English Translations of Scandinavian/Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Hi all. I've seen some great Welsh Noir on demand series, which people have dubbed Celtic Noir. The ones I saw are Hinterland, Keeping Faith and Hidden. I'm surprised how such a small country/people have produced such great quality noir detective series. I'm wondering if anyone knows of any really good Welsh Noir detective writers.

Thanks ahead of time!

Only one I can think of is Ewart Hutton’s Capaldi series.
Good People
Though I have to admit, the whole noir thing bothers me even though I know the appellation has become very popular. Just seem like straight up police procedurals to me.

Miss M wrote: "Only one I can think of is Ewart Hutton’s Capaldi series.
Good People
Though I have to admit, the whole noir thing bothers me even though I know the appellation has become very popu..."

I am with you Miss M..... There are a lot of readers and viewerss and broadcasters alike attaching the term NOIR to thrillers and dramas and it should not be the case. Keeping Faith is a nice drama for instance. Hinterland is a detective drama. There are so many of these. Hidden is just a thriller / detective drama and I cannot see the NOIR in any of them.

I guess the marketing folks always need a hook!

Sharon wrote: "Miss M wrote: "Only one I can think of is Ewart Hutton’s Capaldi series.
Good People
Though I have to admit, the whole noir thing bothers me even though I know the appellation has b..."

Hi guys. I have to say I disagree with you all. I think all 3 of those Welsh series are Noir, with the possible exception of Keeping Faith. It doesn't get much more Noir than Hinterland and Hidden. When one looks for definitions of Noir writing, it's all about the story (dark crime story), the scenery (and lighting), an often depressing backdrop or context, a morose or mentally troubled protagonist (chief inspectors in these cases)...Hinterland and Hidden completely fit the bill, esp Hinterland. Hinterland is as noir as it gets in my opinion. I could also argue that Keeping Faith does as well. If those don't qualify as Noir, what then is Noir I ask you?

Jonathan wrote: "Hi all. I've seen some great Welsh Noir on demand series, which people have dubbed Celtic Noir. The ones I saw are Hinterland, Keeping Faith and Hidden. I'm surprised how such a small country/peopl..."

Glad you mentioned these Jon. I’ve watched Hinterland & enjoyed it, a terrific series. Always thrilled to get recommendations for UK/European mytery/crime series. Added Keeping Faith & Hidden to my list.
Cheers!

Icewineanne wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Hi all. I've seen some great Welsh Noir on demand series, which people have dubbed Celtic Noir. The ones I saw are Hinterland, Keeping Faith and Hidden. I'm surprised how such a sm..."

I so loved Hinterland...the bleak landscapes, the Welsh culture and accent, Richard Harrington's great melancholic character Tom Mathias and the other gloomy depressed characters. The actress in the main role in Keeping Faith puts on one of the most incredible performances I've ever seen. And Hidden is a very gloomy high quality psychological noir series. Also very good acting. And like 2/3 of it is actually in Welsh....very interesting sounding language that is.

Jonathan wrote: "Icewineanne wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Hi all. I've seen some great Welsh Noir on demand series, which people have dubbed Celtic Noir. The ones I saw are Hinterland, Keeping Faith and Hidden. I'm sur..."

Really hope that Hidden has subtitles 😉

Icewineanne wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Icewineanne wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Hi all. I've seen some great Welsh Noir on demand series, which people have dubbed Celtic Noir. The ones I saw are Hinterland, Keeping Faith an..."

That brought a chuckle from me!!! We find we have to use sub titles on the interactive tv almost on all these productions as they now use the dialects full on. One of the best advances in TV technology IMO. Use it for many things, even some regular UK productions now. ;-)

I really enjoyed Robert Lewis's Welsh / Bristol Noir series...

The Last Llanelli Train

Swansea Terminal

Bank Of The Black Sheep

Icewineanne wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Icewineanne wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Hi all. I've seen some great Welsh Noir on demand series, which people have dubbed Celtic Noir. The ones I saw are Hinterland, Keeping Faith an..."

Hidden def has subtitles. Imagine the market they would be limiting themselves to without subtitles....not too many Welsh speakers out there. Many in Wales don't even speak Welsh.

Found Buried Lies by Chris Collett was published September 3, 2018. Happens in the Welsh countryside. Don't know if this is what you're looking for?

Thanks Ken. This appears to be exactly what I was looking for. Some good Celtic Noir reading...

Found Griff Hosker's book Welsh War which was published September 16, 2018.