Nordic Noir fans, listen up: your new Danish crime fiction obsession is here! Last year, Anne Mette Hancockβs debut crime novel THE CORPSE FLOWER was published in the US to tremendous acclaim, and this coming November, she returns with her newest dark, psychological crime story: THE COLLECTOR. Iβm so honored to be able to reveal the cover of THE COLLECTOR today, and to give you the opportunity to read an early, exclusive excerpt from the book! If youβre a Nordic crime fiction fan like I am, youβre going to love Anne Mette Hancockβs gritty, intricate writingβand if youβve never tried a Nordic crime book before, Anne Metteβs work would make a great entry point into the genre for you. Anne Metteβs crime fiction exemplifies the qualities I love so much about the Nordic Noir genre as a whole. Her debut novel THE CORPSE FLOWER relied on vivid, complex character development, taking readers into the darkest corners of her charactersβ lives, and introduced an unlikely investigative duoβa journalist and a police officerβwhose parallel investigations of a crime made for seriously engaging reading. I think itβs fair to say that Anne Mette Hancockβs intricate and seriously dark plotting can rival that of many of the genreβs greats, and fans of books from the likes of Jo NesbΓΈ, Lars Kepler, and Stefan Ahnhem will find much to love in her work.
Read MoreNordic Thriller Mini Reviews: THE ICE COVEN by Max Seeck & THE CORPSE FLOWER by Anne Mette Hancock
Mini reviews of two new Nordic thrillers I recently read and loved: THE ICE COVEN by Max Seeck and THE CORPSE FLOWER by Anne Mette Hancock! These dark, chilling tales both put their own unique spin on the Nordic crime novel, and both deliver thrilling stories perfect for your fall to-read list.
Read More5 Nordic Thrillers to Read This Halloween
Itβs the best time of year: spooky season!! The stretch of the year from Halloween through Christmas is always my favorite, and, coincidentally, I also think itβs the perfect time of year to dig into a great Scandinavian crime novel. While we may gravitate towards the chilling, snowy atmosphere of Scandinavian crime fiction during the winter months, the genre also has a lot to offer when it comes to sinister, supernatural-ish books that make for great Halloween reading! In todayβs blog post, I wanted to combine two of my favorite thingsβNordic Noir and Halloweenβinto one reading list perfect for spooky season. All the books featured in todayβs blog post have an element of supernatural-ish chills to them, whether hints of ghosts and hauntings or elements of the occult and more. If youβre a fan of dark, brooding, slow-burning crime fiction and are looking for a book that ups the chill factor for your Halloween reading list, these books will be right up your alley. Read on for my picks for Nordic thrillers perfect for your spooky season to-read pile!
Read MoreBook Review: SMOKE SCREEN by Thomas Enger and JΓΈrn Lier Horst
The writing partnership between Thomas Enger and JΓΈrn Lier Horst is the stuff that Nordic Noir readersβ dreams are made of. Enger and Horst, both acclaimed crime writers in their own right, are now dominating Norwegian bestseller charts with their gripping thriller series featuring police officer Alexander Blix and journalist Emma Ramm. This pacey, page-turning Nordic crime series blew me away with its first installment, DEATH DESERVED, which found a serial killer at work in Oslo, Norway, committing a series of very public murders. This month, Blix and Ramm are back with the second installment in this inspired crime series. SMOKE SCREEN finds our two protagonists on the heels of a very different kind of villain: a bomber who disrupts the annual New Yearβs Eve fireworks display with his own deadly spectacle. Blix and Ramm find themselves independently drawn into the investigation, and it isnβt long before they each discover the shadowy connection between this bombing and a decade-old missing persons case. How do these events fit together? And what is the motivation behind this bomberβs horrific acts? SMOKE SCREEN delivers another intricate, page-turning thriller from two of Norwayβs most acclaimed crime writing talents. Long may the partnership between Thomas Enger and JΓΈrn Lier Horst continueβthe Blix and Ramm series is a fresh, engaging addition to any Scandinavian crime fiction readerβs library, and a series I hope to be reading for years to come.
Read MoreCover Reveal + Excerpt: THE CORPSE FLOWER by Anne Mette Hancock
Thereβs nothing more exciting to me than learning about an up-and-coming Scandinavian crime writer, and today Iβm absolutely thrilled to be able to spotlight one such author for CBTB readers! I first learned about Danish crime writer Anne Mette Hancock through social media, where I began to notice all the buzz surrounding her (then brand-new!) Kaldan & SchΓ€fer crime series. Hancockβs debut novel, The Corpse Flower, was awarded the Danish Crime Academyβs debutant prize in 2017; in 2018, Hancock was named βAuthor of the Yearβ in Denmark. And to top it all off, two Danish crime writers whose work I love and opinions I very much trustβSara BlΓ¦del and Katrine Engbergβhave both raved about Hancockβs work. Itβs safe to say Iβve been quite eager to be able to give Anne Mette Hancockβs work a try for myself, and Iβm absolutely thrilled that, this fall, Anne Mette Hancockβs debut novel will be published in the US! THE CORPSE FLOWER is the first installment in Hancockβs Kaldan & SchΓ€fer crime fiction series, and today Iβm thrilled to be able to reveal the bookβs cover exclusively for CBTB readers!
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