Discussion: The Strange Case of the Nordic Detectives

From the weekend edition of the WSJ, in case you hadn't seen it. Knowing that you are a fan of the genre, I thought you might be interested.

I hope you can access the article.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB200014240527487036...

I just happened to read it this morning.

I audited a Swedish class for a year and at the end we were reading from a book by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (they are mentioned in the article), they wrote a series of about 10 or 12 detective stories, and over the next few years I read all of them (in Swedish). Not hard to read and fun.

I must say I enjoyed them, even with all the "existential malaise and bad coffee." Also read Stieg Larson's trilogy last year and enjoyed it. Now perhaps I will have to look into Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander series.

So I found a place on the web that seems to be a network of new and used book stores, ordered a used copy of the first in the Wallander series (in Swedish). Looking forward to it, ssuming this is not a scam and the book actually comes -- if not, I'm only out $10 plus shipping.

That looks neat.

I've read most (maybe all) of the Wallander books, and thought they were pretty good. One of them even has a some mentions of orienteering in it.

They're not at all like typical detective type thrillers you tend to see here in the States. In these, the detective dude has what might be termed a "loser" type life. But he still gets the job done in the end.

Received the book in the mail today from an outfit in Wisconsin that Abe Books had given the order to. Surprising fast service!

Except it is in Hebrew. Totally. All except one little paragraph at the front (I think it's the front, though it seems like the back because I think you read Hebrew in the wrong direction) that identified who owned the Hebrew rights.

Sent off an e-mail, waiting to see what the response is. Once again, technology is great, if it works....

Hebrew! The internet is a great place to find things until you get one of these surprises. Reminds me of the time we found a DVD movie for a great price, but it didn't work in the US, only in Asia. I wasn't aware of the whole "Region" thing until then!

I hope you get the book in English soon because I really enjoyed that series. It was a little challenging at the time to read them in order as they weren't translated into English in the order they were written. I'm currently reading "The Pyramid: the First Wallander Cases" and enjoying it, but, despite the name, it was written after the series and shouldn't be read until you've read the series.

I´ve read all of the books in the Wallander series and have enjoyed them a lot (and of course the Millennium trilogy as well) so I recommend them.
Another crime writer I found only last year - although his books have been around for some time - is Jo Nesbö from Norway who writes in a similar manner.
To continue the "Nordic Detective thread" I could also recommend icelandic writerArnaldur Indridasson with very similar stories. He has said in an interview that the secret to writing a succesful crime novel is making the main character unhappy...

I read a bunch of Stieg Trenter mysteries and enjoyed them. Definetly not the usual depressed unhappy detective. I also enjoyed a police procedural by Leif GW Persson.

If you like Swedish crime novels with heroes with normal problems you should also read Liza Marklund (the main character is a tabloid journalist), Åsa Larsson (crime in the very north of Sweden) and Camilla Läckberg (strange stories from the idyllic Swedish west coast).

Many interesting recommendations. Are these books available in English, or just in Swedish (and perhaps Hebrew)?

You find Mankells Wallander series here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_kk_2?rh=i%3...

I read "The Bomber" by Marklund. Was very good and have been looking for more to come through our library shelves.