ŷ������

do books from Yrsa Sigurðardóttir count, since I've been meaning to read Ég man þig for a while now. She's from Iceland and most of her novels seem to fit the description

Јована wrote: "do books from Yrsa Sigurðardóttir count, since I've been meaning to read Ég man þig for a while now. She's from Iceland and most of her novels seem to fit the descri..."

She is on a list of Nordic Noir writers here:
So, yes.

Johanne wrote: "Јована wrote: "do books from Yrsa Sigurðardóttir count, since I've been meaning to read Ég man þig for a while now. She's from Iceland and most of her novels seem to..."
thank you!

Stefanie wrote: "Smilla's Sense of Snow is a good one. It's also set at sea and in Greenland, in case someone is looking for books that tick off several categories at once."

My mom recommended that book to me for this category!

Someone in one of my reading groups on Ravelry (a site for knitters and crocheters), suggested the Sandhamn Murders series by Viveca Sten.

I'm reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, so I can participate in our ŷ������/Popsugar January reading, but I just wanted to put that out there.

Would someone be able to recommend a book to me for this category? I'd prefer something that isn't too graphic if there are sex scenes etc.

@Natalie, I would recommend Johan Theorins books. They don't have bloody scenes with the chopping off of limbs or sexscenes. But they are dark in a psychological way, and has a way of mixing supernatural beliefs and inner drama in the stories, so if you like that... Echoes from the Dead (The Öland Quartet #1)

Just coming back to note that I started reading Mind's Eye and despite my previous quasi-recommendation, it does have a couple paragraphs of sexually explicit content in two places in the first couple of chapters. It was little enough that I just skipped over it and kept going, but if it keeps showing up I'll have to try something else.

Possibly Echoes from the Dead, The Boy in the Suitcase or The Ice Princess?

Wendy wrote: "This is one of my favorite genres, especially good for cold winter days.

I read Jar City by Arnaldur Indriðason (set in Iceland) this year, and might do the next bo..."

I just finished Jar City a couple days ago. I enjoyed it!

I'm slowly making my way through The Snowman. The style is taking some getting used to, but it seems to be growing on me a bit.

Raquel wrote: "Just coming back to note that I started reading Mind's Eye and despite my previous quasi-recommendation, it does have a couple paragraphs of sexually explicit content in two places i..."

I don’t recall graphic imagery in The Boy in the Suitcase, but it’s been awhile and it’s not something I’m bothered by so I might not note it as much.

I'm reading The Boy in the Suitcase right now and there was only one scene (and I am 75% into the book) that was sexual in nature and it was tastefully done. It was a scene between a consenting young couple, if that helps.

Tami wrote: "I'm reading The Boy in the Suitcase right now and there was only one scene (and I am 75% into the book) that was sexual in nature and it was tastefully done. It was a scene between a consenting you..."

That's helpful to know, thank you!

I finished The Stranger for this. I saw a few were worried about explicit violence. There is some in this (mostly in a character that cuts herself) but it's relative mild, no more than your usual police procedural but more than a cozy mystery would have.

Others in the genre that I've read (which include varying levels of violence) include:
A Darker Sky
Until Thy Wrath be Past
The Leopard (I remember this one as being quite violent)

I just finished The Son and loved it. There's only one sex scene and it doesn't go into detail. There is quite a bit of violence though.

Johanne wrote: "@Natalie, I would recommend Johan Theorins books. They don't have bloody scenes with the chopping off of limbs or sexscenes. But they are dark in a psychological way, and has a way of mixing supern..."

Thank you for the recommendation Johanne! Hopefully I can find one of their books at the library :)

I just finished The Hummingbird by Kati Hiekkapelto. It was okay. There is an ongoing theme of racism and immigration which is much more interesting than the central mystery so I hope that it is an overarching arc of the series. This one wasn't too bleak really apart from the murders themselves.

I will read the next book in the series The Defenceless because I already bought it not realising that is was the second book of the series. I think I probably could have read it as a stand alone but I like to read book series chronologically so that's when I went back and read the first. Apparently this series improves when she gets a better translator.

Jess wrote: "Apparently this series improves when she gets a better translator."

It doesn't look like that the translator changes. There are only few current Finnish-to-English translators out there anyway, I can name maybe four, and I assume three of them translate most of the books.

Tytti wrote: "Jess wrote: "Apparently this series improves when she gets a better translator."

It doesn't look like that the translator changes. There are only few current Finnish-to-English translators out the..."

Fair enough. To be honest I don't think the translation was that bad but there were a few strange word choices that gave the book less of a noir feel. I just took that from the reviews I saw on ŷ������. Maybe they mean that the translation had more of a noir feel to it in future books or this might come from the author herself.

I mean no disrespect to the translator as it must be really difficult to translate the feel of a novel to a different language.

Jess wrote: "that gave the book less of a noir feel"

Or more likely the author wasn't writing "noir". It is a genre label given from the outside, and Finnish authors generally don't care in which genre their novels are categorized, or at least not enough to change their writing style to follow some arbitrary genre conventions or rules.

I didn't see this one mentioned yet... The Second Winter I just won a copy of this novel and I noticed the ebook is available today on Amazon for 99 cents! From what I can tell, I think it fits this category. :)

I read The Bat by Jo Nesbo. I found it a little anti climactic and confusing at times. Also there is a lot of exposition on Harry's past that makes the story drag a bit. I may go back and read some of his later Harry Hole books that have better reviews.

I just finished Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg. I am counting it for Nordic Noir, a title with alliteration and a book with a weather element in the title.

I am really having trouble finding something for this prompt. I also can't read anything graphically violent or gory or including violent sex. Stories lines about suicide also are a hard no for me.

From reading the thread so far, Echoes from the Dead or The Boy in the Suitcase seem like they might be okay. If anyone had read either of these, can you give me some insight on whether these might fit what I'm looking for?

Any other suggestions?

I read the Monthly Challenge book for this selection The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. This was soooooo good. I can't believe I waited so long to pick it from my Kindle to reads. I bought it when it was $1,99, so I didn't have an urge to read it immediately! Yes, there are gory / disgusting parts, but generally they are viewed after the fact. Highly recommended! I thought it was great for a debut novel.

I'm wondering if The Farm would count....it's definitely Noir and set in Sweden, but it is written by an English writer (Tom Rob Smith, who had a Swedish mother). Thoughts?

I think this one looks good.. I'm having a hard time with this category.. but I feel confident about this choice:
I'm Traveling Alone by Samuel Bjørk

Has anyone read it?

Flaggermusmannen

I read The Bat by Jo Nesbo. I chose this one because last winter I read The Snowman and really enjoyed it. The Bat shows his progression as on author, as I found it a bit more mild than The Snowman but I still enjoyed it and learning more about the younger Harry Hole.

I'm reading The Snowman for this prompt! I wanted to see the movie, but then I read and heard all of the reviews and decided it was probably not worth the ticket price, so it doesn't fit into the "movie I've seen" prompt. It's the first of his books that I've read, and I'm truly enjoying it. I know it's not the first in the Harry Hole series, but it's written in such a way that I don't feel like I'm missing loads of vital backstory by not starting at the beginning.

My kingdom for a standalone nordic noir! I'm sure one or two must exist, suggestions gratefully welcome...

I am reluctant to dip into a series as it would nag at me until I read the whole series even if I didn't enjoy it *sigh*

Frogli wrote: "My kingdom for a standalone nordic noir! I'm sure one or two must exist, suggestions gratefully welcome...

I am reluctant to dip into a series as it would nag at me until I read the whole series e..."

Smilla's Sense of Snow
Let the Right One In

I think those are standalone.

Let the Right One In isn't really "Nordic Noir", it's horror or something.

Thank you Milena & Tytti, I'll have a look at the library for Smilla's Sense of Snow.

Let the Right In is on my mental tbr list as I enjoyed both the play & the playscript I really should read the original book at some point :)

Yay my reservation finally came through from the library!! I’ll be curling up with a girl who takes an eye for an eye this weekend :)

Would The Maltese Falcon work here?

Sarah wrote: "Would The Maltese Falcon work here?"

No, it's not Nordic

I finished my assignment for this! I actually got through Faceless Killers fairly quickly.

The best thing about this prompt was researching what qualifies as Nordic Noir and learning delightful terms from TV Tropes such as "Crapsaccharine World" and "Fan Disservice."

Unauthorized Cinnamon wrote: "such as "Crapsaccharine World" "

LOVE IT!!!!

Without spoiling it for me, as I'm only a few chapters in, but would Frederik Backman's Beartown qualify in this category? It's got the Nordic for sure, and I get the sense some horrible crime is about to happen, but perhaps it doesn't happen in a way to qualify it as noir?

Kristin wrote: "Without spoiling it for me, as I'm only a few chapters in, but would Frederik Backman's Beartown qualify in this category? It's got the Nordic for sure, and I get the sense some hor..."

While it is Nordic I don’t think it qualifies as noir because the book isn’t a mystery . But I’m using it for the book about sports because hockey is a big part of the story.

I haven't been able to find any books that sound appealing to me in this category.

Thanks, Jennifer! This might end up being one of the categories I skip until the end of the year and find an interesting book if time permits.

Has anyone read the book Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito? If so, would this qualify as nordic noir?

Crumb wrote: "Has anyone read the book Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito? If so, would this qualify as nordic noir?"

I haven´t read it, but I just read a review. I´d definitely say yes.

I just remembered this series - As Red as Blood is the first (The titles are a wordplay on Snow White). It´s a YA crime story, with a badass female main character. It´s a quick and fastpaced read and I quite enjoyed it. Lots of snow and cold, set in Tampere, Finland.

Kristin wrote: "Without spoiling it for me, as I'm only a few chapters in, but would Frederik Backman's Beartown qualify in this category? It's got the Nordic for sure, and I get the sense some hor..."

If anyone is struggling with this prompt and willing to stretch, I think Beartown could work. It's Nordic, dark, there is a crime, and the first chapter sets up sort of a mystery. So not necessarily Nordic noir, but it has the same feel and some key elements.

Cyndy wrote: "Unauthorized Cinnamon wrote: "such as "Crapsaccharine World" "

LOVE IT!!!!"

:D

Kristin wrote: "Thanks, Jennifer! This might end up being one of the categories I skip until the end of the year and find an interesting book if time permits."

One Nordic noir author I’ve read several books from is Hakan Nesser. They do involve murder and can be very dark but I’ve found them to be enjoyable stories with a great detective that I can’t quite figure out who the killer is which is always a plus if you read a lot of mysteries.

Johanne, thank you!

Crumb wrote: "Johanne, thank you!"

You´re welcome :)