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LOG IN Forgot Login? Register General Discussion • Trading Post • Non-Film Score Discussion  Profile • Preferences • Community Rules • Help/Contact • Search Board Search Terms:  Search Within:  topics posts since 2019 2018 posts 2017 posts 2016 posts 2015 posts 2014 posts 2013 posts 2012 posts 2011 posts 2010 posts 2009 posts 2008 posts 2007 posts 2006 posts 2005 posts 2004 posts 2003 posts 2002 posts 2001 posts 2000 posts users  search tips  You must log in or register to post.   Go to page:  1 2      Non-Film Score Discussion: Nordic-Scandinavian Mystery Novels     1 2    NEXT   LAST   Last Post   Posted:   Jul 29, 2011 - 8:06 PM     By:   joan hue   (Member) I like books about detectives or police procedurals that also weave a great mystery. In this genre, I mainly read American and British books. I’ve heard for years that Scandinavian mysteries are wonderful, and I’ve finally embarked upon an interesting journey into Scandinavian or Nordic mystery novels. (I say Nordic because some of the writers I’ve found are from Iceland and Finland.) Unfortunately, some of the ones I still want to read haven’t been translated into English yet, but I check for them all the time. The detectives are interesting and the mysteries are intricate. One thing I have noted is that many of the main characters (police) often suffer from a kind of angst or depression. Some say it is due to the long winters, and sometimes it seems to be related to the darkness of their jobs. I’d love to hear some book suggestions from our friends in the Nordic countries if any of you are into good mysteries. Do you have favorite Nordic mystery writers? Here are the authors that I’ve read so far. Steig Larsson. Swedish. I’ve read all the Tattoo novels. James Thompson. His Inspector Vaara novels take place in Finland. Wow, they are good but rather grizzly and gruesome. Camilla Lackbery. Swedish. Only a few of her Detective Patrick Hedstrom novels have been translated into English. I hope more are translated soon. Arnaldur Indridasun is an Icelandic writer, and I’ve read all of his Inspector Sveninsson novels. Ake Edwardson. Swedish. I’ve read all of his Detective Erik Winter novels. Ann Holt. Norwegian. I’ve read two of her Detective Stubo novels and am hoping her next two will soon be translated. I’ve tried two novels by the Swedish writer Jo Nesbo, but I just can’t get into him. Note that I haven’t started the Kurt Wallendar novels by Mankell. I’d like to read those in order when I find the time. I’d love to hear other suggestions from any of you.    Posted:   Jul 31, 2011 - 4:08 AM     By:   Per   (Member) Ann Holt. Norwegian. I’ve read two of her Detective Stubo novels and am hoping her next two will soon be translated. I’ve tried two novels by the Swedish writer Jo Nesbo, but I just can’t get into him. Jo Nesbø is norwegian, not swedish. And this might be just nitpicking, but it's Anne Holt, with an 'e' at the end.    Posted:   Jul 31, 2011 - 9:51 AM     By:   joan hue   (Member) Oops, Per, my apologies. I keep a list of writers I like and obviously didn't check it for accuracy. Hope some people will chime in with insights and suggestions.    Posted:   Jul 31, 2011 - 11:40 AM     By:   Thor   (Member) I've never been too hot on crime fiction, to be honest, neither Scandinavian or otherwise. And I can't stand Jo Nesbø and his pretentious prose (that is really quite clichéed and empty at the core). So sorry, Joan.    Posted:   Jul 31, 2011 - 3:06 PM     By:   joan hue   (Member) Thanks for checking in, Thor. Doesn't look like there are Nordic mystery lovers on this board, and that's okay.    Posted:   Jul 31, 2011 - 9:59 PM     By:   riotengine   (Member) Thanks for checking in, Thor. Doesn't look like there are Nordic mystery lovers on this board, and that's okay. Newsweek had an interesting piece on that very subject recently. I'll try to find it. Found it. http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/05/15/scandinavian-thriller-obsession.html Greg Espinoza    Posted:   Jul 31, 2011 - 11:18 PM     By:   joan hue   (Member) Thank you, Greg, for posting that article. Good article. Ironically, Nesbo's The Snowman is a big seller here, and I tried and tried to get into it, but couldn't. I loved the last paragraph of the article that kind of explains why Americans are so into Scandinavian mysteries. Amazon lists a lot of Nordic writers because they are so popular.    Posted:   Aug 1, 2011 - 12:13 AM     By:   Tobias   (Member) Joan, have you tried to read Swedish authors Sjöwall & Wahlö`s books about Martin Beck?    Posted:   Aug 1, 2011 - 9:29 AM     By:   joan hue   (Member) Tobias, I have not read those authors. I just went in to read about that series. I'll see if I can find a few. Thanks for the suggestion.    Posted:   Aug 1, 2011 - 8:24 PM     By:   KMA   (Member) If you get MHz Worldview (a digital channel usually affiliated with public television stations) in your area there's an interesting documentary airing tomorrow (8/2) called Lone Wolves & Dragon Tattoos: How Scandinavian Crime Fiction Conquered The World. With Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy topping the bestseller lists and Kenneth Branagh starring as Henning Mankell's Detective Kurt Wallander on TV, Scandinavian crime fiction has never been hotter. But what is it about these characters and the worlds they inhabit that hold such universal appeal? Lone Wolves & Dragon Tattoos traces the evolution of Nordic crime fiction, from its humble beginnings with Sjöwall-Wahlöö's Martin Beck novels of the 1960s straight through to the worldwide phenomenon of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, featuring interviews with some of the genre's brightest stars - authors Henning Mankell (Wallander), Gunnar Staalesen (Varg Veum) and Håkan Nesser (Van Veeteren) - as well as the actors and producers who bring these mysteries to life on-screen. Produced by MHz Networks and Nordic Blast Entertainment. In English, Swedish and Norwegian with English subtitles. http://www.mhznetworks.org/schedule/    Posted:   Aug 1, 2011 - 11:33 PM     By:   joan hue   (Member) KMA, I wish I could see that documentary, but I can't get that channel. Maybe someday I can get it in DVD. Thanks for the information. I do think Nordic mysteries are really becoming popular in America. I noted your quotation mentioned Staalesen and Nesser, and I found both at my local library. Great!!    Posted:   Aug 2, 2011 - 12:36 AM     By:   Tobias   (Member) But what is it about these characters and the worlds they inhabit that hold such universal appeal? Reading the above text made me think of a discussion I hade with my classmates and teacher when I studied filmtheory in Stockholm (I have once worked as a filmcritic). I think I was the only one who did not think that the movies based on Mankell`s Wallander and Sjöwall-Wahlöö`s Martin Beck is not terrible/horrible. Both my teacher and I think all the other classmates said openly that they hoped that the Swedish cop movies would someday be as good as the ones made in Denmark. They really hated the Swedish ones because they thought it really sucked. So whenever I said that I had watched a Wallander or Martin Beck movie and liked it they would stare at me and thinking that I could not be serious about it but I was.    Posted:   Aug 4, 2011 - 10:06 AM     By:   chrisarth   (Member) As mentioned, Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö's Martin Beck novels are outstanding. Gunnar Staalesen is also excellent, in the hard-boiled Raymond Chandler tradition. Only a couple of his books have been translated into English though. Lone Wolves & Dragon Tattoos: How Scandinavian Crime Fiction Conquered the World (featuring interviews with both Maj Sjöwall and Staalesen, amongst others) will very shortly be available on DVD from http://www.mhznetworks.org/shop    Posted:   Aug 4, 2011 - 12:16 PM     By:   Ryan Brennan   (Member) Joan, have you tried to read Swedish authors Sjöwall & Wahlö`s books about Martin Beck? These are really good. Highly recommended.    Posted:   Aug 5, 2011 - 1:39 PM     By:   First Breath   (Member) Henning Mankell - The 5th Woman.    Posted:   Aug 5, 2011 - 1:43 PM     By:   Tobias   (Member) I doubt it is translated to english but Helene Tursten wrote some books about a female cop Irene Huss. There have been some made for TV movies about Huss investigating some crimes in Gothenburg, Sweden. The actress who plays Huss looks a little bit like Sandra Bullock.    Posted:   Aug 6, 2011 - 1:10 PM     By:   joan hue   (Member) I've been gone a few days. Glad to see there are more recommendations. I just finished my first Martin Beck novel, and I liked it a lot. It is interesting to see how cases are solved in the late 60's BEFORE the use of cell phones and DNA. I've also found a few Staalessen novels that have been translated. Thanks for the recommendations.    Posted:   Jul 21, 2016 - 5:24 PM     By:   Jim Phelps   (Member) Hey, Joan Hue! Here's a BBC documentary I thought you might like: Time Shift - Nordic Noir: The Story of Scandinavian Crime Fiction (Sadly, the narrator isn't William McCrum, but rather that annoying woman I've seen on QI on occasion).    Posted:   Jul 21, 2016 - 10:10 PM     By:   joan hue   (Member) Big thanks, Jim, for finding this documentary. I really enjoyed it. It was so interesting to see how history and politics have deeply affected and influenced various crime novelists over several decades and how they use crime novels as commentaries on social issues. Val McDermid who is Scottish, has interesting insights, and I like her books. It was also great to see scenes from the Swedish TV version of Wallander. One author discussed was Karin Fossum, and I have read several of her novels. Another one I discovered since my initial post is Mons Kallenroft, a Swedish author. My favorite new discovery is Sara Blaedel, a Danish writer. She has really taken on the controversial subjects of honor killings, rapes, and the horrors of sex trafficking all too ubiquitous in her country. I hope the BBC does a Part II introducing us to more Scandinavian authors. Thanks again, and I shall now return to watch it a second time.    Posted:   Jul 21, 2016 - 10:57 PM     By:   WILLIAMDMCCRUM   (Member) DP.     Non-Film Score Discussion: Nordic-Scandinavian Mystery Novels    < 1 2  > >>  Go to page:  1 2   First Post    General Discussion • Trading Post • Non-Film Score Discussion  Profile • Preferences • Community Rules • Help/Contact • Search Board You must log in or register to post.   Go to page:  1 2

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