Katie Moench is a librarian, runner, and lover of baked goods. A school librarian in the Upper Midwest, Katie lives with her husband and dog and spends her free time drinking coffee, trying new recipes, and adding to her TBR.
In the genre of mysteries and thrillers, novels by Nordic and Scandinavian authors have gained a dedicated following amongst readers around the world. Known for evocative settings that take advantage of the long nights (and sometimes long days) of the far northern part of the globe, these novels are defined by their dark, often bleak vibes and their incorporation of political and social issues.
Nordic noir, as it is commonly referred to, rose to global prominence in the 1990s when translated versions of popular Scandinavian novels became more widely available in English language markets. These novels explicitly incorporated social issues as undercurrents of the main crimes that drove the plot and the detectives that were often the main characters both solved the crime and shined a light on the problems of contemporary society. The realistic, stripped-down style of these writers appealed to readers looking to be drawn into dark stories, and many authors have gained devoted followings for their long-running series that often center around a morose detective solving a continued list of horrifying crimes. Unlike cozy mysteries, these stories rarely offer a tidy, bright ending to the reader, but rather feature a sparse style that recognizes the darkness that’s always just over the horizon.
As the genre has continued to develop, many Nordic mysteries and thrillers have tackled contemporary social issues, such as the strains of loneliness and the tensions between existing populations and immigrants, as well as the history of indigenous groups like the Sámi who have often been overlooked by their government. This has brought forth new, multicultural authors into the Nordic novels space, which you can learn more about here.
Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius
Centered around Elsa, a member of the indigenous Sámi people, Stolen interweaves Nordic mystery and the culture of the Sámi, a historically marginalized group for whom reindeer are both a sacred symbol and a way of life. As a young girl, Elsa sees a reindeer murdered, but the local police are apathetic when her father reports the crime. As Elsa becomes a young woman, she decides to once again try to solve the crime, but this time the hunter comes after her. This novel marries the cultural and social history of the Sámi with a captivating mystery and enthralling setting.
Murder Under the Midnight Sun by Stella Blómkvist
The Stella Blómkvist books are written by an anonymous author, the pen name comes from the main character: Reykjavík attorney Stella Blómkvist who in this novel finds herself being asked to solve multiple cases: the disappearance of a young girl, the proclaimed innocence of a man accused of murdering his father-in-law and mistress, and the identity of an arm that has emerged from an ice cap, wearing a ruby ring.
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The Guests by Agnes Ravatn
Married couple Karin and Kai have borrowed a luxurious home on the Norwegian fjords in hopes of escaping the stress of their lives. However, rather than being a calming retreat, the home and its wealthy neighbors are a constant reminder of the faults and wants in their own lives. When Karin tells a lie to an unfriendly neighbor, she and Kai become entangled in a spiral of deceit and psychological suspense that contrasts the beauty of their surroundings with the nightmares that lurk just below the surface.
The Mermaid by Anki Edvinsson
The Mermaid utilizes the Nordic tradition of tackling social and political issues in crime fiction by examining the tensions between the existing residents of a small town and the recently arrived immigrants who have settled there. The book opens when the body of a houseless woman is found in the river and an immigrant who was in the vicinity at the time is accused of her murder. The next time the suspect is seen is when he walks into the town square wearing a bomb-laden vest and carrying a detonator. But is he actually a murderer? Or a victim in a tangled crime?
Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jónasson
In 1983, a nurse is found murdered at a sanatorium turned hospital in Iceland. After an investigation that identifies initial suspects, the chief physician dies by suicide, leading the investigators to believe he was behind the killing and to close the case. In 2012, Helgi Reykdal, a young police officer, returns to Iceland from the UK and begins investigating the 1983 case as part of his research in historical murders. As he unravels the decades-old investigation, new and deadly revelations come to light.
The Mountain King by Anders de la Motte
Known for his atmospheric and haunting writing, De La Motte’s latest book is the first in a planned series about Criminal Inspector Leonore Asker from Malmö’s Major Crime Division. When a high-profile kidnapping case goes awry, Asker is relegated to the Department of Lost Souls, a dumping group for odd, cold cases. There, she begins to investigate a series of odd figurines that have begun appearing in abandoned buildings, a search that takes her into some of the darkest, most vile parts of the city.
The Cuckoo by Camilla Läckberg
The Cuckoo is the latest installment in Läckberg’s popular Detective Patrik Hedström series. In the small, Swedish coastal town of Fjällbacka, a famous photographer is found dead in his gallery just before a wealthy local family faces a tragedy of their own. Detective Hedström is called in to solve the case, while dealing with rising tensions with the local police department and strange behavior from his boss. Meanwhile, Hedström’s wife Erica is in Stockholm looking into a cold case for her next book and uncovers dangerous secrets tied to the mystery her husband is investigating.
Blood Ties by Jo Nesbø
One of the most popular Nordic writers on a global scale, Nesbø has written both series and standalone stories that are excellent starting places for those looking to get into Nordic suspense. In his newest novel, Blood Ties, Carl and Roy Opgard are brothers who have found a decent level of success running businesses in their small town. When their livelihoods are threatened by new highway construction, the brothers are determined to bring the project down, no matter how dirty, or deadly, their methods may be.
If you’re looking to learn more about Nordic noir, check out these ten novels that will help you further explore the genre. And if you’d like to learn more about different styles of mystery novels from around the world, take a look at the books here.
English (US) · 