Scandinavian Mystery Writers: Part 2 of 3

This is the second part of a three part series on Scandinavian mystery writers. Some of these writers were popular, but have become more well known after the success of Stieg Larsson and his Millennium series that starts with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

K. O. Dahl is a Norwegian writer. Oslo detective Chief Inspector Gunnarstranda and detective Frank Frolich are his main characters. His book, The Fourth Man, is an award winner. He is touted as a Norwegian Henning Mankell. His books seem to focus on Gunnarstranda and Frolich and not a team effort as much as some of the other Scandinavian novels

Anne Holt is a former Norwegian Minister of Justice. She researches for six months before she writes. Stark realism is the hallmark of her books. What Is Mine is a story about a young girl that was murdered. The investigation twists back and forth evolving a man in prison who might not be guilty.

Jar City is the first book in Arnaldur Indridason’s Reykjavik thriller series. It involves an old man murdered with a picture of a girl’s grave and a note. The solution runs to the past with many twists and turns. He is an excellent writer with well drawn characters. His books are well written and worth reading, but like Iceland; dark and cold with long winter nights,

Asa Larsson draws on Old Testament themes for her books. Sun Storm is the first book in Asa Larsson’s Rebecka Martinson series. The lawyer is called back to her home town by the sister of a murder victim. Martinson appears in some of her other books.

Swedish writer Camilla Lackberg writes gory and brutal crime scenes then explores the psychology behind them. In The Ice Princess, writer Erica Falck goes home after her parent’s funeral. A childhood friend is found dead in an apparent suicide. She unites with detective Patrik Hedstrom to solve the mystery. This is a darker, psychological novel as much as a mystery.

Liza Markland is one of Liza Markland is one of Sweden's most popular crime novelists. She is a retired journalist. Her books are fast paced and feature a newspaper editor Annika Bengtzon. The Bomber is the first book to feature Annika. The background is the tabloid journalism business as Annika Bengtzon tries to solve the murder of a bombing of an Olympic stadium.

Some of her other books include: Red Wolf, Paradise, Prime Time, Studio 69, Nobel Treatment, Prime Time, Mia, and Studio Sex.

Henning Mankell is fairly well known in America due to some of his Wallander series which have been made into movies starring Kenneth Branagh and shown on PBS. Mankell’s characters are very human, and deal with their own problems as they attempt to solve crimes. Faceless Killers is the first book in his Kurt Wallender series. Mankell has written several other novels outside the Wallander series. Some critics consider Mankell among the greatest mystery writers ever. As a side note, he is married to the daughter of the late Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman.

This series is concluded in Scandinavian Mystery Writers: Part 3 of 3.