English Translations of Scandinavian/Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Introduce yourself. Everybody's nosey so they want to know something about you. Why you like books, ect...

Hi! I'm a librarian in Pittsburgh, and I'm obsessed with Finland, which carries over into other Nordic countries, as well as Scandinavian stuff. I discovered Nordic crime fiction by searching for any fiction set in Finland. I also read a lot about botanical documentation and other non-fiction.

Hi, I'm Kenneth. I'm 65 years old, married with 3 children, 4 grandchildren. I'm located in a sub. of Chicago. I sell mysteries on the side on Amazon, Used books. It's for one of my grandchildren. I had a grandpa that came from Sweden, so that's peaked my interest. I started out with Helene Tursten. It's bubbled ever since into a new author. We have a lot of authors on our book list so feel free to add any if you can. Have fun reading. I have a picture of a cat swimming because that's how I feel sometimes. No offense to our cat Eden, I thought the picture funny. Also, I got my daughter from Austria to join.

Hi everyone! I currently live in NJ and this is my first time joining an online book club. I got drawn into the Scandinavian mystery genre after watching the Wallander series on PBS. I am now hooked and love finding new authors that I would probably never have heard of before.

Hi there! I'm Molly. I'm originally from Buffalo, NY but I've lived in Nashville for 6 years. I'm also a librarian. This does not mean my books are organized at home. Crime novels are a new thing for me, and I am well and truly hooked. When I'm not reading Scandi Crime, I'm usually reading, well, whatever is next to my nightstand.

My two favorite books of all time are (not crime novels, mind): Sombrero Fallout / by Richard Brautigan and Cloudstreet / by Tim Winton.

Hi, I'm Dave, I'm not a librarian but I am also originally from Buffalo, NY. Lived in Atlanta for about 20 years, have been here in Texas for 10 and hopefully one day I'll be living Sweden.

I discovered Scandanavian Crime fiction randomly via an interview/review of Arnaldur Indridason that lead me to his work and subsequently to seek out other authors in the genre and have been hooked ever since.

Aside from reading, I'm also an avid music fan and cyclist.

Hi, I am Ellen. I am a librarian. I live in the Finger Lakes wine country in New York State. I work for a public library system doing a variety of things. I have always read mysteries since I was a child and my father brought them home from the library. Initially I was attracted to Nordic mysteries because of the Larsson books and withdrawal symptoms after finishing the third one. But I also think I'm drawn to the complexity of the characters and the sense of place in them. My fiction reading is mostly American mystery series and realize I was getting bored with what I was reading. So far the Nordic authors I have read have been very engaging.

Hi all, I am another librarian Marie. I'm from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and this is also my first online book club. I love mysteries but also like to 'palate cleanse' between with historicals, or more recently, urban fantasy.
My first Scandanavian mysteries were Indridason and Sigudardottir, they seemed to follow on naturally from some of the dark Edinburgh based stories I had just read. I started a mystery bookgroup four years ago and after finding we (nearly) all liked the Scandanavian ones we gave in and devoted an entire year to them. We have had a lot of discussions about their apparent obsession with the weather.

Hi! I am Sara. I live in the Pacific Northwest. I have a 5 month old son, which is why I haven't said much lately. I love Law and Order, CSI etc. so crime fiction was a logical next step.I have always had an interest in the Nordic countries but it was really piqued by the Stieg Larsson trilogies.I then moved to Wallander and here I am!

I also love all kinds of other genres, fantasy, any sort of fiction, YA novels, mysteries. You name it and I have probably read something in that genre. I love hanging out with my animals and knitting when I am not reading.

Hello all, my name is Melanie and I am from Arizona. This is my first online book club and I am very excited about it. So far I have just been lurking to see what it is all about. I love mysteries and found myself engrossed in Scandinavian mysteries after watching many films that were based on books from there. The books are usually better than the films.

Besides reading I enjoy spending time with my husband and two children.

Hi all, another Aussie here (though sorry Molly I'm the minority who doesn't like Cloudstreet even though I think Tim Winton is a top bloke). I mainly read crime fiction, tring to read from all over the world including the Scandinavian countries. Favorite authors from the region include Johan Theorin, Arnaldur Indridason, Asa Larsson, Liza Marklund

Hi Bernadette! Completely off topic: Cloudstreet is the only Tim Winton I've read yet. Do you have other recommendations? I picked up a copy of "Breathe" a while back. Also, I love the First Tuesday Book Club! I wish the US had a similar program. I watch it every month!

Hi everyone! Well well so far I seem to be the only actual Scandinavian who feels like presenting herself. I'm Trine and I live in Copenhagen where I study at Copenhagen Business School (Information Management). I'm a big fan of Scandinavian crime fiction, especially Sweden's amazing authors. Otherwise, I like historical fiction.

Molly wrote: "Completely off topic: Cloudstreet is the only Tim Winton I've read yet. Do you have other recommendations? "

My favourite of his is Dirt Music. If you can find the 'soundtrack' that was released with it the reading experience is a unique one - it was a double CD with one CD of mostly bluegrass/country music (Australian-style) and the other CD of classical music.

And I agree, we are very lucky to have First Tuesday Book Club

Hello, I am Rachel and live in the UK. I am a History teacher so my job doesn't always leave me with the energy to do lots of reading as I have to read alot for work. Steig Larsson got me in to Scandinavian/crime novels, followed by Jo Nesbo and it is pretty much all I have read over the last year. I have read lots of other stuff too ( classics and contemporary) but I find crime/mystery books have reignited my interest in reading..as they are absorbing and not too heavy going. Looking forward to reading more and branching out into other areas. Slowly updating my goodreads library of books that I have read over the last few decades..well, the ones I can remember anyway.

Hello, everyone.

I'm Junying, originally from China but now residing in Birmingham, UK. I love Scandinavian crime fiction, ever since I discovered Hennin Mankell some years ago. Stieg Larsson has to be one of fav authors - I read his second two books in hardbacks because I could not wait! I have also read Camilla Lackberg and has Jo Nesbo on my reading list. I'd love to hear what other wonderful Scandinavian books other members have read, so I can expand mine. Thanks & happy reading, everyone! Junying

What a great topic for a Group!!!! so happy to be a member!!!
Rick

Welcome all people from the UK! Probably a third of the people so far
are British, Canadian, or Australian. We'll try to answer any questions
you have, but the time lines maybe rough.

Hi all, I'm Ian from Liverpool in England. I read lots of genres but love Scandinavian crime fiction - like most I started with Mankell and Larssen but have branched out into Nesbo, and lately Indridason with Nesser, Alvtegen and Sjowall on my kindle tbr list. Great to join a group that loves this particular brand of thriller and also has a moderator who likes Half Man Half Biscuit....what could be better?

Hi
I am a retired high school teacher living near Toronto. I am growing more and more into this genre. My first was Indridason, then Mankell, read all three Larsson and now I'm into Nesbo. I hope to move onto Kjell Ericson (sp?). So far, Nesbo has been the best, but generally I am enjoying them all.

Hi I'm Jane Routley, a fantasy author. I came across this group through Goodreads. I live in Melbourne Australia now but I lived in Denmark for about 7 years and miss it and love reading about it. I used to go over the straits to Malmo and Ystad for lunch sometimes. I like Mankell and Indridason and Larssen. I'm also a big fan of John Arvide Lindqvist whose Let the Right one in and Harbour both have mystery elements among the fantasy. Also love Scandi detective show which we get on telly in Aussie. Unit one, The eagle, Inspector Wallander. Anyone else like these?

Hello. Another Brit here. I've only just joined Goodreads and I'm still finding my way around but when I spotted your group I had to join. I'm currently rereading the Martin Beck series (although I'm a little behind you I'll soon catch up).

Jane wrote: "Hi I'm Jane Routley, a fantasy author. I came across this group through Goodreads. I live in Melbourne Australia now but I lived in Denmark for about 7 years and miss it and love reading about it..."

Hi Jane - just to say that I loved the Wallander series. We had both the Swedish original and the one starring Kenneth Branagh. I love the sheer starkness of the landscape and the grimness of some characters.

I thought the BBC Branagh version was a pale shadow of the original - Branagh is just too pretty and not gritty enough to play Wallander

Yes, I agree with you, Ian. I also prefer the original, more realistic and closer to the books.

Hi My name is Daniela. I am Brazilian and I love to read, as everyone here. I have a degree in History and I study English in the Languages ​​and Literature course in college.

I would like to know more about Nordic and Scandinavian literature. When I found this group I thought that the discussions made ​​here could help me learn more.

Books that fit in this group I just read the Millennium trilogy. But I think to deepen my reading from the information I will found here.

Sorry for the probable errors in my writing, I'm still learning English.

Hi, I'm Fiona from Scotland and love reading - whole mix of authors and topics. Started Scandanavian with Henning Mankell, then Larsson,Jo Nesbo, Indridasson etc but haven't read any of the Martin Beck series. that's about to change - next in my queue!
Can also recommend some Scottish authors that I'm sure are well known to you - Ian Rankin, Quintin Jardine (early Bob Skinners are the best), Val McDermid and for gore Stuart McBride

Hi, I'm Christina from Reno, NV. Ever since reading Steig Larson's books I've been on a mystery kick. Recently reading The Hypnotist, The Preacher, Faceless Killers, and the Snowman. I'm going on a cross country road trip and will need new recommended novels.

Hi, is Johann Theorin available over there?

Luci wrote: "Hi, is Johann Theorin available over there?"

His first two "Echoes from the Dead" and "The Darkest Room" are the only two available in the U.S. so far.

Hi, I'm Julie and I live in Essex. I work as a medical secretary and am fortunate enough to have a job that I love. I used to be a librarian before having my son and since then have worked in a school and been a practice manager for a GP.

I love reading and particularly love scandinavian crime fiction. Henning Mankell was my introduction to this genre via the Wallander TV series & I much prefer the grittier Swedish version to the watered down British one. I have also read books by Anne Holt, Jo Nesbo and Mari Jungstedt & have a whole list of others on my 'to read' list.

I love the darkness of Scandinavian fiction and would welcome any suggestions as to what to read.

Hallo, I'm Ulrike from Saxony, Germany, where I teach English, Russian and information science at an evening school.
The latter I'm presently doing as postgradual additional studies at our local university. As that includes at lot of computer work, I've started listening audio books more and more to relieve my eyes.

I'm quite interested in English, Scottish and Irish history, I guess I know more about that than about my own country's one. On the ferry across the English channel I came across Bernard Cornwell, whose books I've been enjoying enormously.

But I like Scandinavian crime as much, although so far I've mostly watched it/them on TV. Some Wallander episodes, the mini series The Eagle and at the moment The Protectors are on here.

It's ok to read the novels in my mother tongue when the English version is not the original one, isn't it?

I am curious what reading and discussing books together might be like - outside a school situation.

I am jealous that you have probably a greater range to pick from then we do in the US., more books, etc. Of course read in German. We can see if there's different meanings. If and when we get the books.

Hey there y'all. :) I'm from just north of New Orleans, and am retired. My OH introduced me to Scandinavian authors through Henning Mankell, but I've branched out to Jo Nesbo, K.O. Dahl and of course Stieg Larsson. I've recently added Kjell Eriksson and Arnaldur Indridason to my TBR pile.

It's nice to find a group focused on my new favorite genre. :)

Oh, I almost forgot Peter Hoeg!

Hi all! Trish here from sunny humid Florida, USA. I retired in 2009 from the Navy, and was able to reacquaint myself with my passion of reading. I joined a couple book clubs...for the first time in my life and it was there I was first exposed to my first Scandinavian works. My likes have always included eclectic genres. I'm a native Minnesotan and both great grandparents emigrated from Scandanavia (Norway & Sweden) so this genre has a special interest to me. I also lived in Europe during my time in the military & traveled while was there. It is fun to find references to sites where I have visited.

Julie wrote: "Hi, I'm Julie and I live in Essex. I work as a medical secretary and am fortunate enough to have a job that I love. I used to be a librarian before having my son and since then have worked in a ..."

Hi julie - of the books I have read recently, the ones I would recommend to others are 3 Seconds by Roslund and Hellstrom and Mercy by Indridason. Very different but both enjoyable. I have posted reviews on both books which are on my read bookshelf

Hi! 4 years ago I've been studying Swedish language for a while and just then I discovered Scandinavian Crime fiction. I really like books by Anne Holt and Jens Lapidus. I'm a student of German and Danish and I live in Poland.

Hi! My name is Daniela, and I live in San Diego, CA. I haven't read much Scandinavian crime fiction, but after reading books by Stieg Larssen and Jo Nesbo, it is quickly becoming a new favorite genre. Aside from enjoying mysteries and thrillers from Scandinavia, I really hope to travel there at some point.
Aside from enjoying books, I also enjoy traveling, cooking, theater, film and red wine.

Hi all, my name is Maggie and I live in the West Midlands (UK). I haven't read too much Scandi fiction but what I have read I really enjoy. I've read Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy, Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen - and have all the Jo Nesbo books on my TBR shelf, plus some Henning Mankell and Camilla Lackberg - oh and the Hypnotist by Lars Keppler. Looking forward to some recommendations.
I'm also a massive fan of The Killing (NOT the US version) and can't wait for the second series to start on BBC4. Also love the Swedish original of Wallander (although the Kenneth Branagh version isn't bad).
I also love music (Bruce Springsteen in particular, a fan for over 30 years!) and film - oh and Emmerdale!

HI Maggie,

Good to see someone not far from me (Sutton Coldfield), so welcome, although I'm new in this group too, only joined a few days ago. I was delighted to discover this group.

I've just sent you a friend request:)

Hi I'm Keliani, I'm a Electronic Engineering student from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and a part-time bookworm. I discovered this group while searching for further reading on swedish/norwegian authors because I'm a great fan of the nordic culture and their work is absolutely interesting. I love crime fiction since I read Larsson's Millenium trilogy so, I'm looking foward to get recommendations from you guys, specially any kind of classics and rare finds :)

Hi, I teach English in an international program at a community college in the Bay Area. I am married to an American Norwegian/Dane and have learned more about why he is like he is through all of the Nordic writers I've been reading, starting with the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Salander is the greatest character in all literature! And the Swedish movies from the books were wonderful but will never equal the books.

I was delighted to find out that other people fell in love with the Larsson's trilogy and continued to seek out more Scandinavian writers like I did. I have been happily reading Scandinavian crime novels for several months now, and you have inspired me to remain on my quest. I thought recently that I may be finished. I wrote down authors' names I didn't have on my list. And I feel so wealthy!! Thank you all!

Maggie wrote: "Hi all, my name is Maggie and I live in the West Midlands (UK). I haven't read too much Scandi fiction but what I have read I really enjoy. I've read Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy, Mercy by J..."

Hi Maggie

Welcome to the site. I only joined a few days ago but am already hooked. Also loved the Danish version of The Killing and Spiral which followed it too. Enjoy the site I've already found two new authors

Hi, Maggie, Who wrote The Killing and Spiral -- Larsson? I couldn't find the author's name. Thanks for your reply.

The Killing and Spiral are TV shows only - The Killing feels like it should have been a book though.

The recent showing of Spiral on the BBC in the UK was the 3rd series of a French language TV crime thriller called "Engrenages" which means "gears" see link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engrenages

Doesn't look as though it has been sold into the US but DVD of the 1st BBC (ie with English subtitles) series is available. I thought it was great - really dark and gritty with fab acting from proper actors not the beautiful, cosmetically enhanced ones that seem to now inhabit all US series. There are 3 more series planned.

Hi, I'm Verity, I'm a 22 year old currently working in publishing in South England with a huge love for books.

I must confess that I haven't read much past Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo in terms of Scandinavian and Nordic Crime fiction, but what I have read I've absolutley eaten up from beginning to end. I'm looking forward to finding some new authors within this genre to try!

Hi Verity - what type of publishing and what do you do there?

Hi. I live in suburban Chicago. I have enjoyed police procedurals/crime fiction for years, starting with Ian Rankin. Henning Mankell was my intro to Nordic crime fiction, and I am a big fan. Just finished the Dragon Tatoo trilogy, and was recently introduced to Jo Nesbo. Looking for more to try.

Ian wrote: "The recent showing of Spiral on the BBC in the UK was the 3rd series of a French language TV crime thriller called "Engrenages" which means "gears" see link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E..."

Hi Ian. My husband and I love Spiral. Following watch Series 3 on BBC, I bought Series 1 & 2 from Amazon on DVD - absolutely great and love it. Can't wait for the new series. Any idea when that will come out?