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Martin Holmén

Goodreads Author

Born

in Sweden

Website

http://www.martinholmen.se

Genre

Historical Fiction, Suspense, Crime

Member Since

February 2016

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Basic information: Swedish writer, based in Stockholm. Born in 1974. Teaches History, Swedish and History of Culture and Ideas at an upper secondary school in Stockholm two days a week. Author of the Harry Kvist trilogy (Sweden) or the Stockholm trilogy (UK/USA) or the Metropol series (France).

The first installment CLINCH is set in 1932 when the economic depression hits Sweden. It has been described as gritty, stylish, queer noir fiction with a unique Swedish flavour. Available, or soon to be released, in Australia, France, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Here are three reactions to the english version - from some authorities in the field:

Lynda la Plante : "Clinch is a dark, atmospheric, powerful thriller, ...more

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Combine Editions
Martin Holmén’s books

Average rating: 3.68 · 766 ratings · 161 reviews · 17 distinct works • Similar authors

	Clinch (Harry Kvist, #1) by Martin Holmén (Goodreads Author), Henning Koch (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 3.55 avg rating — 425 ratings — published 2015 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Down for the Count (Harry Kvist, #2) by Martin Holmén (Goodreads Author), Henning Koch (Goodreads Author) (Translator) 4.08 avg rating — 131 ratings — published 2016 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Slugger (Harry Kvist #3) 4.11 avg rating — 90 ratings — published 2017 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Corps à Corps Episode 2 by Martin Holmén (Goodreads Author), Marina Heide (Translator) 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Clinch; Nere för räkning; Slugger (Harry Kvist, 1-3) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Corps-à-corps by Martin Holmén (Goodreads Author), Marina Heide (Translator) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Metropol - Episode 4 Corps à corps did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Corps à corps Episode 3 did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Corps à corps Episode 1 (Gratuit) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Compte à rebours Metropol - tome 2 -Extrait offert- 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Martin Holmén's Blog

It's all about me, me, me!

Official homepage in Swedish and English:
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Published on May 14, 2016 01:03 • Tags: martinholmen-harrykvist

Series by Martin Holmén

Harry Kvist (3 books)
by

Martin Holmén (Goodreads Author)

3.73 avg rating — 646 ratings

Quotes by Martin Holmén (?)

“Life: it’s as simple as a square boxing ring. When you’re in it, you can only fight like hell and hope you’re still standing when you hear the gong.”
― Martin Holmén, Down for the Count

1 likes

“I go back to my doorway. There’s really no reason to beat a dog half to death like that. It’s this damned autumn. The cold and the dark get under people’s skin, cause them inner damage.”
― Martin Holmén, Clinch: Hard-hitting historical noir with an unforgettable leading man

0 likes

“The heart is not a cart horse that can be shackled any old way you like.”
― Martin Holmén, Down for the Count

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See all Martin Holmén's quotes »

Polls

Vote for our January 2016 read

11/22/63 by Stephen King

7 votes, 18.4%

Get Even by Martina Cole

5 votes, 13.2%

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

5 votes, 13.2%

Eden by Candice Fox

4 votes, 10.5%

A Perfect Evil by Alex Kava

4 votes, 10.5%

The Diggers Rest Hotel by Geoffrey McGeachin

4 votes, 10.5%

Invisible City by Julia Dahl

3 votes, 7.9%

One Mile Under by Andrew Gross

2 votes, 5.3%

Split Second by Douglas E. Richards

2 votes, 5.3%

An English Murder by Louise Doughty

1 vote, 2.6%

The Mystery of Granny's Ghost by Neil W.J. Smith

1 vote, 2.6%

Clinch by Martin Holmen

0 votes, 0.0%

38 total votes

2 comments

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
English Translati...: June 2016 read-along	5	62	Jun 14, 2016 05:59AM
Aussie Readers: Marianne's Ongoing Series Challenge: to be continued...	28	48	Jan 02, 2017 03:03AM
English Translati...: Martin Holmén - Down For The Count	1	11	May 15, 2017 03:58PM
English Translati...: June 2017 read-along	14	34	Jun 12, 2017 01:52PM
Aussie Readers: Marianne's Translated Books Challenge	12	43	Jun 30, 2017 06:48PM
Aussie Lovers of...: Winter Challenge - June 1st to August 31st 2017	170	78	Aug 28, 2017 10:47PM
Aussie Readers: Marianne's Ongoing Series Challenge: to be continued....	12	24	Jan 01, 2018 10:20PM
English Translati...: Martin Holmén - Slugger	1	3	Jan 17, 2019 09:18AM
English Translati...: Martin Holmén - Slugger	1	5	Feb 28, 2019 05:23PM

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Martin’s Quotes

“The universe is mad, slightly mad.”
― Allen Ginsberg, Reality Sandwiches

32 likes

“Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.”
― Alan Turing

698 likes

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Martin’s Groups

English Translations of Scandinavian/Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers — 2083 members — last activity 9 hours, 12 min ago
A place to discuss Scandi Crime novels, which includes novels from: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark. Whether it's Smilia from Peter Hoeg's S ...more

Goodreads Librarians Group — 300800 members — last activity 11 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more

Mystery & Thriller LGBTQQA — 434 members — last activity Jul 09, 2025 08:57AM
For those who love Mystery and Thriller stories with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer, and Asexual protagonists.

Pulp Fiction — 1909 members — last activity Nov 22, 2025 06:37PM
Hard Boiled detective novels, noir, and great crime novels (old and new)

Scandinavian Crime Fiction — 373 members — last activity Feb 06, 2023 05:36AM
Thanks to a tattooed, adventurous , bisexual computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander, Scandinavian crime fiction is now one of the most popular categor ...more

Goodreads Sweden — 3318 members — last activity 7 hours, 15 min ago
A group for the Swedish members of Goodreads! Join in on book discussions, possible book swaps and all sorts of literature goodness.

The Rough South — 567 members — last activity Jun 30, 2023 03:12AM
If you started as a fan of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor and then found your way to Harry Crews, Barry Hannah, Larry Brown, Melinda Haynes, D ...more

Swedish Book Blogger — 235 members — last activity Jul 04, 2023 11:42AM
Detta är just en grupp för alla bokbloggare runt om i Sverige, här på Goodreads, som en samlingspunkt!

Hardboiled American Crime and Worldwide Noir Fiction — 183 members — last activity Nov 21, 2025 06:06AM
Started somewhat as a reaction to the British cozy mystery of the Agatha Christie style (think Murder She Wrote), there came a demand for something mo ...more