Jo Nesbø is currently the major force in the Norwegian crime novel scene and has a huge international reputation. Like many other fictional detectives, Harry Hole has personal problems, including alcoholism and a tendency to land in trouble with his superiors. The novels are exciting, sometimes harrowing and must be read in order of Norwegian publication, not in order of translation into English as there is an important plot thread which runs through the series. The very first two novels have yet to appear in the UK but the big story starts with The Redbreast (which was voted Best Crime Novel in Norway), is in the background of Nemesis and continues in The Devil’s Star. The Redeemer (2009), The Snowman (2010) and The Leopard (2010) maintain the exceptional standard and the alcohol levels.
The other major force in Norwegian detective fiction is Anne Holt, whose work is becoming increasingly well-known. She has two main series of thrillers which are being released in this country: the latest one to appear is 1222. Its plot is most appealing: the 269 passengers of a crashed train are forced to sit out a terrible snow storm in a hotel high in the mountains between Oslo and Bergen. Retired police inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen is among them and as rumours circulate about a secret cargo on the train and an extra, private carriage, one of the passengers is murdered.
If you think Harry Hole has problems, wait until you meet Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson, fiftyish, chain-smoking, divorced and estranged from his family (although his drug-addict daughter turns up increasingly frequently to torment him): wonderful. Erlendur features in the Icelandic novels of Arnaldur Indridasun, the first of which was published here as Tainted Blood but, after a film was made with the Icelandic title translated straightforwardly as Jar City, the title of the book was changed for new editions. 7 books are now available in English: in the latest, Outrage, Erlendur has disappeared on a personal quest and the investigation is headed by his female sidekick Elinborg. Macabre, often harking back to the past while faithfully reflecting present-day Icelandic society the novels reveal Indridasun’s admiration for Alfred Hitchcock. We also come full circle – the crime novels which first caught Indridasun’s eye were those of Sjöwall & Wahlöö:
“What I liked was that there were few fights or guns and all the action was in the characters. This was seemingly just the office life of a policeman doing a job, but it was fascinating.” (Guardian interview June 17 2006)
Finally, check this out!