Genre Guide – Scandinavian Crime

Tessa , East Liberty

Travel to the dark north where a cluster of countries – Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and surrounding islands – has been producing a steady output of grim crime fiction to the delight of the world. While the subgenre “Nordic Noir” really exploded globally with books like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Scandinavian crime fiction has been around since the 60s when Swedish writing partners Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö came out with the first novel in the Martin Beck series, police procedurals that had a great influence on writers like Henning Mankell, who went on to write the popular Wallander series. Scandinavian mysteries and thrillers are often written by pairs, involve social issues of the day, and set in dreary cities or claustrophobic small towns. The investigators tend to be to-the-point, disillusioned with the world, but not above dry humor. See the expanded list on our Bibliocommons account, CarnegieLibraryPGH_Adult.

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Related Tags

Mysteries & Thrillers
Adults

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Book

Roseanna

by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö

A seminal work of the genre and the first book in the Martin Beck Mysteries, procedurals set in Sweden. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby.

The Bat

by Jo Nesbø

Published in Norway in 1997, this is the first of the Detective Harry Hole novels, featuring an alcoholic, obsessive detective solving violent murders on the Oslo Crime Squad. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook and in eAudio on Libby.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson

The blockbuster Millennium novels began with this title, featuring traumatized goth-y hacker Lisbeth Salander and intrepid journalist Mikael Blomkvist and their investigations into Swedish society. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby and in eAudio on Libby.

Last Rituals

by Yrsa Sigur∂ardóttir

The first of the Thora Gudmundsdottir novels, about an attorney investigating crimes all over Icleand. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook and eAudio on Libby, and as an eBook and in eAudio on hoopla.

Walpurgis Tide

by Jógvan Isaksen

Leaving his job as a detective, Hannis Martinsson returns to his hometown in the Faroe Islands, only to be lured into investigating the murders of two young environmental activists.

The Man Who Died

by Antti Tuomainen

Jaakko, a businessman in the field of mushrooms, has only a finite time to find his murderer… because he has been poisoned. Tuomainen demonstrates his talent for writing bizarre and funny crime fiction in this standalone.

The Chestnut Man

by Søren Sveistrup

A twisted serial killer with a distinctive calling card is linked to a high-profile unsolved kidnapping in this violent thriller. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook and eAudio on Libby and as an eBook and eAudio on hoopla.

The Creak on the Stairs

by Eva Björg Aegisdottir

The Forbidden Iceland books focus on the sinister mysteries assigned to Chief Investigating Officer Elma. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on hoopla.

Geiger

by Gustaf Skördeman

One word spoken on a phone call makes an elderly woman shoot her husband. A police officer is tasked with the case, which may have its roots in the Cold War. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby.