Scandinavian crime fiction is my personal favorite crime fiction subgenre, and a staple of Crime by the Bookβand luckily for all of us who adore it, 2020 is going to be a fantastic year for new releases in this category! Today Iβm rounding up the Scandinavian crime fiction that belongs on your to-read list early this year, including both books Iβve already read and covered here on CBTB, and titles that I havenβt 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 2020βwhich means that some of them are already on sale, and some are releasing very soon! From new installments in beloved series to exciting debuts, thereβs 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.
Read MoreCBTBβs Guide to Early-2020 Nordic Noir
Book Review: DEATH DESERVED by JΓΈrn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger
What do you get when you combine the writing talents of two popular Norwegian crime writers? The answer, as it turns out, is a delightfully devious serial killer thriller called DEATH DESERVED, the first joint offering from JΓΈrn Lier Horst (author of the William Wisting series) and Thomas Enger (author of the Henning Juul series). In this new series launch, Horst and Enger team up to deliver a story that draws on both of their strengths, blending Horstβs knowledge of and eye for police procedure with Engerβs skill at crafting engaging, endearing characters. DEATH DESERVED is a race-against-the-clock thriller, a story following an unlikely pair of protagonists - a police officer and a celebrity blogger - who find themselves embroiled in the shocking disappearance of a star athlete in Oslo. As bizarre and dramatic clues begin to pop up across the city, it becomes apparent to those involved that they are dealing with a devious and increasingly emboldened killer, one who will stop at nothing to achieve his twisted goalsβand make his work known to the public at the same time. Cleverly plotted and seriously entertaining, DEATH DESERVED is an excellent new serial killer thriller and strong series launch from two acclaimed Norwegian crime writers.
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