English Translations of Scandinavian/Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

The month of December has 6 books to choose from. As always, we will add books as they become known to us. Good reading.

1) The Snow Angel by Anki Edvinsson to be published on the 1st of December 2023. Sweden.

A teenage suicide. A murdered pharmacist. A missing girl. Is the obvious connection the right one?

When a boy leaps to his death from a bridge in the northern town of Umeå, Sweden, police discover drugs scattered in the snow near his body. The town has seen a dramatic increase in narcotic use among its youth, but nobody knows where the pills are coming from.

Relocating from Stockholm with her teenage daughter, Detective Charlotte von Klint expected Umeå to be a quiet backwater, a snow-covered change of pace from fighting the criminal underworld of the capital. But when a pharmacist is found brutally murdered in her apartment, and a young girl and her dealer boyfriend vanish without a trace after a party, suddenly Umeå doesn’t seem so benign. And the boy on the bridge doesn’t feel like an isolated incident.

Is the dealer the perpetrator? Or just another victim? And can it be a coincidence that a shadow from Charlotte’s past, Syndicates boss Tony Israelsson, has recently been released from prison and is reportedly headed for Umeå?

As the snow deepens and the body count rises, Charlotte and her boss, local cop Per Berg, find themselves in a deadly pursuit, with time rapidly running out.

2) Beast in the Night by Michael Katz Krefeld to be published on the 5th of December 2023. Denmark.

The hunter becomes the hunted when police inspector Mars investigates a series of brutal murders connected to a secret society fueled by a hatred of women.

When Denmark is rocked by a wave of bestial killings that strikes fear in the hearts of women across the country, police inspector Cecilie Mars traces the clues back to an unsolved rape case and a shadowy circle of men driven by a misogynistic fury that knows no limits.

Mixing detective work with a quest for retribution, Mars quickly determines the law alone is not enough to stop the perpetrators. But her brash and uncompromising style creates new enemies—both within police leadership and near her home in Copenhagen’s Nordvest area, where a gang war is raging. Things take an even darker turn when Mars herself is accused of murder. With time running out, she must summon every ounce of her courage to confront the anger that threatens to consume her, blurring the line between predator and prey.

Beast in the Night is another propulsive thriller from the international-bestselling author of the Detective Ravn series and Scandinavian King of Crime, Michael Katz Krefeld.

3) Hidden in Shadows by Viveca Sten to be published on the 5th of December 2023. Sweden.

Secrets, vengeance, and a brutal murder unsettle an idyllic winter paradise in a blood-chilling novel of suspense by the acclaimed author of Hidden in Snow and the Sandhamn Murder series.

In the Swedish resort of Åre, crime is rare. Certainly nothing so brutal as the murder of Johan Andersson, a former Olympic skier found bound and beaten to death in the forest. According to his distraught wife, he didn’t have any enemies in the world. To Detective Inspectors Hanna Ahlander and Daniel Lindskog, the crime proves otherwise. But what could have provoked such rage? And in whom?

As Hanna and Daniel search for answers, Rebecka Ekvall, a vulnerable pastor’s wife, is trapped in an abusive marriage. Isolated from her congregation, she’s afraid of her husband and even more fearful for her life. Because Rebecka carries a fateful secret. But she isn’t the only one in Åre with something to hide.

As Hanna and Daniel continue to untangle the dark histories of a growing list of suspects, they realize that Johan’s murder is just the beginning of a disturbing case about survival and revenge—at any cost.

4) The Little Old Lady Strikes Back by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg to be published on the 5th of December 2023. Sweden.

Martha and the infamous League of Pensioners are back in The Little Old Lady Strikes Back , from the author of the smash-hit The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules .

After stealing some priceless Russian jewels from the Stockholm Auction House, Martha and her gang flee to the small village of Hemmavid to lie low. But what they find is a village in crisis, so they decide they want to help revive the place.

But to do so, the village needs money. In steps the League of Pensioners to arrange events to attract paying tourists. Which all turns out to be a rather delicate, and dramatic, balancing act when you are wanted by the police. Even when the school is about to be closed, they step up to put on classes in technology, seamanship and entrepreneurship so that the students can start companies and create new jobs and hopefully a future.

Having donned the mantle of guerrilla fighters, come to save Sweden’s countryside from depopulation, Will they be able to help the villagers get the attention of the politicians to save the village without being caught?

Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg's socially engaged, riotous comedy is perfect for fans of The Hundred-Year-Old Man Series and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

5) Loki: Journey Into Mystery Prose Novel by Katherine Locke to be published on the 19th of December 2023. viking.

This truly epic adaptation of Kieron Gillen’s Loki series spans the nine realms as the reborn trickster struggles to walk the hero’s path and save the universe from an epidemic of fear.The god of lies has been reborn, but will young Loki be Asgard's savior? When Earth is plagued by an epidemic of fear, ancient prophecy says only Thor can stop the monstrous threat of the Serpent, but without help from Loki, Thor is certain to fail. Aided by a handmaiden from Hel and a demon puppy, Loki must risk everything to find redemption—or doom himself for eternity. Either way, a Nightmare lies in wait hoping to rule the world and Loki will have to risk everything on his craziest scheme of all! Meanwhile, new gods threaten to disrupt the status quo, throwing everything out of balance. Loki must act as a responsible ambassador, but will the nine worlds end in Surtur's fire?In this brand-new prose novel inspired by the epic comic series by Kieron Gillen, young Loki must cross the realms to reclaim his own story, outwit ancient enemies, struggle to do the right thing, and avoid falling in love.

6) The Doom of Odin by Scott Oden to be published on the 19th of December 2023. viking.

As the Black Death rampages across Europe, two creatures of the Elder World clash over the rotting corpse of Christendom in Scott Oden's third book in the Grimnir Series

Skrælingr. Orcnéas. Fomoraig. He is Grimnir . . .

For over a century, he has tracked the dragon, Níðhöggr -- the Malice-Striker -- from the shores of Lake Vänern, across the Baltic Sea, through Russia, and down into the Mediterranean; he has hounded the wyrm from Old Muscovy to Messina. And finally, to the Eternal City -- to Rome, itself.

And outside Rome, on a cold November night in 1347 AD, on the ruins of the ancient Appian Way, Grimnir’s saga comes crashing to an end. A crossbow bolt, loosed in terror, slays him out of hand. It is a mundane finale to a life spent hip-deep in bloodshed and slaughter, surrounded by steel and savagery and the sorcery of the Elder World.

But Death is just the beginning . . .

Now, on the grim and misty isle of Nástrond, under the shadows of Yggðrasil, Grimnir is plunged headlong into the twisted Valhalla that is the afterlife of his people. Here, bloody in-fighting, schemes and betrayals are the order of the day. Grimnir is forced to contend with a cabal of witches, with giants and trolls who have never felt the light of Miðgarðr’s moon, and with his own rapacious kin as he journeys beyond the shores of Nástrond to find answers. And with every death, Grimnir unravels another thread of a monstrous secret woven at the dawn of time -- one that will turn him from the pawn of unknown gods into the most powerful being in the Nine Worlds. And the most hunted.

For he, alone, holds the key to Ragnarök and the Doom of Odin . . .

7) Dead Sweet: This year's most gripping debut thriller – first in an ADDICTIVE new Scandinavian Noir series… by Katrín Júlíusdóttir to be published on the 14th of December 2023. Iceland.

When a celebrated government official is found dead after his surprise birthday party, a young police officer uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives. Icelandic politician KatrÍn JÚlÍusdÓttir's award-winning, breathtaking debut, and first in a chilling series.

When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn't until young police officer SigurdÍs finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.

As Óttar's shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when SigurdÍs finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in SigurdÍs's own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home...

Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off an addictive, mind-blowing new series.

8) The Colombian Blend: Prehistoric Action and Adventure by Christoffer Petersen to be published on the 11th of December 2023.

A young couple's romantic weekend in the Andes takes a drastic turn when prehistoric beasts take to the wing.

The Colombian Blend is a short twenty-minute read, full of prehistoric action and adventure. Best read after Reviver.

9) "The Enemy Camp" by Christoffer Petersen to be published on the 21st of December 2023. Greenland.

When a guide from a cruise ship discovers an empty camp with signs of a struggle, it’s up to Constable Petra Jensen to follow the trail of blood into the mountains.

The Empty Camp is the twenty-first in the Greenland Missing Persons series of novellas and novels set in the harsh, unpredictable Arctic, rich in tradition, myth and culture.

The Empty Campcontinues the adventures of Constable Petra ‘Piitalaat’ Jensen, ably assisted by interesting characters, together with a few familiar faces making cameo appearances in the series.

The Greenland Missing Persons stories are set prior to The Ice Star and Seven Graves, One Winter.

10) Constable Petra Jensen #6: Omnibus Edition by Christoffer Petersen to be published on the 4th of December2023. Greenland.

Travel to Greenland with Constable Petra ‘Piitalaat’ Jensen in this omnibus edition of books 16-18 in the popular Greenland Missing Persons series.

These three previously published mystery novellas feature newly graduated police constable Petra Jensen at the very start of her career, ably assisted by a cast of familiar characters.

This omnibus edition includes:

The Polar Bear Screen
When a sixteen-year-old girl goes missing in the far north along Greenland’s treacherous and remote east coast, Constable Petra Jensen thinks she is part of a rescue mission, only to discover not all is as it seems.

The Mammoth Hunt
When a party of enthusiastic fossil hunters descends on the remote Arctic village of Uummannaq, Constable Petra ‘Piitalaat’ Jensen picks up the pieces when one of them is left behind.

The Fox that Barked
When a local environmentalist raises the alarm about astronomical levels of methane close to a remote community, no one listens until she goes missing.

Pick up Constable Petra Jensen #6 today, and settle in for a chilly read this winter!