Where to begin with this book review? If youβve been around Crime by the Book for more than a couple days, youβve probably already picked up on the fact that Norwegian crime writer Jo NesbΓΈ is my all-time, hands-down favorite author. I could go on and on about my long standing love of NesbΓΈβs books. I could tell you about the moment I was recommended his books while on my first trip to Norway years ago; I could share how his books got me through heartbreak, a cross-country move, job changes, health challenges, and a whole lot more; I could tell you about the time I spent a day in Oslo, Norway retracing the most significant locations from his bestselling crime fiction series. But (contrary to how it seems so far!) this blog post isnβt actually about me. Itβs about NesbΓΈβs outstanding new standalone novel THE KINGDOMβa book that captivated me and swept me up in its gritty, tragic tale of love and betrayal. In THE KINGDOM, NesbΓΈ departs from his beloved Harry Hole series with a standalone novel that trades serial killers and police procedure for long-buried interpersonal secrets and the fallout of their resurrection. THE KINGDOM is a masterful work of rural noir, a story that will pluck you up from wherever you are sitting and bring you to a small (fictional) town nestled in the mountains of western Norway. Slow-burning yet propulsive, THE KINGDOM showcases a new side of NesbΓΈβs crime writing talent. With THE KINGDOM, he has delivered another outstanding work of crime fiction, a story that explores themes of family, love, and loyalty, all wrapped up in a gritty, slow-burning, rural noir package.
Read MoreNordic Noir November: Spotlight on Norwegian Crime Fiction
Happy Sunday, readers, and welcome to our first #NordicNoirNovember feature! If youβve been around Crime by the Book for a while, youβll know that Iβm always looking for a reason to talk about my favorite crime fiction subgenre: Nordic Noir, aka Scandinavian Crime Fiction. This year, weβre celebrating Nordic Noir November here on CBTB! Every Sunday this November, Iβll be spotlighting a different Nordic country and my personal favorite crime writers from that country here on my blog, and on my Instagram account. To kick off our Nordic Noir November celebration, weβre starting with my personal favorite Nordic country to visit: Norway. From my favorite city, Oslo, to the countryβs beautiful fjords and mountains, to smaller (and no less beautiful!) cities and towns in between, Norway is a country filled with stunning locations to visit, and since most of us have to stay home for the time being, now is the perfect time to βarmchair travelβ to this incredible part of the world. The authors highlighted in todayβs blog post will take you from the streets of Oslo to the stunning and remote landscape of northern Norway and beyond, in some of my personal favorite crime books Iβve ever read.
Read MoreBook Review: I WILL MISS YOU TOMORROW by Heine Bakkeid
You know those books that come seemingly out of nowhere and knock you sideways with how very much you love them? That was Heine Bakkeidβs extraordinary crime fiction debut I WILL MISS YOU TOMORROW for me. This Norwegian crime novel blends the atmosphere and grit of the Nordic Noir tradition with the spine-tingling chills found in the work of authors like Yrsa Sigurdardottir and C.J. Tudor. I WILL MISS YOU TOMORROW is an outstanding crime novel about grief, loss, and the ghosts that haunt us. Set against the backdrop of remote northern Norway, I WILL MISS YOU TOMORROW follows a disgraced former police officer who is given a chance at redemption in the form of an off-the-books missing persons investigation. Hired as a private investigator by the parents of a young man who has gone missing at a lighthouse off the coast of northern Norway, Thorkild Aske sets out on what he assumes will be a fruitless missionβa journey that becomes as much about tracking down this missing man as it is about Thorkild confronting his personal demons. With immersive atmosphere and propulsive plotting, I WILL MISS YOU TOMORROW wraps readers up in a chilling suspense novel worthy of every bit of praise it has earned. This promising series launch is a must-read for fans of melancholy, atmospheric Nordic suspense.
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