The Best Norwegian Crime Books in English
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Loading... - Piers Howard
- 15 Dec 2021
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Crime and thrillers are hugely popular book genres all around the world. Over the last 20 years, Scandinavian crime fiction has become a popular niche, especially in Britain.
Many bestselling books in Norway are subsequently sold for translation into English. It’s made Jo Nesbø a household name and the likes of Karin Fossum and Gunnar Staalesen popular among fans of the genre.
But if you’re not a regular reader, or you are but have never tried a Norwegian crime book, where do you start? That’s what we aim to answer this article.
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An introduction to Norwegian crime fiction
Within Norway, crime novels come in all shapes and sizes. But it’s what gets translated into English that international readers consider to be Norwegian crime.
Defining characteristics of the genre include a strong sense of place together with a form of social commentary. Often, authors seek to question whether there’s more to Norway’s welfare state and claims of ‘happiness’ than first meets the eye.
The genre is dominated by the police procedural, but there’s plenty of private detective novels and thrillers floating around too. Whether they fit the ‘crime’ genre is a moot point—all are welcome to the Nordic noir party!
Norwegian crime novels really come to the fore during the Easter vacation. Norway’s obsession with påskekrim (Easter crime) is a fascinating subject for the unsuspecting foreigner!
Jo Nesbø
We start with the biggest name. Jo Nesbø has been a footballer and rock star, but he’s now firmly established as Norway’s most famous contemporary author.
His series of police detective novels featuring Harry Hole are bestsellers all over the world. But where to get started? Here’s our recommendations of where to enter the imagination of Jo Nesbø.
The Redbreast: Why start with the third in the series? Because it’s one of the absolute best, and the first one set in Oslo, where the Harry Hole series really gets going.
This is the book where you’ll instantly know if Nesbø is for you, as Hole tracks a neo-Nazi group in the modern day with a healthy dose of World War II historical fiction thrown in to the mix.
The Snowman: Ever had the feeling you’re being watched? Even if you’ve heard about the dodgy film adaptation, give the original source material a try.
The seventh Harry Hole novel is a suspense-packed rollercoaster ride. You’ll never look at a snowman the same away again.
Karin Fossum
If you think all Norwegian crime authors churn out the same type of books, think again. They are two of the biggest names in Norwegian crime, but that’s where the similarities between Nesbø and Fossum end.
Best known for her Inspector Sejer series, Fossum leans literary, tending to write at a slower pace to dig deep into human psychology and examine the potential for violence that so often lays dormant deep within.
Most of her books are set in small town Norway, offering another contrast to the gritty urban experiences of Nesbø. This is also reflected in the protagonists, with Inspector Sejer a much calmer, softly-spoken and altogether more pleasant man than Hole.
In The Darkness: The first Sejer book is a wise place to start. In an intriguing opening, a mother and her young daughter discover a body in the lake. The mother phones her father but makes no mention of the discovery, then takes her daughter to McDonald’s.
Gunnar Staalesen
Staalesen comes at the crime novel from a very different angle than many Norwegian authors. His series protagonist Varg Veum is a private detective based in Bergen. Fans of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe should absolutely give Veum a try.
The character is well known in Norway thanks to numerous TV and film adaptations. Varg Veum features in 19 novels spanning decades, most of which are available in English. So where to begin?
We Shall Inherit the Wind: I was attracted to this title for its theme. Much of the book is set on an island set for Norwegian wind power development, something which is just as relevant today as it was when the book was written in 2010.
It’s also a great introduction to the older Veum. The mystery is solid, and it introduces you to both rural Norwegian life and one of the more controversial topics in modern Norway.
Yours Until Death: An alternative way in is the oldest series book to be released in English so far. We are introduced to a much younger Varg Veum, who is hired by a young boy to find his missing bike. But the teenage gang who stole the bike are much more menacing than Veum expects. Read More…
