is no body. Nor are there any other suspects…

Blix and Ramm can rely only on each other, and when Blix’s fingerprints are found on a child’s drawing at a crime scene, the present comes uncomfortably close to the past. A past where a victim has found their own, shocking form of therapy. And someone is watching…

Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger are both internationally bestselling Norwegian authors. Jørn Lier Horst first rose to literary fame with his no. 1 bestselling William Wisting series. A former Detective Chief Investigator in the Norwegian police, Horst imbues all his works with an unparalleled realism and suspense.

Thomas Enger is the journalist-turned-author behind the acclaimed Henning Juul series. Enger’s trademark is his dark, gritty voice paired with key social messages and tight plotting. Besides writing fiction for both adults and young adults, Enger also works as a music composer.

Death Deserved, the first book in the Blix & Ramm series, was Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger’s first co-written thriller, and all five books in the series series have hit no. 1 on bestseller lists worldwide.

My thoughts: Alexander Blix is out of prison and struggling to put his life back together without his job as a police detective, and his daughter. While his friend Emma Ramm has quit her job as a journalist, and is also searching for her next role.

A stranger phones Blix, claiming to be the killer of Elisabeth Eie, a case still unsolved. Although now on the outside, Blix seems to have the killer’s focus, as he leaves messages and calls the former detective, his ex-colleagues are not keen to involve him, but it appears they don’t have a choice.

Emma has been asked by a teenage girl to prove her stepfather, the man who raised her from the age of two, is innocent of the disappearance of his employee and the arson of his business. There’s definitely something off about the case and so she starts to look into it.

Both cases have echoes in Blix and Emma’s pasts, neither of them had particularly happy childhoods to look back on. And while neither of them are officially on the case, they have the skills and knowledge to find the answers. Could this be the answer to their search for new roles?

Another clever and knotty investigation, and an interesting insight into Blix as his personal life develops with a dog (called Terry) and a new relationship.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

Saunas, love and a ladleful of murder…

A cold-blooded killer strikes at the hottest moment: the new head of a sauna-stove company is murdered … in the sauna. Who has turned up the temperature and burned him to death?

The evidence points in the direction of Anni Korpinen – top salesperson and the victim’s successor at Steam Devil. And as if hitting middle-age, being in a marriage that has lost its purpose, and struggling with work weren’t enough, Anni realizes that she must be quicker than both the police and the murderer to uncover who is behind it all – before it’s too late…

Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, his third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and shortlisted for the Glass Key Award.

Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards and now a Finnish TV series. Palm Beach, Finland (2018) and Little Siberia (2019) have both been adapted for the screen, airing shortly, and also shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and winning the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The international bestselling Rabbit Factor trilogy is filming now for Amazon Studios, starring Steve Carell.

Antti lives in Helsinki with his wife.

My thoughts: From theme parks to sauna sales, the first in a new series from the funniest Finnish writer I’ve read is back and I am delighted.

Saunas are big business in Finland, where people have them in their back gardens and use them daily, being the best salesperson at Steam Devil, and after the murder of her boss’ heir apparent puts Anni in the police’s crosshairs, they think she’s the killer, and even more so once another one of her colleagues also dies.

There’s evidence that seems to link her to both scenes, although she insists the “bumlets” (every time I read that word, I giggle) were stolen. Then there’s her deeply weird husband who spends all his time watching old F1 races and discussing them online as well as selling related merchandise, or at least stockpiling it.

Anni’s got issues and so do the police investigating her, it’s a small place and everyone has history.

I really enjoyed this, Finland sounds like such a unique and weird place, and Antti’s books are full of utterly ridiculous and odd people. Who knew saunas would cause so much chaos!

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

When Áróra receives a call telling her that a child she’s never met is claiming to be her missing sister reincarnated, she is devastated … as ridiculous as the allegations might seem. For three years she has been searching for her sister without finding a single clue, and now this strange child seems to have new information. 

On the same day, Icelandic detective Daníel returns home to find a note from his tenant, drag queen Lady Gúgúlú, giving notice on her flat and explaining that she has to leave the country. Daníel is immediately suspicious, and when three threatening men appear, looking for Lady, it’s clear to him that something is very wrong…

And as Iceland’s long dark nights continue into springtime, that is just the very beginning…

Bestselling crime-writer Lilja Sigurðardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland.

An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written ten crime novels, including Snare, Trap and Cage, making up the Reykjavík Noir trilogy, and her standalone thriller Betrayal, all of which have hit bestseller lists worldwide and been long- and shortlisted for multiple awards. The film rights for the Reykjavík Noir trilogy have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California, and the An Áróra Investigation series is now in production for a major TV series.

Cold as Hell was published in the UK in 2021 and reprinted twice, followed by Red as Blood and White as Snow, both number-one digital bestsellers.

Lilja lives outside of Reykjavík with her partner and a brood of chickens.

My thoughts: I don’t believe in reincarnation – so I was very sceptical of the claim that a child could be Áróra’s lost sister, although she does pass on some rather detailed information that there is no other way she could have, three year olds don’t tend to hang out with murderers. Áróra is put through the wringer with this situation but it might finally give her resolution. Daniel takes over the case, to give her breathing space, and asks Áróra to find his suddenly missing lodger – drag queen Lady Gúgúlú.

This second case is incredibly convoluted and provides an entirely new back story to the colourful and sequined world created in Daniel’s garage. It seems the man Daniel knows is not entirely who he claimed to be – and he has multiple names too.

Áróra’s investigation takes her away from Iceland, and away from the peculiar case Daniel is dealing with. But will he get answers or just more questions?

I found Lady’s story, aka Robert, the reason he’s been hiding and has kept his past a tightly guarded secret really fascinating and compelling. It also provided a contrast to the hunt for Áróra’s sister that kept that plot from becoming too woo woo. Another excellent slice of Icelandic noir, and a great set up for further stories. 

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

When Varg Veum reads the newspaper headline ’YOUNG MAN MISSING’, he realises he’s seen the youth just a few days earlier – at a crossroads in the countryside, with his two friends. It turns out that the three were on their way to a demonstration against a commercial fish-farming facility in the tiny village of Solvik, north of Bergen.

Varg heads to Solvik, initially out of curiosity, but when he chances upon a dead body in the sea, he’s pulled into a dark and complex web of secrets, feuds and jealousies. Is the body he’s found connected to the death of a journalist who was digging into the fish farm’s operations two years earlier? And does either incident have something to do with the competition between the two powerful families that dominate Solvik’s salmon-farming industry? Or are the deaths the actions of the ‘Village Beast’ – the brutal small-town justice meted out by rural communities in this part of the world.

Shocking, timely and full of breathtaking twists and turns, Pursued by Death reaffirms Gunnar Staalesen as one of the world’s greatest crime writers.

One of the fathers of Nordic Noir, Gunnar Staalesen was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1947. He made his debut at the age of twenty-two with Seasons of Innocence and in 1977 he published the first book in the Varg Veum series. He is the author of over twenty titles, which have been published in twenty-four countries and sold over four million copies. Twelve film adaptations of his Varg Veum crime novels have appeared since 2007, starring the popular Norwegian actor Trond Espen Seim. Staalesen has won three Golden Pistols (including the Prize of Honour). Where Roses Never Die won the 2017 Petrona Award for Nordic Crime Fiction, and Big Sister was shortlisted for the award in 2019. He lives with his wife in Bergen.

My thoughts: Varg does manage to find quite a few dead bodies in this book, and annoy quite a few police officers too, as he pokes around a small town, ostensibly looking into the death of a writer two years before, but also the disappearance of a young man a few weeks ago. The missing student’s mother happens to have been the dead man’s partner, and she hires Varg to look into what was ruled an accident at the time.

Even after being warned off by the police multiple times, he can’t seem to leave the current investigation alone. He just can’t help himself, and he’s annoying even more people as he goes. I don’t think he’ll be holidaying in Solvik any time soon.

He’s digging around the local, somewhat controversial, fish farm, there seems to be a link there, but after a bomb goes off at a meeting, he focuses on the locals a little more – the police have got their man, or so they think.

Varg is an interesting character, he’s a natural loner but people are either drawn to him or find him so impossibly irritating. He’s incredibly good at what he does, but never seems to build connections in useful ways (annoying every police officer he meets doesn’t help) and seems to find trouble at every turn, but I really enjoy reading about him. The stories are always so clever and compelling, full of sudden twists.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

To celebrate the paperback publication of the very funny The Beaver Theory, I am re-sharing my review from the hardback tour. If you’d like a copy, head over to Orenda Books.

Henri Koskinen, intrepid insurance mathematician and adventure-park entrepreneur, firmly believes in the power of common sense and order. That is until he moves in with painter Laura Helanto and her daughter…

As Henri realises he has inadvertently become part of a group of local dads, a competing adventure park is seeking to expand their operations, not always sticking to the law in the process…

Is it possible to combine the increasingly dangerous world of the adventure-park business with the unpredictability of life in a blended family? At first glance, the two appear to have only one thing in common: neither deals particularly well with a mounting body count.

In order to solve this seemingly impossible conundrum, Henri is forced to step far beyond the mathematical precision of his comfort zone … and the stakes have never been higher…

Warmly funny, quirky, touching, and a nail-biting triumph of a thriller, The Beaver Theory is the final instalment in the award-winning Rabbit Factor Trilogy, as Henri encounters the biggest challenge of his career, with hair-raising results…

Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when we made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. In 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula,and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach, Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’, and Little Siberia (2019) was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, the prequel to The Moose Paradox, will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios.

My thoughts: we return, for the final time, to the crazy world of adventure theme parks and Henri, the actuary who often seems to wind up solving crimes, instead of his actual job at YouMeFun.

Now living with girlfriend Laura and her daughter, you might think joining the dads club at the school and settling into domesticity, would mean less crime solving and fewer murders. But no, Henri’s ne rivals are a bunch of gangsters, who are attracting all the customers with free entry and free food, but Henri can’t see them lasting long in business. And then the owner is murdered. Which brings the cops to his door, again.

So, in between reassuring his staff and baking cakes to fundraise for the school trip to Paris, Henri sets out to solve a murder, or several, find out what the two dodgy cops are up to, and what this all has to do with horses, before he gets arrested or killed.

Written (and translated) with great wit, this delightfully funny black comedy of theme park shenanigans and espionage, is a wonderful high note for the highly entertaining trilogy to end up. Henri’s life is settled and happy, his crack team at the park are more committed than ever and things just might, finally, be ok.