In a region of Cameroon populated by people outsiders call pygmies, a Danish development project has gone off the rails. Then, shortly after a visitor from the Danish foreign ministry is glimpsed on a visit, the local liaison between the project and the Danes is brutally murdered. Back home in...
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Many Americans harbor an image of Denmark as one of the most progressive and livable countries in the world. That may well be the case—the country’s rankings on global indexes support it—but you might well gain a different impression of Denmark if you read the crime thrillers written by...
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Unless you’re a devoted fan of the genre, you may be unaware of the sheer number of mystery and thriller series. I stumble across a new one about every month or two. Over the past ten years, I’ve read (or at least started reading) more than 100 such series. Over four dozen of them...
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The bestselling Danish thriller writer Jussi Adler-Olsen ranks among Scandinavia’s top literary exports. A Conspiracy of Faith, the third entry in his Department Q series of detective novels, matches the first two books in suspense, intensity, and complexity with a tangled tale of religious...
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I’ve been wondering something about all this Nordic crime fiction that keeps creeping onto bestseller lists around the world. Since Scandinavia has one of the lowest rates of crime of anywhere in the world, do all those murder mysteries and thrillers from the region tell more stories about...
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Carl Morck is a troublemaker. As a detective on the homicide squad in the Copenhagen police, his rude behavior caused so much distress among his coworkers that they went out of their way to avoid him. Then he and his two partners were ambushed by an unknown assailant. One of the partners ended up...
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes You know about Scandinavian noir from Sweden (Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson) and Norway (Jo Nesbö). How about Denmark? If your memory’s long, perhaps you’re familiar with Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg, which came out of Denmark (and...
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Scandinavia exports as many thriller writers as Japan exports cars — or so it would seem. Here comes Camilla Lackberg on the heels of . . . well, if you read crime fiction, you’re familiar with the authors of the many Scandinavian thrillers that have cracked the U.S. bestseller lists....
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Science Fiction Monday includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.
Science Fiction Monday includes my latest SF book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.