Nordic noir with Anna Creer.
We Shall Inherit the Wind. By Gunnar Staalesen. Orenda Books. $29.99.
Norwegian writer Gunnar Staalesen is considered one of the fathers of Nordic noir, publishing his first novel set in Bergen, featuring his private detective Varg Veum, in 1977. Twenty novels have followed, with 12 film adaptations. In this latest novel, Veum is hired to investigate the disappearance of Mons Maeland, the owner of a proposed, controversial wind farm. Against a background debate about the pros and cons of wind turbines, Veum encounters both religious fanaticism and environmental terrorism, before discovering Maeland's body in dramatic circumstances. Staalesen explores the timeless themes of love, lust and revenge, while his detective's impulsive actions have horrifying consequences.
I'm Travelling Alone. By Samuel Bjork. Doubleday. $32.99.
Samuel Bjork is the pseudonym of Norwegian novelist and playwright, Frode Sander Oien. I'm Travelling Alone is the first novel in a series about the Oslo Violent Crimes Unit led by Holger Munch, "a fat amiable nerd who never touched alcohol . . . a little dull . . . but an extremely talented investigator". When a six-year-old girl is found hanging from a tree, with an airline tag stating, "I'm travelling alone", Munch persuades his ex-partner, Mia Kruger, to rejoin his investigating team. When she finds a number one etched into the child's fingernails, she realises "there will be others". I'm Travelling Alone is complex, grim, disturbing and compulsive reading.
Europa Blues. By Arne Dahl. Harvill Secker. $32.99.
Swedish writer Arne Dahl's crime novels centre around Unit A, the Special Unit for Violent Crimes of an International Nature in Stockholm. In Europa Blues, three seemingly disconnected crimes create a puzzle for Unit A to solve. A Greek pimp is eaten by wolverines in a Stockholm Zoo, eight prostitutes disappear from a migrant centre and an elderly Jewish professor is tortured to death in a Jewish cemetery. The solution will eventually be found in both the past and across Europe, as Dahl explores the impact of international crime gangs and Sweden's obsession with money. Europa Blues is thoughtful, intelligent crime fiction.
