The best of Scandinavian crime fiction in translation is rewarded each year with the Petrona Award, and this year’s shortlist has been announced.

With Finnish and Norwegian authors coming to the fore, the nominees are:

The Drowned Boy by Karin Fossum, translated by Kari Dickson
The Defenceless by Kati Hiekkapelto, translated by David Hackston
The Caveman by Jorn Lier Horst, translated by Anne Bruce
The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz, translated by George Goulding
Satellite People by Hans Olav Lahlum, translated by Kari Dickson
Dark as My Heart by Antti Tuomainen, translated by Lola Rogers

This is a strong selection, and all but one have been reviewed well on Crime Fiction Lover (click the titles to see our reviews). It’s perhaps surprising that no Icelandic books have made the shortlist, and that Jo Nesbo’s Blood on Snow and Midnight Sun haven’t made the cut – both are on our Recommended list. Good luck to all the authors and translators as the judges deliberate the winner.

They include crime fiction journalist and author Barry Forshaw; Dr Katarina Hall who edited Crime Fiction in German: Der Krimi; and crime novelist Sarah Ward. The award will be made during CrimeFest 2016 in Bristol next month.

The Petrona Award was established to celebrate the work of Maxine Clarke, one of the first online crime fiction reviewers and bloggers, who died in December 2012. Maxine, whose online persona and blog were called Petrona, was passionate about translated crime fiction but in particular that from the Scandinavian countries. You can find out more about the Petrona Award here.