Crime Book Festival Preview: Krimimessen Horsens 2019
Krimimessen Horsens // April 6 & 7, 2019
Horsens, Denmark
What an absolute thrill it is to be back in Denmark for the annual crime book festival Krimimessen! This exceptional festival is held every year at Fængslet, the Old State Penitentiary in Horsens. Bringing thousands of readers together with authors from Scandinavia and from around the world, Krimimessen is a vibrant and hugely exciting festival for any fan of Nordic Noir and crime fiction as a whole. Scandinavian crime fiction is, naturally, a focus of the festival, but readers are also treated to appearances by some of the biggest names in crime writing from all over the globe at Krimimessen; particular highlights include appearances by Camilla Lackberg, Sara Blaedel, Jussi Adler-Olsen, Clare Mackintosh, Lisa Jewell, Elly Griffiths, and many more! Bonus: the backdrop to this festival - an old prison - simply couldn’t be better for a crime-loving crowd. This will be my second year attending Krimimessen, and I am beyond excited for the crime fiction fun this weekend will have in store! I’m heading on the road from Copenhagen to Horsens later today, and can’t wait to take you along with me for Krimimessen Horsens 2019.
For more information on Krimimessen Horsens, make sure to check out their website, and stay tuned on my social media and website for updates from Horsens! Read on for an overview of Krimimessen Horsens 2019, including my most-anticipated author appearances, details on the panels I’m moderating, and more!
Krimimessen Horsens 2019 Preview
What an incredible event lineup this festival has in store! From one-on-one interviews between some of the world’s biggest crime writing stars, to panel discussions covering everything from German crime fiction to psychological thrillers and a whole lot more, there’s a little something for everyone at this year’s Krimimessen. Given that this is a Danish crime festival, many of the panels will naturally be held in Danish—but there are more than enough English panels to keep yours truly busy! As a huge added bonus, I actually get to moderate a number of panels myself this year, and I couldn’t be more excited. Without further ado, let’s dive in to my preview of Krimimessen Horsens 2019!
THE SETTING: Fængslet
Aka The Old State Penitentiary in Horsens
You couldn’t ask for a better backdrop to a crime fiction festival than Fængslet, Horsens’ Old State Penitentiary. (Yes, you read that right, this crime festival is held in an old prison.) Fængslet is more than just an event space, though it’s also a truly unique event space as well. Think of Fængslet as a cultural center: it encompasses a museum, a concert venue, office space, and, of course, it has space to host the annual Krimimessen, too. You can read more about Fængslet and the historic buildings it encompasses online here.
KRIMIMESSEN 2019 MOST-ANTICIPATED AUTHOR APPEARANCES
Camilla Läckberg
I’ve been a fan of Camilla Läckberg for years and years—but I have yet to meet her! I’m hoping that will finally change at this crime festival. Camilla is best known for her Fjallbacka series, but she’s in Denmark to launch a brand-new psychological suspense novel. (If you haven’t yet read her Fjallbacka books, now is the perfect time to check them out while we wait for her newest book to be translated into English! The first book in the Fjallbacka series is THE ICE PRINCESS; if you love Scandinavian crime but want something a bit lighter, with endearing characters, this book will be for you.)
Sara Blaedel
No Danish crime festival would be complete without an appearance by Denmark’s Queen of Crime! I’m a longtime fan of Sara’s work, and I’ve been so fortunate to get to know her personally through CBTB. Sara will be appearing in a number of particularly cool panels at Krimimessen, including a one-on-one interview with Ian Rankin and a panel discussion with Camilla Läckberg. Sara is at the top of the Nordic Noir game, and I always love learning more about her books.
Jorn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger
Both authors I love in their own right, Jorn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger have teamed up and are now writing crime novels together! Their first outing as a writing duo, NULLPUNKT, hasn’t yet been translated into English, so we’ve got a bit of a wait ahead of us—but I’m betting it will be very much worth the wait whenever we can get our hands on it. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to seeing both of these very talented authors again!
C.J. Tudor
Another CBTB favorite, C.J. will be discussing her newest book THE HIDING PLACE (aka THE TAKING OF ANNIE THORNE) at the crime festival. I absolutely loved her newest book; THE HIDING PLACE is creepy, spine-tingling, atmospheric reading material, and suffice it to say I can’t wait to see what additional insights I learn about it through her panel appearances!
Stina Jackson
If you haven’t heard of Stina Jackson yet, remember her name. Her stellar crime novel SILVER ROAD is atmospheric and gritty, a story of a rural Swedish town with a dark side that completely blew me away. (I actually haven’t covered it yet for CBTB, as it hasn’t been released in the US yet - but stay tuned for updates when it gets a US publisher!) If you love rural noir, you’ll want to look this book up.
Søren Sveistrup
The writer of the hugely popular TV show The Killing, Søren Sveistrup has penned a thriller that’s getting tons of buzz around the world. THE CHESTNUT MAN went on sale in the UK earlier this year, and will finally be coming to the US this fall—and I for one am so excited. I’ve actually already sneakily read a bit of this book, and it’s hugely addictive. Much more to come closer to the book’s US release, but I can’t wait to see what I can learn about the author and his work at this festival!
CBTB-Moderated Panels
As if this weekend couldn’t get more exciting: I actually get to participate in the festival by moderating a number of panels! I’m so looking forward to speaking with a number of incredibly talented authors on their fantastic new releases - a rundown of which can be found below. If you’re a fan of their work and have pressing questions you’d like me to ask them, please feel free to pop them in the comments of this blog post, and I’ll see what I can do to get your questions answered!
PANEL 1: Psychological Thrillers, featuring Clare Mackintosh, B.A. Paris, and Lisa Jewell
Clare’s Newest Release in Denmark: LET ME LIE
The police say it was suicide.
Anna says it was murder.
They're both wrong.
Last year, Tom and Caroline Johnson chose to end their lives, one seemingly unable to live without the other. Their daughter, Anna, is struggling to come to terms with her parents' deaths, unwilling to accept the verdict of suicide.
Now with a baby herself, Anna feels her mother's absence keenly and is determined to find out what really happened to her parents. But as she digs up the past, someone is trying to stop her.
Sometimes it's safer to let things lie....
B.A. Paris’ Newest Release in Denmark: THE BREAKDOWN
If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?
Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods. It was on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, and a woman was sitting inside—the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm, and she probably would have been hurt herself if she’d stopped. Not only that, her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home.
But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing. Where she left the car; if she took her pills; even the alarm code.
The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.
And the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her…
Lisa Jewell’s Newest Release in Denmark: THEN SHE WAS GONE
Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her.
And then she was gone.
Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.
Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?
PANEL 2: Sharon Bolton interview, covering DEAD WOMAN WALKING
About the Book:
In Dead Woman Walking, from master of suspense Sharon Bolton, the sole survivor of a hot-air balloon crash witnesses a murder as the balloon is falling.
Just before dawn in the hills near the Scottish border, a man murders a young woman. At the same time, a hot-air balloon crashes out of the sky. There’s just one survivor. She’s seen the killer’s face – but he’s also seen hers. And he won’t rest until he’s eliminated the only witness to his crime. Alone, scared, trusting no one, she’s running to where she feels safe – but it could be the most dangerous place of all...
PANEL 3: CL Taylor interview, covering THE ESCAPE
About the Book:
"Look after your daughter's things. And your daughter…"
When a stranger asks Jo Blackmore for a lift she says yes, then swiftly wishes she hadn't.
The stranger knows Jo's name, she knows her husband Max and she's got a glove belonging to Jo's two year old daughter Elise.
What begins with a subtle threat swiftly turns into a nightmare as the police, social services and even Jo's own husband turn against her.
No one believes that Elise is in danger. But Jo knows there's only one way to keep her child safe – RUN.
PANEL 4: Elly Griffiths interview, covering A ROOM FULL OF BONES
About the Book:
When Ruth Galloway arrives to supervise the opening of a coffin containing the bones of a medieval bishop, she finds the museum’s curator lying dead on the floor. Soon after, the museum’s wealthy owner is also found dead, in his stables.
These two deaths could be from natural causes, but once again Ruth and DCI Harry Nelson cross paths during the investigation. When threatening letters come to light, events take an even more sinister turn. But as Ruth’s friends become involved, where will her loyalties lie? As her convictions are tested, Ruth and Nelson must discover how Aboriginal skulls, drug smuggling, and the mystery of “The Dreaming” hold the answers to these deaths, as well as the keys to their own survival.
And that’s a wrap on my preview of Krimimessen Horsens 2019! Stay tuned on CBTB’s social media for live updates from the festival, and check back in soon for a full crime festival journal from my time in Denmark! xx A
I can’t even tell you how excited I am to be writing this blog post right now. After three long years since the last Iceland Noir in 2018, my favorite crime fiction festival is back!!! In less than two months, I’ll be heading to Reykjavik to attend my third Iceland Noir crime fiction festival—and this year, I’m going to be moderating some amazing panels as well as attending as a fan!! In this blog post, you can learn more about Iceland Noir, check out a preview of some of the authors who will be attending, and more!