English Translations of Scandinavian/Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

For the month of October 2024 we have ten books to choose from at present. Books will be added as they become known to us. Good Reading.

1) Saint the Terrifying byJoshua Mohr to be published the 1st of October 2024. Norway, U.S.A. 290 pages.

A West Oakland punk named Saint learns of a criminal operation that steals the instruments of local musicians. In making it his mission to bring the culprits to justice, Saint turns his gritty urban saga into the stuff of legend. Saint the Terrifying is the story of a punk. An ex-con, Saint was raised in the wilds of Norway, where his father brought him up in the old traditions and taught him the way of the Viking. Now Saint finds himself immersed in the Oakland music scene. On stage, he wears a pair of antlers that have been painted with yellow reflective paint, calling to mind bolts of lightning. Off stage, he’s hunting down criminals no one else cares to find, and falling in love with the singer of his band, Trick Wilma. Local author Joshua Mohr taps the troubled vein of class warfare and gentrification in the Bay Area to tell an ambitious tale of love and retribution. Saint’s role as hardboiled detective is informed by Mohr’s deft interweaving of recent history, including Oakland’s Ghost Ship warehouse fire—a tragedy that Mohr revisits in a bold act of reclamation. As Saint uncovers the crew who’ve been stealing the gear around town, the truth threatens to unravel Saint’s world, leading to a heartbreaking showdown. Propelled by a broken Baroque of punk language, Saint the Terrifying examines tensions between community and individual identity, social activism and vigilantism, while taking the reader on a roller coaster ride of hard-boiled twists and hardcore music. A badass’s badass, Saint’s the protagonist that begs the What if Johnny Rotten had a baby with The Rock?
Saint the Terrifying is Book One of the Saint a three-novel epic structured like an Icelandic Viking saga—except this Viking just so happens to live in the 21st century and play in a punk band. The 1000-page project will release as paperback originals over the course of consecutive seasons; and true to the Viking tradition, hits its crescendo at the gates of hell.

2) Catan by Klaus Teuber to be published on the 1st of October 2024. Viking. 512 pages.

Half-brothers Thorolf, Yngvi, and Digur have conspired to help Asla--daughter of Halldor, a powerful Viking chieftain--to escape her father's oppressive rule. However, when they are discovered the chieftain's revenge is swift and mighty. Pillaging his way through the realms of his daughter's liberators, Halldor banishes his kin and has the brothers driven from their land.

Left with no other choice, the three brothers--together with family and their allies--depart their home, sailing for new shores and, after a treacherous voyage, finally reach their destination: Catan, Land of the Sun.

But new challenges await on this island, and new discoveries must be made if they are to survive. Will the brothers be able to stand together and offer a better future for all the settlers, or will this new mission divide them even more ...

3) The Third Realm by Karl Ove Knausgård to be published on the 1st of October 2024. Norway. 512 Pages.

From bestselling author Karl Ove Knausgaard, a kaleidoscopic novel about human nature in the face of enormous change—and the warring impulses between light and dark that live in all of us

Shapeshifting visitors, unsolved murders in the forest, black metal bands, and an online bank of thousands of people’s dreams—the star is back. Karl Ove Knausgaard’s The Morning Star kept readers up all night, immersed with nine characters whose individual lives are heightened by the sudden appearance of a blazing new star, and The Wolves of Eternity portrayed the intimate experiences of two estranged half-siblings decades before the star rises. In The Third Realm, the effects of the star are felt around the world, as people start to reckon with what it might possibly mean.

With this next novel, the limitless scale and ambition of Knausgaard’s new universe are clear. This is life, death, the human condition, and the real-time creation of an epic and utterly immersive world.

4) Nature Tales for Winter Nights by Nancy Campbell to be published on the 3rd of October 2024. Various, Finland. 223 pages.

___ From the author of Fifty Words for Snow comes a treasure trove of nature tales from storytellers across the globe, bringing a little magic and wonder to every winter night. As the evenings draw in – a time of reckoning, rest and restoration – immerse yourself in this new seasonal anthology.
Nature Tales for Winter Nights puts winter – rural, wild and urban – under the microscope and reveals its wonder.
From the late days of autumn, through deepest cold, and towards the bright hope of spring, here is a collection of familiar names and dazzling new discoveries.
Join the naturalist Linnæus travelling on horseback in Lapland, witness frost fairs on the Thames and witch-hazel harvesting in Connecticut, experience Alpine adventure, polar bird myths and courtship in the snow in classical Japan and ancient Rome. Observations from Beth Chatto's garden and Tove Jansson's childhood join company with artists' private letters, lines from Anne Frank's diary and fireside stories told by indigenous voices.
A hibernation companion, this book will transport you across time and country this winter.

5) Victim by Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger to be published on the 10th of October 2024. Norway.

‘ The new novel by the stellar Norwegian crime-writing duo Jorn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger ... tense, brutal and fast-moving' Sunday Times Book of the Month

Two years ago, Alexander Blix was the lead investigator in a missing person' s case where a young mother, Elisabeth Eie, had been kidnapped. The case came to a standstill when Blix' s own daughter was killed and he was arrested for avenging her. Blix is a now free man again, but Elisabeth' s kidnapper has found him, leaving evidence of her murder in Blix' s mailbox.

The police are unwilling to accept Blix' s Even if he was acquitted of his crime, his career in law enforcement is over. But Elisabeth' s murderer continues to pursue him, leading Blix to his new victims, while making it clear that he knows details from Blix' s private life that the former investigator has never shared with anyone...

Meanwhile, Emma Ramm has been contacted by a teenage girl, Carmen, whose stepfather has been arrested on suspicion of killing a childhood friend. But there is no body. Nor are there any other suspects...

Blix and Ramm can rely only on each other. And when Blix' s fingerprints are found on a child' s drawing at a crime scene, the present comes uncomfortably close to the past. A past where a victim has found their very own form of therapy. And it is clear that someone is watching...

Shocking, relentless and unbearably tense, Victim marks the return of the international bestselling, blockbuster Blix & Ramm series from two of Norway' s finest crime writers.

6) The Burning Stones by Antti Tuomainen to be published on the 10th of October 2024. Finland. 251 pages.

‘ The funniest writer in Europe' The Times

Saunas, love and a ladleful of murder...

A cold-blooded killer strikes at the hottest the head of a sauna-heater company is murdered ... in the sauna. Who has turned up the temperature and burned him to death?

The evidence points in the direction of Anni Korpinen – top salesperson and potential successor at Puhti Saunas. And as if hitting middle-age, being in a marriage that has lost its purpose, and struggling with work weren' t enough, Anni realizes that she must be quicker than both the police and the murderer to uncover who is behind it all – before it' s too late...

International bestselling author, Antti Tuomainen, returns with a darkly funny, delightfully tense new thriller that showcases humanity at its most bare – in middle age, suspected of murder and, of course, in a sauna...

7) Blood of the Bear: An epic Viking tale of valour and comradeship by Angus Donald to be published on the 10th of October 2024. Viking. 339 Pages.

Battle calls the berserker once again... AD 781. Pagan Saxony groans under the Christian yoke. The invincible armies of Karolus, King of the Franks, occupy all this freedom-loving land and every Saxon must submit to baptism and pay tithes to the Church, or face death by beheading.

Duke Widukind, leader of the Saxon rebels, is sheltering in the North, beyond Karolus’s reach. He hopes to persuade Bjarki Bloodhand – once a famous berserker, but now a father and family man – and his fierce sister the shield-maiden Tor, to join his revolt against tyranny.

But Bjarki has eloped with Widukind’s sister Edith, who was betrothed to Abbio the Crow. In revenge, Abbio uses seithr to strike at Bjarki – a powerful spell to drive him insane. Can Bjarki resist the long slide into madness? And will Widukind finally liberate Saxony from the Franks?

A Viking epic of rebellion and revenge, perfect for fans of Matthew Harffy and Giles Kristian.

8) Caesaria by Hanna Nordenhök to be published on the 15th of October 2024. Sweden. 188 pages.

On a remote country estate in the 19th century, a renowned obstetrician keeps a young girl that he once carved out of her mother’s body. It is the dawn of modern gynaecology, when the female body appears as a cryptic landscape and male hubris reigns.

The girl lives a dollhouse existence, characterized by supervision and punishment, assault and incarceration. Here, dirt and runaway visions dominate, while vast skies and sticky nature rub against her confinement.

Caesaria is part gothic novel, part fairy tale told in lush and elegant prose. These pages radiate a low-level dread, probing gender warfare and class oppression with dreamlike prose. What is reality to those who have grown up trapped in their own bodies, relying upon their own senses, without any contact with the world outside? Nordenhök shares an astonishing answer, almost mythological in scope, through the story of one eponymous girl.

9) FehuFehu by Malene Sølvsten to be published on the 15th of October 2024. Denmark. 704 pages.

Part thriller, part fantasy, this book will appeal to anyone interested in the supernatural, murder mysteries, or Norse mythology.

For fans of The Raven Boys and American Gods.

Following up on the cliffhanger ending of Book 1, where Anna has learned who is responsible for the series of bestial murders taking place in her hometown and learns that they are connected with an ancient prophecy about the end of the world.

Book 2 sets off with Anna reaching Hrafnheim, an unknown parallel world full of gods, demigods and creatures. There she is picked up by soldiers of the ruler Ragnara, but a renegade officer of the army, Rorik, frees her. Together, they set out to free her twin sister, Serén, who has been captured by Ragnara. The road to the capital of Sént is fraught with deadly dangers, and the vision of her own murder plagues Anna ceaselessly. She begins to understand more and more that Ragnarok, the downfall of the world, is directly linked to her own fate . . .

10) Odinsbane: The Waters of Mimir by Nikolai Sie to be published on the 31st of October 2024. Viking.

Who will survive the ultimate Norse battle?

In the world of Norse mythology and Viking legend, Rurik and his sister Ronja are the remnants of a shattered past. The God king Odin sacrificed their family and home in one of his endless efforts to thwart the end of the world, and now the twins are determined to make the god face the consequences of his arrogance.

Embarking on a desperate quest guided by a mysterious witch and her ancient coven, they uncover a world of epic fantasy and dark witchcraft. Rurik and Ronja navigate a world where powerful foes and mythical creatures contend in battle and trickery.

As they confront these enemies and unravel the secrets of their past, they must adapt to survive the clash of forces greater than themselves.

Odinsbane is a riveting Norse fantasy adventure that challenges the boundaries of fate and the worth of life. With its blend of ruthless deceit and heroic struggles, this tale promises to immerse readers in a saga where gods and mortals collide.

Will Rurik and Ronja punish the God king for his mistakes? Can they survive as their world becomes the battleground for all the realms? Will they conquer the forces that seek to end them?

Will vengeance come at a price?

11) The Wonder Drug: A BRAND NEW totally gripping thriller packed with twists by Susanna Beard to be published on the 24th of October 2024. Iceland. 308 pages.

The truth can be a bitter pill . . .

Michelle will never get tired of the view from her office window. Jagged mountains — and the wintry streets of Reykjavik, Iceland. It’s a perk of her new job at Kimia Pharmaceuticals.

Her old life — a dreary 9-to-5 and a cheating ex back in London — already feels a million miles away.

Still, there’s something strange about Michelle’s new colleagues. They’re all young, beautiful . . . and aloof. But then Michelle meets Lars, a jittery researcher from the restricted upper floors.

She thinks she’s alone in the elevator, until he squeezes between the doors. Just in time. The elevator whirs into action — and judders to a sickening halt.

That’s when it happens. Lars locks eyes with Michelle. Thrusts a folder into her hands.

This is evidence. Hide it . . . I discovered something and I’ll be silenced because of it.

Michelle’s already run from her past. This time, she’ll be running for her life . . .

12) The Wild Horses: A Greenland Missing Persons short story by Christoffer Petersen to be published on the 29th of October 2024. Greenland.

When a group of tourists on a point-to-point horse riding tour in the south of Greenland goes missing, it’s up to Constable Petra ‘Piitalaat’ Jensen to find them.

The Wild Horses is a light, quick read connected to Christoffer Petersen’s Greenland Missing Persons series, guest starring Birgitte Harfeld.

Pick up The Wild Horses and join Constable Petra ‘Piitalaat’ Jensen in Greenland toda