Happy Sunday, readers! Welcome back to our weekly spotlight on Scandinavian crime fiction! If you’re new to CBTB, every Sunday this November, I’m spotlighting crime fiction from a particular Nordic country, and sharing a rundown of my personal favorite crime writers from that country. We’ve already explored Norwegian crime fiction, Swedish crime fiction, and Danish crime fiction, and this week, we’re “traveling” to beautiful Iceland! This blog post is going to be shorter than my previous Nordic Noir November posts for a very simple reason: when it comes to Icelandic crime fiction, I have two ride-or-die authors whose work I will literally always read, no matter what, and those are the two authors I want to spotlight for you all today. There are a number of fantastically talented Icelandic crime writers whose work has been translated to English (and many more whose work looks very intriguing, and I hope will be translated to English soon!), but as has been the case with all my previous installments in this series, I want to keep this list focused on highlighting just my personal favorite authors from each country. When it comes to Icelandic crime fiction, that means I’ve got two authors to spotlight for you today! Whether you love creepy, horror-inspired thrillers, modern mysteries with classic crime vibes, or gritty procedurals, my two favorite Icelandic crime writers have a book for you.
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CBTB’s Guide to Early-2020 Nordic Noir
Scandinavian crime fiction is my personal favorite crime fiction subgenre, and a staple of Crime by the Book—and luckily for all of us who adore it, 2020 is going to be a fantastic year for new releases in this category! Today I’m rounding up the Scandinavian crime fiction that belongs on your to-read list early this year, including both books I’ve already read and covered here on CBTB, and titles that I haven’t yet dug into, but which are on my personal TBR list. The books included in this post have US publication dates that fall between January and April 2020—which means that some of them are already on sale, and some are releasing very soon! From new installments in beloved series to exciting debuts, there’s a little something for every Scandinavian crime fiction fan releasing early this year. Dive into this list and fill your TBR with all the gritty, gripping storytelling that Scandinavian crime fiction has to offer.
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Nordic Noir Excerpt: The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Have you read Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s books yet? If not, now is the time to start. Sigurdardottir is Iceland’s Queen of Crime, and in early 2018 her newest series will be launching in the US - the Children’s House Series. Book one, THE LEGACY, is an outstanding series launch: it’s a gripping thriller and an expertly plotted police procedural that cements Sigurdardottir as one of Nordic Noir’s authors to watch. THE LEGACY releases February 13, 2018, but you can sample this book for yourself today - I’m thrilled to share an excerpt from THE LEGACY here on Crime by the Book, courtesy of the publisher!
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Nordic Noir Excerpt: NIGHTBLIND by Ragnar Jonasson
Ragnar Jonasson’s Dark Iceland series was the first Icelandic crime fiction I ever read, and I’m confident it will remain a favorite of mine for a long time. This December, NIGHTBLIND (Book 2 in the Dark Iceland series) will release in the US! To celebrate this exciting news, I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Jonasson’s US publisher, Minotaur, to share an excerpt of the first two chapters of NIGHTBLIND. If you've haven't yet read Jonasson's work, now is the time to start!
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