Sunday August 1, 2010 Beyond Stieg Larsson

Unless you have spent the last few months living on the moon, you’ve probably at least heard of if not read “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” or another of the Millennium Trilogy of mystery novels by the late Swedish writer, Stieg Larsson. The thrillers begin with the introduction of Mikael Blomkvist, a discredited journalist who teams with a genius computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander to find a long missing heiress. The bestselling novels are very dark, delving into the seedy underbelly that sometimes hides behind a respectable front.

The novels have spawned two films so far in their native Sweden and Hollywood is in a frantic bidding war to buy and cast an American version of the films. The first of the films, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, in Swedish with English subtitles, as well as all three novels are available at the library. While there is a rumour of a fourth or possibly fifth book living on Larsson’s laptop, which is the most valued possession in the court case over the ownership of the author’s estate, any future novels are in the distant future. So if you like a dark mystery set in a northern clime, here are a few suggestions to keep you turning pages.


“Faceless Killers” by Henning Mankell introduced fictional Swedish police detective, Kurt Wallander. Wallander is a melancholy man, whose personal life is in disarray and who is both being held together and slowly destroyed by his job. The first novel begins with the seemingly random double murder at an isolated farm, the last words of one of the victims identifying the killers as “foreign”. Once this news is leaked to the press, Kurt struggles to solve the mystery quickly, to prevent further anti-racial violence. Mankell’s books wrap social issues in suspense thrillers and the Wallander character will remain with you long after the last page is turned


Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo has created a throwback character to the Noir detectives of the American 1940’s. Harry Hole, the anti-hero of nine novels, is a tough, angry man with a serious drinking problem; fortunately for him and for the Oslo police force, he is also a brilliant detective. In the novel, “Redbreast”, Harry must track neo-Nazi activity prior to a visit of the US president to Norway and along the way he uncovers a crime from the last days of World War II that both the East and the West want buried.



Karin Fossum is considered Norway’s Queen of Crime and she has created a dark and deeply psychological series of thrillers featuring Inspector Konrad Sejer. “Don’t Look Back” begins with the disappearance of a small child followed by the discovery of the body of a teenage girl. Was it suicide or murder? Are these crimes connected and what secrets hide behind the walls of a seemingly quiet Norwegian village? Sejer is a tough but fair detective with the gift of seeing beneath the surface and the strength to solve any puzzle no matter how twisted.


“Ice Princess” by Camilla Lackberg is the first of her seven European bestselling novels to be translated into English. Erica Falck, a thirty something writer struggling with her latest book returns to her half-deserted hometown on the Swedish coast, only to find her family in turmoil and her childhood best friend, Alex, dead. Circumstances in Alex's death suggest suicide but while delving into Alex’s past, Erica finds herself on a dark spiral of ever more horrifying lies and secrets and a killer who has marked Erica as their next victim.


Arnaldur Indridason is considered Iceland’s answer to Stieg Larsson and has become an award winning author throughout the world. In “Tainted Blood” a man’s murdered body is found in his Reykjavik flat, along with a cryptic note and the photograph of a young girl’s grave. This death leads Detective Erlendur to a forty year old crime and a chase to prevent more murders linked to the cutting edge of genetic research. Indrioason skillfully weaves in the atmosphere and the landscape of Iceland into his mysteries, giving even the simplest description a chilling undercurrent.


The public library also carries a number of other Scandinavian mystery authors as well, so if you are looking for cold chills during the hottest days of summer just head into any branch. Happy Reading.

Lori Kauzlarick, Public Services Assistant