Crime in a Cold Climate

For the last couple of years now Swedish crime writing has dominated the UK and US book charts, as well as topping bestseller lists across Europe. In 2009 Stieg Larsson was the no.1 bestselling author in Europe, and Camilla Läckberg came in 6th. With the Swedish films of Larsson's 'Millenium' trilogy releasing this year, it looks like the Swedes could be on top for a fair while longer. With this is mind I tried to find out what's hot in crime writing now in the icy climes of Sweden.

As my guide, I've taken the books selected by a Swedish bookseller as part of their 'Påskekrim' promotion for Spring 2010. This word apparently has its origins in the publication of a book called Bergen train robbed last night in 1923. The novel was launched on Easter Sunday and the title was advertised as a headline on the front pages of newspapers. There was a public panic, followed by phenomenal sales of the book. Påskekrim now describes crime books that are traditionally released and read at Easter - Norwegian Easter bags are given containing oranges and crime novels. The tradition has recently taken root in Sweden too. So, without further ado, here's one take on this Spring's hottest Swedish crime books.


Viveca Sten is one of the stars of the Paskekrim 2010 promotion, and currently no.1 in the crime chart of the Swedish bookseller I used - with her new novel Basically, Without Guilt (I grunden utan skuld). This is her third novel in the series featuring investigator Thomas Andreasson, set on the beautiful and supposedly idyllic island of Sandhamn. This novel follows the disappearance of a young girl, assumed drowned but discovered brutally murdered some months later. The girl's story becomes entwined with that of a young boy who lived on the island in the early 1900s. Sten says she was inspired by Camilla Läckberg, among others, who focused on different areas in Sweden. She wanted to give the Stockholm archipelago a place in detective fiction, and appears to have succeeded - her first two books in the series have sold hundreds of thousands of copies, topped the charts and been adapted for TV.

Next to catch my eye in the Paskekrim selection was The Case of Vincent Franke (Fallet Vincent Franke), by Christoffer Carlsson. This is the debut novel from a writer who is only 24, and currently a phD student in Criminology at the University of Stockholm. Influenced by the noir genre, the novel follows Vincent, a lost heroin addict, charged by Pastor, the biggest actor in the Stockholm underworld with keeping a young Ukrainian woman, Maria, under lock and key until she is introduced into the sex trafficking industry. When Vincent falls for Maria and she then disappears, his life is in danger and he must try to escape from the criminal underworld and find out if Maria is safe. Shortly after publication (in March 2010) this book was one of the most heavily blogged about in Sweden, second only to the Twilight graphic novel! The characters and language are described as 'pungent' - strong, realistic, grim and reflecting the misery and vices of the criminal underworld. Carlsson has created quite a buzz in the Swedish press, touted as 'a name to remember' (Express), and described as a cut above the growing ranks of Swedish crime writers.

These are just a couple of the HUGE numbers of Swedish crime writers out there, but they are the ones being read and talked about this Spring. Writing about these books has made me keen to get my hands on them and actually read them! But, alas, we'll have to wait and see if they appear in English anytime soon...

If you were interested by this piece you might also like to check out Camilla's Läckberg's Top 10 Swedish Crime novels.