English Translations of Scandinavian/Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

For the month of March 2020 we have nine books, they are:

1) A Drop of Midnight: A Memoir by Jason Diakité to be published 1 March 2020. Sweden.

World-renowned hip-hop artist Jason “Timbuktu” Diakité’s vivid and intimate journey through his own and his family’s history—from South Carolina slavery to twenty-first-century Sweden.

Born to interracial American parents in Sweden, Jason Diakité grew up between worlds—part Swedish, American, black, white, Cherokee, Slovak, and German, riding a delicate cultural and racial divide. It was a no-man’s-land that left him in constant search of self. Even after his hip-hop career took off, Jason fought to unify a complex system of family roots that branched across continents, ethnicities, classes, colors, and eras to find a sense of belonging.

In A Drop of Midnight, Jason draws on conversations with his parents, personal experiences, long-lost letters, and pilgrimages to South Carolina and New York to paint a vivid picture of race, discrimination, family, and ambition. His ancestors’ origins as slaves in the antebellum South, his parents’ struggles as an interracial couple, and his own world-expanding connection to hip-hop helped him fashion a strong black identity in Sweden.

What unfolds in Jason’s remarkable voyage of discovery is a complex and unflinching look at not only his own history but also that of generations affected by the trauma of the African diaspora, then and now.

2) Hammer to Fall by John Lawton to be published 3 March 2020. Finland.

It's London, the swinging sixties, and by all rights MI6 spy Joe Wilderness should be having as good a time as James Bond. But alas, his postings are more grim than glamorous. Luckily, Wilderness has a knack for doing well for himself even in the most unpromising postings, though this has gotten him into hot water in the past. A coffee-smuggling gig in divided Berlin was a steady money-maker but things went pear-shaped when he had to smuggle a spy back to the KGB instead. In the wake of what became an embarrassing disaster for MI6, Wilderness is reprimanded with a posting to remote northern Finland, under the guise of a cultural exchange program to promote Britain abroad. Bored by his work, with nothing to spy on, Wilderness finds another way to make money, this time by smuggling vodka across the rather porous border into the USSR. He strikes a deal with his old KGB pal Kostya, who explains to him there is, no joke, a vodka shortage in the Soviet Union, following a grain famine caused by Khrushchev's new agricultural policies. But there is something fishy about why Kostya has suddenly turned up in Finland--and MI6 intelligence from London points to a connection to the mining of cobalt in the region, a critical component in the casing of the atomic bomb. Wilderness's posting is getting more interesting by the minute, but more dangerous too. Moving from the no-man's-land of Cold War Finland to the wild days of the Prague Spring, and populated by old friends (including Inspector Troy) and old enemies alike, Hammer to Fall is a gripping tale of deception and skullduggery, of art and politics, a page-turning story of the always riveting life of the British spy.

3) Victim 2117: A Department Q Novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen to be published 3 March 2020. Denmark.

In the heart-pounding next installment of the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling Department Q series, a terrifying international investigation reveals the complex backstory of one of the department's own--the enigmatic Assad.

The newspaper refers to her only as Victim 2117--the two thousand one hundred and seventeenth refugee to die in the Mediterranean Sea. But to three people, the unnamed victim is so much more, and her death sets off a chain of events that throws Department Q, Copenhagen's cold cases division led by Detective Carl M�rck, into a deeply dangerous--and deeply personal--case: a case that not only reveals dark secrets about the past, but has deadly implications for the future.

For troubled Danish teen Alex, whose identity is hidden behind his computer screen, the death of Victim 2117 becomes a symbol of everything he resents and the perfect excuse to unleash his murderous impulses in real life. For Ghallib, one the most brutal tormentors from Abu Ghraib, Saddam Hussein's infamous prison, murdering Victim 2117 was the first step in a terrorist plot years in the making. And for Department Q's Assad, Victim 2117 is a link to his buried past--and a clue that the family he assumed was long dead may still be alive.

With the help of the Department Q squad--Carl, Rose, and Gordon--Assad must finally confront painful memories from his years in Syria and Afghanistan in order to hunt down Ghallib. But with the clock ticking down to Alex's first kill and Ghallib's devastating attack, the thinly spread Department Q will need to stay one step ahead of their most lethal adversary yet if they are to prevent the loss of thousands of innocent lives.

4) Letters from Tove by Tove Jansson to be published 10 March 2020. Finland.

"I find myself talking to you about all the great joys, all the agonies, all my thoughts..." - Letter to Eva Konikova, 1946

Out of the thousands of letters Tove Jansson wrote a cache remains that she addressed to her family, her dearest confidantes, and her lovers, male and female. Into these she spilled her innermost thoughts, defended her ideals and revealed her heart. To read these letters is both an act of startling intimacy and a rare privilege.

Penned with grace and humour, Letters from Tove offers an almost seamless commentary on Tove Jansson's life as it unfolds within Helsinki's bohemian circles and her island home. Spanning fifty years between her art studies and the height of Moomin fame, we share with her the bleakness of war; the hopes for love that were dashed and renewed, and her determined attempts to establish herself as an artist.

Vivid, inspiring and shining with integrity, Letters from Tove shows precisely how an aspiring and courageous young artist can evolve into a very great one.

5) Black River by to be publishedn 12 March 2020. Sweden.

Black River is an electrifying return for relentless reporter Tuva Moodyson, from the author of Dark Pines and Red Snow.

FEAR

Tuva’s been living clean in southern Sweden for four months when she receives horrifying news. Her best friend Tammy Yamnim has gone missing.

SECRETS

Racing back to Gavrik at the height of Midsommar, Tuva fears for Tammy’s life. Who has taken her, and why? And who is sabotaging the small-town search efforts?

LIES

Surrounded by dark pine forest, the sinister residents of Snake River are suspicious of outsiders. Unfortunately, they also hold all the answers. On the shortest night of the year, Tuva must fight to save her friend. The only question is who will be there to save Tuva?

6) The Mist by Ragnar Jónasson to be published 12 March 2020. Iceland.

1987. An isolated farm house in the east of Iceland.

The snowstorm should have shut everybody out. But it didn't.

The couple should never have let him in. But they did.

An unexpected guest, a liar, a killer. Not all will survive the night. And Detective Hulda will be haunted forever.

7) Bait: A short story of cause and consequence in the Arctic by Christoffer Petersen to be published 17 March 2020. Greenland.

When invited on a fishing trip, Constable David Maratse is forced to relive an old case and admit his mistakes before he is allowed to return to shore.

Bait is the eighteenth in a series of novellas to feature Constable David Maratse in Greenland. Each novella is set during Maratse’s career as a police constable, and features aspects of Greenlandic culture, tradition, and not least the stunning natural environment.

8) Lazarus: The most chilling and terrifying serial killer thriller of the year from the No. 1 international bestselling author by Lars Kepler to be published 19 March 2020. Sweden.

Sweden’s most notorious serial killer.
Jurek Walter was shot and killed years ago. The police moved on and managed to forget the darkness that had tainted their lives.

Has come back from the dead.
But now someone is leaving a trail of broken bodies across Sweden and the clues all point to Walter. Detective Joona Linna is convinced his worst nightmare is becoming a reality: the man who tore apart his family has returned to finish the job.

He doesn’t just kill you. He buries your loved ones alive.
When Joona’s partner is taken – and locked inside an underground coffin – he finds himself with an impossible choice: leave her to die or walk into the trap set by the only man he ever feared

9) DOUBLE BLIND: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders by Sara Winokur to be published 24 March 2020. Iceland.

A young boy disappears in the chill of North Iceland. Twenty years later, a mysterious poem lands on the desk of his twin sister Brynja, a forensic geneticist, and rekindles her hopes that her brother might be alive. As Brynja unravels the clues, more poems arrive, each bearing dire consequences for those who receive them: the guard of the medieval manuscript of Icelandic sagas that possibly has the answer to her burning question, the prime minister’s secretary, the local pastor.

Is the poet out to stop Brynja from finding her brother and shut down her access to the DNA database? Or is the verse maker simply a psychopath copycat killer?

Fighting the visual auras that have plagued her since childhood and now threaten everything she holds dear, Brynja must summon the strength to navigate the twisted labyrinth of the poet’s mind and confront the dark secret buried in her family’s past.

"DOUBLE BLIND: The Icelandic Manuscript Murders" is a wild ride through the cultural landscape of Iceland, from rural farmsteads to icy fjords to the high-tech world of DNA forensics. This crime thriller packed with twists and turns will keep you at the edge of your seat until the very end.

......As always we will add books as they become known to us. Good reading.

I should have counted this book because it hasn't shown up on Goodreads yet. "Seven Shoes" by Mark Davis, an American author, to be published 23 March 2020. Norway.

On a summer s morning, seven healthy and successful people hike in darkness to the summit of Norway s Pulpit Rock, a cliff outthrust 2,000 feet above the scenic Lysefjord. As the rising sun inflames cliffs on the opposite side of the fjord, they join hands, walk to the edge and leap together into the void. Dr. Elizabeth Barrett Browne, world-renowned expert in suicide, follows the digital breadcrumbs to the mastermind behind these deaths the goddess Freyja, a wickedly clever woman or man who hides behind a convincing, full-motion digital persona on the dark web to lure people into conversation, winnow out the vulnerable, and prey on their psyches with a deadly mixture of hallucinogens and perverted psychotherapy. The closer Elizabeth gets to unmasking Freyja, the deeper Freyja gets into Elizabeth s own life and secrets a woman haunted by family suicide, desperately worried about the well-being of her college-age son, and fearful that one day she, too, might succumb to the ledge.

A Full Cold Moon by Lissa Marie Redmond published 1 March 2020. Iceland.

A murder of an Icelandic man during a Full Cold Moon reminds Lauren Riley of a previous case she failed to solve. She is determined not to let it happen again.

Since her partner on the Cold Case team has been out of action after being shot in the line of duty, Lauren Riley has been working Homicide. Her latest case involves an Icelandic man murdered on the streets of Buffalo mere feet from his hotel.

The brutality of the case hits Lauren hard. When she realizes the murder was committed on the night of a Full Cold Moon, it triggers memories of the first cold case she investigated that she's been unable to solve.

Lauren is determined not to fail again but when she is involved in a shooting with a suspect, she finds the case may be taken out of her hands . . . especially when it gains attention from the Icelandic government.

Christer Tholin wrote Guilty? to be published 20 March 2020.
Sweden.

Stockholm: From one day to the next, 16-year old Hanna just vanishes without a trace. Her worried parents hire detectives Lars and Elin to find their daughter. The two of them do just that and very quickly. However, Hanna’s problems are far from over – she is trapped in the clutches of a “loverboy”. Just a couple of months later, the two private detectives are asked to help once again, because now Hanna is facing a much more serious issue. This difficult assignment pushes everyone involved to their limits …
GUILTY? is the fourth, standalone book from Christer Tholin’s Stockholm Sleuth Series.

Christoffer Petersen has a new book out the 25 March 2020 called "Outbreak Anthology: A collection of infectious stories for changing times". Greenland.

The lines between fact and fiction are blurred in this infectious collection of short stories, novellas and one pandemic novel.

Including three previously published works, each available separately, this collection features Constable David Maratse (Dark Christmas and Virusi) from the Greenland Crime series, and FEMA area manager Jaylen Lewis (End of the Line), as they are both forced to deal with virus outbreaks in the Arctic.

The short stories Ready to Assemble and Zubmarine take infectious diseases to the next level as the author explores the concept of zombies in Greenland.