Friday, February 04, 2011

Nordic Mysteries

Today in Austin we have a touch of the Nordic weather that makes Nordic mysteries such compelling reading. Crime stories from Sewden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland have become the mass-market vehicle that now carries the Nordic countries to the world.

Readers relish Nordic crime in part because of its densely realized local backdrops. In compact, often lonely communities, grim deeds suddenly erupt. The masters of this game often take pains to trace hidden links that bind cosy corners of the wealthy North with a bigger, and poorer, world. In contrast to American mysteries, often the law officers and detectives do not know what they are doing.

You can find a list of Nordic Mysteries listed under Fiction on APL Recommends. You will find authors beyond the well-known Norwegian author Jo Nesbø and Sweden's Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson.

1 comment:

Christi said...

Good to know since I'm on the third of the Larssen series and will need to move on. I read a review recently about the Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom mystery Three Seconds-sounds promising.