KindlePrintReviews

The Hummingbird by Kati Hiekkapelto

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Translated by David Hackston — Although Finland is often grouped with Scandinavia, its population, language and sensibility are all quite different. That holds true of its crime fiction as well. There is something unnerving and mysterious about the taciturn Finnish detectives, some of whom we’ve…
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Book Club

Reykjavik Nights

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Following the unresolved ending of Strange Shores, the final novel in his Erlendur series, Indridason transports us back in time to the beginning of the detective’s career. A prequel, if you will. Starting out as a traffic officer, patrolling the streets after dark, the darker…
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Book Club

An Event in Autumn

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This really is the last ever Wallander book from Henning Mankell and it’s one to savour. The novella features the Swedish detective in a typically despondent mood as autumn sets in. Suddenly, it seems like a cherished dream is about to come true: a house…
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Features

CIS: A guide to the Martin Beck series

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Between 1965 and 75, the husband and wife team of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (above) wrote a series of 10 police procedurals set in Stockholm, all carrying the subtitle ‘The Story of a Crime’. Their work was distinct from other crime fiction at the…
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iBookKindlePrintReviews

An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell

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Translated by Laurie Thompson — A new Kurt Wallander book by Henning Mankell is a major literary event for fans of this troubled Swedish detective. Mankell was the first of the translated Scandinavian crime writers I discovered a decade ago and he’s still the best….
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iBookKindlePrintReviews

Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen

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Translated by Steve Schein – Published for the first time in English, Alphabet House was Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen’s first book in his native language, predating the Department Q series which includes Mercy and Disgrace. It is an ambitious psychological thriller that was inspired by…
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