April Mystery Cat - Nordic Mysteries

Image by fringepop

The April MysteryCAT concentrates on writers from the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as well as their associated territories (the Åland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Svalbard and Jan Mayen). The "genre" is sometimes called Nordic Noir or Scandicrime (although Scandinavia only consists of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark) and is generally stark, realistic, and somewhat (some think overly) brutal. The main character, whether a police detective or another type of investigator, is never a typical hero, but rather flawed and morally complex, as is the crime and criminal he/she investigates. However, as with any generalization, there are obviously exceptions, and the genre isn't really a genre at all - the only thing that these books truly have in common are that their originators are from an area where the weather is cold, lots of alcohol is consumed, frivolities tend to be scoffed at, and issues concerning social welfare and justice are at the forefront, and this origin tends to be reflected in the literature.

So, have at it, dear LT-ers. If you need assistance finding an author, the following two sites are excellent resources:

http://scandicrimeproject.wordpress.com/
http://www.scandinaviancrimefiction.com/

Hoping to read The Bat by Jo Nesbo, and if by some miracle I find the time The White Lioness by Henning Mankell.

ETA: that image is awesome!

I plan to read The Cruel Stars of the Night by Kjell Eriksson. If I have time I'll also read The Girl Who Played with Fire. I may add an audiobook to the mix. I'll have to see what's available to checkout when the time comes. Maybe Faceless Killers or The Boy in the Suitcase.

By the way, I love the Viking Cat thread topper!

Eva, I love you for pointing out the difference between Scandinavia and the Nordic countries.

Also, brilliant thread topper. Viking cats for the win!
Don't know if I'll get around to reading any Nordic crime novels in April but I'll be sure to check in and see what everyone else reads.

I'm pretty sure I will be reading The Bat and I have to look to see if there's anything else I can fit in.

In a slight diversion, I just wondered if anyone else is watching the Netflix original series Lillyhammer. We find it pretty hilarious.

I'll probably start the "Department Q" series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. I have the first two books borrowed from the library already but I don't think I will get to them before April.

7. I haven't seen it but I've notised it when scrolling through the Netflix categories. I might put it on my to-watch-list.

I'm planning to read Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. I've already read one of the other Martin Beck mysteries (The Laughing Policeman), so I figured now is a good time to go back and start at the beginning!

FYI- wikipedia has Scandinavia with Finland and Iceland included.
http://geography.about.com/od/europemaps/tp/scandinavia.htm

I'll be reading Silence of the Grave set in Iceland.

11. Wikipedia is wrong.

I'm going for the third in the Department Q series - Conspiracy of Faith. It's a very good series; great characterization, sense of place, mysteries. You're right, though, -Eva-. They are "stark, realistic, and somewhat (some think overly) brutal". Definitely not a cozy.

I'm planning on reading Headhunters by Jo Nesbo - looking forward to finally reading one of his books.

Paws - why do you say that? I thought that it was decided early on that Iceland and Finland were part of this area. The Nordic Council consists of those five countries. If the Nordic Council accepts them, so do I.

It looks like I'll be reading Missing by Karin Alvtegen, as it's the only Scandicrime novel I seem to have on my TBR list.

Great picture of the Viking-Cat, Eva!

I am hoping to read the following during the month of April:

The Bat by Jo Nesbo
The Boy In A Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol
The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen

I have many, many more patiently waiting but these three seem to be calling out the loudest right now.

I've started reading the second Department Q book and since it's in German, it'll take me until sometime in April. I also have stacks of suitable books for this one so I hope to get to a few more.

I'll be trying to get to The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen and/or The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstøl, but April is Eastern Europe month for GeoCAT, so I don't know how much I'll be able to get to.

I'll probably read Black Skies by Arnaldur Indridason this month.

15. The Nordic council deals with things regarding the Nordic countries, not the Scandinavian ones. If it is stated otherwise somewhere then that is wrong. The word "Scandinavian" (probably) comes from a word that has a geographical connection to the three Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Denmark and Norway). "Scandinavia" does not only deal with the geographical areas but the languages, peoples and cultures in that area. That makes the difference between Scandinavia and the Nordic countries even greater.

I'm sorry if I've come off as mean or snappy. I don't always think before I type and don't realise until afterwords that my phrasings might be read more harshly than I intended them to be.

Love the VikingCAT!

I'll be reading The Fire Engine that Disappeared by Maj Sjowall, my first by that author.

I've got 1222 by Anne Holt planned for April. Apparently it's book 8 in a series. I've not read any of them, but I somehow have this one on my nook, so I'm hoping I won't be kicking myself later for reading it without haven't read the others first.

Traci, 1222 is really focussed on the mystery and not on the private life of the central character. You'll be fine. Many of the other books in this series haven't been translated into English yet -- Holt has another series with three of the books out in English. I like her. Her investigators in the other series are less messed up that the usual northern European fictional detectives, so it makes a nice contrast.

I too am one of the ones who will be reading The Bat by Jo Nesbo. I've been wanting to read this for a couple of years now, so this is the perfect time.

I have one by Anne Holt on my iBookshelf. It's called Blind Goddess. I think it fits this theme. Maybe I'll read that one.

That's one cool Viking Cat! Oh, boy, this month's theme is going to keep me busy. But it's not going to help my off-the-TBR-shelf efforts much, I don't believe.

>24 RidgewayGirl:, Thanks, Kay. That makes me feel better about skipping ahead to book 8.

Most likely, I'll read:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Although I'd love to have the excuse to finally read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, April is likely to be ridiculously busy for me. I know it's a long book, so I've found something else (so I can also fit in reads for other groups/challenges!). I'm more like to go with this one instead:

How Nancy Drew Saved My Life by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

It's set in Iceland.

>23 virginiahomeschooler: & >24 RidgewayGirl: Traci - Just wanted to echo the comments on 1222, I read it a couple of years ago and didn't feel lost at all. There really isn't much back story that you need to know as it really is very focused on the mystery at hand.

Looks like you all have great plans for your reads. I'm going to aim for the latest in Jussi Adler-Olsen's series about Department Q, Marcoeffekten - happy to see others are reading the series as it is really very, very good! I'll try and get to The Man Who Went Up in Smoke, the second in the Martin Beck-series, as well.

I think I'll be re-reading Les Hommes qui n'aimaient pas les femmes by Stieg Larsson, first in the Millenium Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

33. Ooh, the French title is a direct translation of the original! I never knew that. :)

>12 PawsforThought: It wouldnt be the first time Wikipedia was wrong. We tell our students daily, if not hourly, not to use it for research. Our previous librarian had a story that to illustrate how bad it is she was going to temporarily upload false information about Jane Austen, her favorite topic. She was blocked from uploading and discovered that the entire school district was blocked because of so many false entries!

My library hold of Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo came in from the library yesterday so I'll put off starting it until later in the month. And I might start on the Department Q series.

Great theme, Eva! I will be joining others in taking this opportunity to start reading the Department Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen.

I have two to choose from:

The Redbreast - Jo Nesbo which I have tried to start several times

Shame - Karen Alvtegen which has been on my shelf for years

ccookie, Karin Alvtegen is one of my favorite authors. Enjoy discovering her!

well, I think I managed to thwart myself and don't know what I'll be reading. I'd planned to do the 2nd Dept Q book and placed a library hold on it back when the CAT themes were first determined. in the meantime, my husband read the 1st Dept Q book and liked it and asked me to get more for him. So when #2 showed up last week as scheduled, I told him it was for him and handed it over - totally forgetting about the April CAT. Drat. Now he has it and I don't know when I'll get it back - he's a very slow reader.

> 39 Shame is one that I did not choose for myself. I won it in a contest and thought it looked interesting and put it on my shelf and there it still sits. I'll let you know how I like her.

Ooh I like the look of this month! I have The Bat out from the library (unstarted) and due back on April 10th!

For those of you reading The Bat - if this is your first Nesbø, know that the Happy Hole-series gets better. The Bat isn't bad, but Hole's character hasn't quite hit his stride yet.

And, the E in his last name is pronounced - his name isn't hole, like a hole in the ground. :) I think one of his co-characters suggests he tell people it's pronounced "holy."

Sandy - does your husband read at a particular time of day? Could you possibly share it?

Ooo, I just discovered Black Seconds by Norwegian author Karin Fossum on my shelf. Three to chose from now!

I'm going to do Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten. A Swedish police procedural.

> 43. I'm just listening to a Radio 4 podcast featuring Jo Nesbo and both the presenter (Mariella Frostrup) and Nesbo both seem to be saying Harry "hole" ... ?

Also, perhaps The Bat perhaps isn't the best pick for a truly -chilly- Nordic Noir, as it is set in Sydney, Australia !!!

>47 wonderlake:
Haha - Nesbø has probably given up on the name and gone with the English pronunciation by now. :)

ETSA: I actually think it is in The Bat that the pronunciation issue comes up, but it's been a while since I read it, so let me know if anyone comes across it.

I've downloaded Silence of the Grave, by Arnaldur Indriðason (an Icelandic mystery). I have a library hold placed on The Pyramid by Henning Mankell.

>49 tymfos: I loved Silence of the Grave when I read it last year! Hope that you do too!

I am going to be reading The Abominable Man, and perhaps The Bat and/or Black Skies as well.

Like many of you, I'm also going to start with Nesbo this month. I've read The Redbreast already and plan to read Nemesis.

I started Shame by Karin Altvgen and can't put it down!!

I started on Cockroaches last night and found out this morning that The Redbreast is waiting for me at the library. Looks like a Hole month for me!

OMG --no thanks to all of you:):) I now have 15 books on the way by Royal Mail...now I'm going to have to go make new TBR's by geographic region !!!

I just finished The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol. It's book 1 in the Nina Borg series which takes place mostly in Denmark. I really enjoyed it.

OMG, I love this book called Shame. I am not really a fast reader and I think I devoured over 100 pages yesterday!

I must have picked the wrong Nesbo book - really didn't like Headhunters; such a silly book.

Not exactly a mystery but rather a psychological thriller.

I don’t know what to say.

Another reviewer sums it up beautifully.

“Karen Alvtegen can keep you up way past your bedtime with these eerie stories of people gone off the curb.”

This book kept me on the edge of my seat and up waaayy past my bedtime. And it is definitely eerie. I loved this book which was my first exposure to Karin Alvtegen and certainly won’t be my last.

I have several books on the go at one time and they were all put aside so that I could focus on this one.

The characters were real. Although their lives do not mirror my own, in many ways I could relate to both of them. Childhood trauma inflicts deep wounds that take deep commitment to work through as adults. Both of these characters suffer greatly.

The only reason I did not give this 5 stars is because I found the ending just a little bit too neatly wrapped up. It seemed to me that the ending did not reflect reality but t maybe that is a good thing. Alvtegen does leave us with some hope for all of us.

I have completed my first book for April's MysteryCat, The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen, the second entry in his Department Q series.

ccookie, I'm glad you liked the Alvtegen. I've read every one of hers except, coincidentally, Shame, which I have a copy of but am putting off reading as long as I can stand. Glad to know it won't let me down.

> 60 If her others are as good as this one I will be happy. It was gripping. Except, as I said, the ending didn't ring true for me, but, then again, I find that I am unhappy with a lot of the endings of modern fiction.

I completed The Bat by Jo Nesbo. I wasn't that impressed, sorry to say.

I haven't figured out which one I'm going to read yet. I think I have several options on my Kindle. I'll figure it out soon. I've got a couple of books in progress. I will have plenty of time to get to it though.

I finshed the latest installment in Jussi Adler-Olsen's series about Department Q, Marcoeffekten (no English translation yet), which has some of the best characters around.

>57 LittleTaiko:
I'm afraid you may have - I didn't read it, but I saw the movie. :)

>58 ccookie:
Alvtegen does so well getting under the skin of her characters, doesn't she!

I have also finished The Bat. From the very off it seems like women couldn't help but fall into bed with Harry, which for me is one of the biggest mysteries of the book / series

wonderlake, that may be a requirement of the crime thriller when written by a man with a male protagonist. Rebus got a lot more attention from the ladies than seemed likely as well.

>66 RidgewayGirl: However, Kurt Wallander seems to have pretty slim luck with the ladies . . .

>65 wonderlake: That was my biggest complaint about Stieg Larsson's trilogy too.

>67 tymfos: There was that one woman in Riga. But I agree that Wallender has a bit more depth there.

I am reading The Seventh Child by Erik Valeur. A Danish author and mystery set in Denmark

I finished Silence of the grave which is set in Iceland, by Arnaldur Indridason. It was very good, but very bleak.

>64 -Eva-: - Eva, how was the movie? From some things I've read it's one of those rare cases where the movie is much better than the book. I do know that the reason I bought the book was because the movie trailer looked intriguing. Maybe all the best bits were in the trailer.

Ok, the "mystery" wasn't much to write home about, but it was set in Iceland and there as a bit of a mystery...

How Nancy Drew Saved My Life / Lauren Baratz-Logsted
3.5 stars

After Charlotte's heart is broken by her previous (married) employer, in order to get away, she accepts a nanny position in Iceland. Unfortunately, she later finds herself falling for her new employer. What she's not sure about is where his wife is?

I thought this was cute. I loved all the references to Nancy Drew and there were shades of Jane Eyre. It really is a mindless, fluffy, quick read, though. Don't expect too much out of it. Though some didn't like the ending, I did.

I've heard so much about Jo Nesbo that I picked up The Leopard yesterday in the library and was immediately immersed in it. Now I know what everyone sees in good ole Harry. Barring any other series popping up in line, I might very well get them on my Kindle and plow through them this summer!

I've read Stieg Larsson's Millennium series (and seen the movies), so I wanted to check out the graphic novel based on it (adapted by Denise Mina): The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Book 1 and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Book 2. They're fairly short so there are a few details missing, obviously, but other than that, they're very good adaptations.

>72 LittleTaiko:
It's not bad - there are some things that aren't well explained, but if you've read the book, they're probably clear to you! :)

Black Seconds by Karin Fossum

First line:
~The days went by so slowly~

What did I think?
A young girl goes missing and seems to have vanished without a trace. Fossum takes us inside the head of her mother, her aunt and uncle, her cousins and the police who are investigating the disappearance.

I won this book a number of years ago in a contest put on by the local newspaper and put it on a shelf. There it sat until this month when the 2014 Category Group chose Nordic Mysteries as the April MysteryCat and I figured this was the time to check it out. I am very glad I did.

Although I figured out ‘who done it’, long before Inspector Sejer did, what worked for me was the depth of the characters and the way that the author crafted the story so that we, the reader do know before the police. We are privy to the ‘thinking’ of the characters so know much more than the inspector does who only has access to physical evidence and whatever information the people involved tell him. And, although I did figure out the perp it was through subtle information ie no one outright said, “I did it”. And it took the rest of the book to understand the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ for the crime.

I’ll definitely check out more by this author.

3.5 stars

I finished two books for this challenge in the last couple of days. Both were solid mysteries with flawed main characters that have me ambivalent about continuing with either series. I read The Cruel Stars of the Night by Kjell Eriksson and listened to The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis.

I really like Karin Fossum's books. I really need to get back to her.

Not sure if I posted these already, but I'm reading Sun Storm by Asa Larsson and listening to The Pyramid by Henning Mankell. So far, I'm not liking Sun Storm so much, but I always enjoy the Kurt Wallander mysteries. The Pyramid is a novella/short story collection about his early days on the police force (prior to the first novel).

I'm reading The White Lioness by Henning Mankell. His usual complex mystery.

Finished the second installment in the Martin Beck-series, The Man Who Went Up in Smoke - excellent old school police procedural!

>80 -Eva-: I discovered those last year and am enjoying them immensely!

>77 cbl_tn: You gave The Cruel Stars of the Night a higher rating than I did.

>82 thornton37814: Only by a half star. I liked some things about it.

I finished The Boy in the Suitcase by lene Kaaberbol today, I doubt that I will be continuing on with this series as I just found the main character too unbelieveable.

Back in post #40 I complained that I'd given away my book, The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen, to my husband by mistake. He's usually a slow reader so I thought I'd never get the book back in time to read it myself. However, he LOVED the book and zoomed through it in no time. (Well, in about 3 weeks, which is nearly the same in this case.) So now I have it back with time to spare. :-)

I've finished The Bat by Jo Nesbo which I enjoyed for the most part. I have a couple more in the series, but not #2,so will need to get it before I can continue.

I started with a book from the middle of Harry Hole's stories. I went to a thrift store today and found the first of the series so I'll be able to start them from the beginning.
Speaking of thrift stores, I was very impressed at the order and neatness of this one. You could really tell this person read books!

I am reading my first Jo Nesbø - The Redbreast…

Finished The White Lioness which was excellent.

>84 DeltaQueen50: I didn't particularly care for that one either.

I've finished and reviewed Vidar Sundstøl's The Land of Dreams, which is set on Lake Superior and involves the murder of a Norwegian in a land full of Norwegian-Americans. I enjoyed it quite a bit and as a bonus now know the word for love in Norwegian ("kjærlighet").

>90 inge87: I'm impressed that you know how to make those foreign characters display! I can look it up, but it takes too much time so most of the time I just opt for leaving off diacritics, etc.

>91 thornton37814: Confession: I cheated and copy-and-pasted it from Wiktionary. I couldn't remember how to spell it exactly, and the book is at my desk at work, so I had to look it up. But I do tend to be fairly obsessive about foreign characters.

I just finished Roseanna, the first Martin Beck mystery by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. I liked it overall, but it's very different from most other mystery novels that I've read. There is almost no character development; although Martin Beck is the primary investigator, we get very little insight into his personality, and I could barely tell the other police officers apart! The book seesm to have a communal/collectivist attitude toward crime-solving, and I'm wondering whether that is a hallmark of Swedish mysteries in general. I mostly read British and American mysteries, which are much more individualistic, focusing a lot on the detective's personality and motivations. Evidence of a larger cultural difference, perhaps?

>93 christina_reads: Yeah, I'd say that's a hallmark of Swedish police work in general, whether fictional or real. Particularly seeing as the book was written in the very (politically) red period of the 1960's.

Christina, could it be more the time in which it was written than the place? Agatha Christie wasn't exactly big on the character development of Poirot or Marple -- they were the same in the 47th book as the the first.

>94 PawsforThought: Good point! I should probably read a more contemporary Swedish mystery so that I can compare.

>95 RidgewayGirl: You're right that Poirot and Miss Marple stayed the same in all the books, but they were both very clearly defined characters from the beginning. So you're right, "character development" isn't really the right term...maybe "description" or "definition" would be more accurate. I still have no idea who Martin Beck is, but I knew exactly who Poirot was after reading just one of Christie's books.

I finished Nemesis by Jo Nesbo, which I liked but not as much as The Redbreast. I'm reading He Who Fears the Wolf now, by Karin Fossum, another Norwegian author.

The Royal Mail has been busy delivering here in the States...I know my postmistress must wonder why I get a lot of books from London:)

The first to arrive--all by itself last weekend was In The Darkness by Karin Fossum. Pretty good and pretty quick, started Tues PM, wrapped it up Sat AM and thankfully just as a new batch arrived!!! Talk about great timing.

After reading some posts after my big binge I am so glad I only grabbed the first of some series, in particular Roseanna by Maj Sowell & Per Wahloo. While it was a super fast read, Sat PM to Sun AM, it didn't really WOW me. I do think it suffered a bit from being dated, but I simply didn't get that interested in the characters. Add to it all the dang pronunciation symbols that just bug my brain. The same streets and places repeated over and over, it's maddening. The unfamiliarity wasn't as noticible with the Fossum nor with the next up What is Mine by Anne Holt, again another fast read, Sun PM to this afternoon.

What is Mine did grab me and not let go. And Holt got a little crafty in the telling near the end that was an interesting twist. Definitely looking forward to continue on with that series.

Luckily, I came home in time for today's delivery...still gotta decide who's next. Might be Karen Alvtegen or maybe Hakan Nesser.

Decisions, decisions:)))

I finished my audio of The Pyramid by Henning Mankell (short stories about the early days of his character Kurt Wallander) and my e-book of Sun Storm by Asa Larsson. I didn't particularly like Sun Storm, which is a shame because I have the 4th in the series on my TBR shelf, and am wondering what to do with the series . . .

...just finished Missing by Karen Altevgen ...really good. I'm glad as she was one of the two authors I opted to order more than one of. Next up Ake Edwardson's Sun and Shadow.

I just finished The Seventh Child by Erik Valeur, a Danish award winning journalist. The story is set in Denmark and features an orphanage. There are seven children who were placed in this orphanage in 1961. There is a unusual death on the shore of an unknown woman on September 11, 2001. It is over 600 pages and filled with many twists and turn. It was a Winner of the 2012 Glass Key Award given by the members of the Crime Writers of Scandinavia.

My last read for this CAT was The Redeemer and it seems like Nesbø just gets better and better.

I'm about to head out for my vacation back to Sweden and probably won't be around until I come back to the US, so I wanted to, ahead of time, thank all of you who have participated in this CAT and I hope you found a writer or two you want to read more of.

Thanks again and happy reading, everyone!!

I read my first Fossum as a result of this challenge. I had Black Seconds on my bookshelf but had never read it, and throughout the month of May I have bashed through (on audio):

Black Seconds
Don't Look Back
He Who Fears the Wolf
and almost done When the Devil Holds the Candle ... I am hoping to finish this one before the end of the day.

I LOVE this woman's writing, and the way she gets into the antagonist's head or, rather, allows us to get into the antagonist's head.

I have to say that I don't seem to care as much for When the Devil Holds the Candle. I don't mind 'dark' but this one is really 'creepy'. Well done though.

I finished Silence of the Grave set in Iceland. Wow!

I finished my last read for May's MysteryCat, The Bat by Jo Nesbo. Although not as strong as his later books, I thought this was a pretty good introduction to Harry Hole.

I flew through The Abominable Man by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, the 7th in the Swedish Martin Beck series. 4 stars.

I am now on The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen, which I am also flying through...

I read The Purity of Vengeance book 4 in the Department Q mysteries. I was disappointed. There were too many subplots going on.

My reads for April's MysteryCAT - Nordic Mysteries were:

A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler-Olsen (4.2) - Denmark
The man from Beijing by Henning Mankell (3.9) - Sweden (& China)
The boy in the suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol (3.1) - Denmark & Lithuania

>93 christina_reads:: christina - I agree with you about Roseanna, however, I didn't get far enough along to finish it for this month's challenge. In my ebook version, there is a nice introduction by Henning Mankell, with some explanation of crime solving differences, and writing differences, from when he read the book as a youngster and when he started writing his crime fiction.

Here's what I managed to read for this month's challenge:

The Keeper of Lost Causes
Sidetracked
Sun Storm
The Fifth Woman

For some reason I didn't get very far with The Bat, I hope to finish it in May.

I got a late start on The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen and am probably only about 1/3 through it. I doubt I'll finish it tonight, but I hope to wrap it up before the end of the weekend.

Just squeaked in with When the Devil Holds the Candle. It continued to be the creepiest of her books (so far) and I am ready for the next one. I will take a break from her, though, as we move on to the next MysteryCat and I look at digging into some classics rather than these modern reads.

April 19th : finished Don’t Look Back by Karin Fossum

First line:
~Ragnhild opened the door cautiously and peered out~

This is Karin Fossum's second book in her Inspector Sejer series but the first published in English. I can see why she is known as the Norwegian Queen of Crime. I read Black Seconds and immediately read three more of her books. She is amazing. I cannot believe the way that she gets into the antagonist's head or, rather, allows us to get into the antagonist's head.

I have found that as the reader is privy to the thoughts and feelings of the perpetrator of the crime, we know more than the police which is really very different from other books I have read. The depth of the characters captures my interest. I want to know more about Inspector Sejer and his partner, Jacob Skarre.

This story deals with a murder of a teenage girl and the clues unfold carefully and subtly as we learn more about each character.

Very disturbing and yet a great read.

3.5 stars

> 112 - ...we know more than the police...

That's very interesting and since I've been hearing good things about her in this Cat, I think I'm going to add her to the list of authors to checkout.

>113 dudes22: Let me know what you think after you have read her.

>112 ccookie: Don't Look Back was indeed really good. That reminds me I have to read more Fossum.

>112 ccookie: - I forgot - when you say "first published in English", does that mean the first one has never been published in English? Or just that it was published later?

>116 dudes22: - It was published in English later. I haven't read that one yet.

April 21st finished He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum - TIOLI #3 - Read a book by an author or in a series or about a topic of which you have multiples on your TBR/wish list

First line:
~A dazzling ray of light slanted in through the trees~

What did I think?
This is the third book I have read by Karin Fossum who I just discovered a few weeks ago. I love her writing, the way she crafts the mystery and the depth of her characters.

This story involves the brutal murder of an elderly woman and a bank robbery. The perpetrators of the crimes intersect with devastating consequences. There are multiple suspects and along the way we learn more about Inspectors Sejer and Skarre. I love these books and am immediately moving on to the next one.

I’ll give this one 4.0 stars just because there was so much in it!

Finished up The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen, the second of the Department Q books set in Denmark. Helpful to have read the first one, Keeper of Lost Causes first, only for the character's back stories and history of Dept Q which are not repeated in this book.

Recommended.

I too finished He Who Fears the Wolf for this challenge. I enjoyed it and plan to read more in the Inspector Sejer series.

>120 mathgirl40:

Of the 4 books by Karin Fossum that I read in April He Who Fears the Wolf was my favourite.

My first experience of her writing was Black Seconds which I read over a 10 day period and finished on April 10th. Then I raced through the other three (Don't Look Back, He Who Fears the Wolf, and When the Devil Holds the Candle) before the end of the month.

I listened to them on audio and I have to give credit to the narrator, David Rintoul. Because it was my first 'read' and I did not already have a 'voice' in my head he seems to be the perfect voice for her work.

Fossum has a style that I have not experienced before and I certainly agree with those that call her "Norwegian queen of crime", although I would go so far as to say just "Queen of crime". I loved them all!

Gonna take a break from her though and read some of the classics for the next challenge.

I will definitely finish this series and soon. I. LOVE. HER.

>120 mathgirl40: Was this your first read of Fossum's work?

ccookie, were everyone to stop participating in the MysteryCAT tomorrow, I would feel it to have been a great success. What could be better than to discover a new favorite author?

There are a few other great Scandinavian women crime novelists. If you're so inclined, Anne Holt and Karin Alvtegen spring to mind.

>123 RidgewayGirl:
for this challenge I also read my first Karin Alvtegen Shame which was amazing. I do plan to read her others. I have not heard of Anne Holt so will have to check her out!

>122 ccookie: I'd read Don't Look Back several years ago. I don't recall the story all that well, but I do remember liking it very much. I'll have to see if I can find the audiobook version for the next book in the series. Thanks for the recommendation. A strong narrator can make a good book that much better!

>123 RidgewayGirl: I've discovered many new authors through the CAT challenges. I totally agree that the MysteryCAT has been (and will continue to be) a great success!