Sonja van der Westhuizen

Heatwave by Victor Jestin

6 September, 2021

Translated by Sam Taylor — French author Victor Jestin’s short yet forceful debut novel is part dark coming-of-age novel, part morality tale. Set over the span of a weekend, it tells the story of a 17-year-old who witnesses another teenager dying and chooses not to…

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Tokyo Redux by David Peace

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

3 August, 2021

It’s been almost 12 years since Occupied City, the second instalment in David Peace’s Tokyo trilogy, was published. For fans of this ambitious author it’s been a long wait, but in Tokyo Redux Peace delivers a humdinger which, according to the author, was in part…

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Mammon in Malmö by Torquil MacLeod

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

28 July, 2021

Ex-police detective Anita Sundström is back in the eighth of Torquil MacLeod’s Malmö Mysteries series. It’s been a year since Anita resigned from the Skåne County Police and her current job at the Malmö’s tourism office lacks the excitement she thrived on as a police investigator…

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The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

12 July, 2021

Translated by Victoria Cribb — 2020 was a year of lasts for Icelandic crime writer Ragnar Jónasson. The Mist, the third in the Hidden Iceland trilogy, as well as Winterkill, the final Ari Thór novel, were released the midst of the pandemic. Instead of diving…

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When a Stranger Comes to Town

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

16 June, 2021

Edited by Michael Koryta — Leo Tolstoy is cited as saying, “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” For the latest anthology from the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) guest editor Michael…

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Young Blood by Sifiso Mzobe

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

14 June, 2021

Although South African crime writing has mostly been dominated by white writers, a new generation of black writers is emerging and they’re changing the landscape of South African crime fiction with their fresh perspective. One of them is Sifiso Mzobe, a journalist from Umlazi whose…

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The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

6 May, 2021

Translated by Alexandra Fleming — In 1959, the whole population of a mining village in Norrland, Sweden, disappeared. Only two people were left behind – the body of a woman stoned to death in the village square and a baby in the school classroom. No-one…

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This Land is No Stranger by Sarah Hollister and Gil Reavill

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

21 April, 2021

Our continuing fascination with crime fiction from the Nordic regions has led to several non-Scandinavian authors setting their novels in Sweden, Norway, Iceland and even the Faroe Islands. However, just because you put your characters in Sweden doesn’t necessarily make your novel Nordic noir. Fortunately,…

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About author

Heatwave by Victor Jestin

Tokyo Redux by David Peace

Mammon in Malmö by Torquil MacLeod

The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson

When a Stranger Comes to Town

Young Blood by Sifiso Mzobe

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

This Land is No Stranger by Sarah Hollister and Gil Reavill

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