Christoffer Carlsson has just gotten a rave review for October is the Coldest Month from The Sydney Morning Herald:

“Everyone knows about Scandi noir but are you aware it extends to teen fiction? October is the Coldest Month is one of the first YA novels of its kind to be translated into English. It should win over a younger audience to the ice and the cold, the grime and grit the genre does so well. […] Vega Gillberg is 16 when the police come looking for her older brother Jakob, who’s vanished after an appalling crime. She has mixed motives for finding him before the cops do. Vega braves the hard faces and long-held grudges of a rural Swedish community. On one level, she’s a typical adolescent  and on another, as we learn more about her complicity that fateful night, Vega has come of age, stepping into an adult world full of doubt and menace. Taut, tense and thick with atmosphere.”

The Australian edition of October is the Coldest Month was published by Scribe on July 3rd.

Dr. Bertil Marklund has gotten a great new review from Publishers Weekly for his book The Nordic Guide to Living 10 Years Longer: 10 Easy Tips for a Happier, Healthier Life, which was published in the US and Canada in May:

“Marklund, a doctor and professor at Gothenberg University in Sweden, packs many good things into this small package. His slim book distills medical research, as well as observations from his 20-year practice, experience as a public health specialist, and the Scandinavian way of life, into 10 tips for good health. They are eminently practical, reasonable, and straightforward to implement. […] He explains the science behind each in a refreshingly unpretentious, down-to-earth, thoroughly convincing way that encourages readers to follow his suggestions. […] Readers looking to improve their health without extreme diets or fads, and those who feel overwhelmed by the overload of available health information, must read this book.”

Publishers Weekly has selected The Dying Game by Åsa Avdic as their book of the week, saying:

“Agatha Christie meets George Orwell in journalist Avdic’s unsettling first novel, set in Sweden in 2037 […] Avdic not only constructs a fascinating and original plot but makes her imagined reality chillingly plausible.”

Lotta Olsson, literary critic at Dagens Nyheter, states in her review of The Thin Blue Line that “stylistically, Christoffer Carlsson is one of Sweden’s best crime writers”

Read the full review here.

Bustle has just chosen The Owl Always Hunts at Night as one of “15 Heart-Pounding Thrillers For Your Summer TBR List” with these words:

“Expertly paced and thoughtfully plotted, The Owl Always Hunts at Night will leave you shaken to your core.”

The US edition of The Owl Always Hunts at Night was published by Penguin Books on June 6th.

Åsa Avdic has just gotten this great pre-publication review from Booklist for The Dying Game:

“An Orwellian debut novel that never lets up.”

The US edition of The Dying Game will be published by Penguin Books on August 1st.

The Irish Times has just chosen Christoffer Carlsson’s October is the Coldest Month as one of the best recent YA books:

“Christoffer Carlsson’s October Is the Coldest Month, translated deftly from the Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles, is one of the first Scandi noir books for teens to be published in the UK. In a small rural community, the arrival of a police officer at the front door prompts 16-year-old Vega to find her older brother, Jakob, and uncover the truth about what happened the night a man died. The desolate landscape is the perfect backdrop for this taut tale of old family feuds and unfurling secrets.”

The UK edition of October is the Coldest Month was published by Scribe last week.

Starred review for Åsa Avdic’s The Dying Game in Publishers Weekly:

“Agatha Christie meets George Orwell in journalist Avdic’s unsettling first novel, set in Sweden in 2037. A coup has led to a state of martial law and the country’s transformation into a protectorate under the aegis of an international entity known as the Union of Friendship. Anna Francis, a bureaucrat, is estranged from her family and tempted by an unusual job offer from a high official called the Chairman. The Chairman explains that the secret RAN Project is short-handed and that a psychological exercise has been devised to identify a suitable new member of the team: prospective candidates are to be transported to a remote island, along with Anna, who will pretend to have been murdered, so that she can covertly observe their reactions to the unexpected trauma. Things don’t go as planned, and Anna soon has a real murder to deal with. Avdic not only constructs a fascinating and original plot but makes her imagined reality chillingly plausible.”

The US edition of The Dying Game will be published by Penguin Books on August  1st.

Christoffer Carlsson keeps getting praised for The Thin Blue Line:

“The brilliant and initiated storyteller Carlsson has previously written three books about Leo Junker. Sadly, The Thin Blue Line is the last one. The reasoning, contemplating, and at times poetic style of this book could be followed by yet another Junker story, but I’m sorry to say it comes to an end here.”
Skaraborgs Allehanda

Malin Persson Giolito has just gotten a fabulous six star review for Quicksand in Norway:

“The reader gets sucked into the story from the very first page… The protagonist in Quicksand makes observations about her surroundings: they are sharp, relentless, and at times truly witty – brilliantly portrayed by the author. […] Much is at stake for the protagonist, Maja, where she stands as the accused. Malin Persson Giolito handels this excellently. She writes in an unvarnished, ‘no-nonsense’ and direct style, where everything is played out through the eyes and mind of Maja. Never for a moment does it fall flat, but it is rather to the point and elegant. And well-balanced, because it never tips over in cynicism. […] Quicksand was named Best Crime Novel of the Year by the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy in 2016. Incredibly well-deserved.”
Bok 365

The Norwegian edition was published by Cappelen Damm on April 21st.

Dorthe Nors continues to enchant UK critics with Mirror, Shoulder, Signal. Here’s a new rave review:

“Occasionally irritatingly scatty, Sonja is a character one can warm to, while appreciating her quirkiness. Although little happens, Nors’s prose captures the disappointments, loneliness and desires of middle-aged single life. A heartfelt, darkly funny and addictive read that will leave you longing for more.”
The Lady

The fourth and final installment in Christoffer Carlsson’s bestselling Leo Junker Series is due to be published on May 10th and it just got a rave review in public service television broadcaster SVT’s morning show, Gomorron Sverige. Host Marianne Rundström called Carlsson “one of Sweden’s sharpest crime writers”, and leading critic Magnus Utvik had the following to say:

“It’s very rare in a crime novel to find that the author is so rooted in regular police work. […] There are great relationships between characters, psychological depth and an incredible drive. […] The style is effortless, there’s not a sentence out of place.”

Rave review for Samuel Bjørk’s The Owl Always Hunts at Night from The Daily Express:

“Norway’s most famous artwork is Edvard Munch’s The Scream and Norwegian author Samuel Bjørk gives Jo Nesbø a run for his money in conveying the pain and rage beneath the country’s placid surface. This sequel to I’m Travelling Alone sees the return of the brilliant but damaged investigator Mia Krüger and her appropriately named boss, Munch. The plot is competently handled but the brilliantly drawn angsty sleuths kept me hooked.”

The UK edition of The Owl Always Hunts at Night was published by Transworld / Penguin Random House on April 20th and it immediately entered The Sunday Times‘ bestseller list for hardcover fiction at #8.

Dorthe Nors has just gotten a fantastic review in The Economist for Mirror, Shoulder, Signal:

“Dorthe Nors’s novel is a magnificent exploration of anxiety. Mirror, Shoulder, Signal introduces a writer who is both funny and brave. […] Nors, in contrast, turns her gridlocked human traffic into a transport of delight.”

Read the review in full here.

Today is the publication day for the UK edition of The Owl Always Hunts at Night and here’s a first stunning review from The Irish News:

“There’s something about Scandi-crime fiction that sets it apart from the norm and the second novel in Norwegian author Samuel Bjork’s Munch and Kruger series exemplifies everything that is great about the genre. […] Told in short, compelling chapters that alternate between several perspectives, Bjork creates a unique, twisting, unsettling thriller that really epitomises the phrase ‘page-turner’. And at the heart of it are two police officers whose own emotional battles are as enticing as the crime they are investigating. Read as a standalone novel or as part of the series, the book works equally well. In fact, there is very little to fault in this Nordic crime thriller par excellence.”

Great new review from Skånska Dagbladet for Susanne Jansson’s In the Mire:

“In the Mire navigates both the horror and suspense genres, and does not veer away from supernatural elements. As a contrast, it also offers interesting glimpses into Nathalie’s scientific work and police photographer Maya’s pondering about photo art. All in all this is a well-written and refreshing debut.”

Susanne Jansson has just gotten a rave review from renowned crime book critic Lotta Olsson at Dagens Nyheter:

“The atmosphere is what makes me fall, head over heels: a lonely woman who rents out her city apartment and heads out into the wilderness. […] Susanne Jansson skillfully builds mounting uncertainty. Is there something supernatural out there, in the mire? Or is there a person using the lore for their own purposes? Does Nathalie have more reasons for coming to the mire than she lets on? […] In the Mire is one of the best and most complete debut novels I’ve ever read.”

Read the full review here.

Samuel Bjørk has just received a great pre-publication review from Publishers Weekly for his bestselling crime novel The Owl Always Hunts at Night.

“The tension and stakes increase exponentially over the course of this meticulously plotted tale. […] Bjork’s character work is excellent and imbues the story with nuance and heft.”

The US edition of The Owl Always Hunts at Night will be published by Penguin on June 6th.

Read the full review here.

Dorthe Nors’s Man Booker International Prize longlisted novel Mirror, Shoulder, Signal has gotten yet another rave review from the UK:

“This novel reads like a sort of Danish Woody Allen; existential, domestic, gently humorous. […] On the one hand, this poetic, thoughtful book is an affectionate send-up of the modern Nordic mindset. But in a deeper way it’s a love letter to a vanished land, that of childhood.”
The Daily Mail

Malin Persson Giolito’s critically acclaimed novel Quicksand, which was published in the US last week, has just gotten a rave review from The Washington Post:

“A remarkable new novel from Sweden […] Giolito, who practiced law before she turned to fiction, writes with exceptional skill. […] Giolito keeps us guessing a long time and the outcome, when it arrives, is just as it should be.”

Read the full review here.

Mirror, Shoulder, Signal by Dorthe Nors continues to garner fantastic reviews by leading critics. Here are excerpts from The Guardian and Financial Times:

“Nors is at her most trenchant and empathic when her protagonist, riddled with superstition and uncertainty, is inwardly soliloquising […] When Sonja’s narrative breaks free of the corner she has boxed herself into, the prose swoops and soars like her yearned-for whooper swans. It’s at these moments that Nors’s reinvention of experimental fiction is so marvellous: the remainder of her backlist should not disappoint.”
the guardian

“Mirror, Shoulder, Signal has just been published in Britain and will raise Nors’ profile further. […] Nors writes important modern women’s fiction. It is an act of 21st century recovery and assertion: she gives back agency and centrality to older women, sidelined in all societies, even Scandinavian ones, where women are valued less than men, and childless, single women least of all.”
Financial Times

The Danish edition of Geir Tangen’s debut novel Maestro was published by Modtryk on January 31st and the reception has been fantastic. Here’s the latest rave review:

“There are crime novels you simply have to read. Well-written and with a level of suspense that is heightened page after page, a touch of humor and characters who are exciting, authentic, and each with their individual qualities. Geir Tangen is a master in his own right. He conducts his plot with elegance and linguistic precision.”
Fyens Stiftstidene

Dorthe Nors’ praised novel Mirror, Shoulder, Signal has just received this fantastic pre-publication review from The Big Issue in the UK:

“The experience in reading about Sonja’s heroic struggle to get out of a crummy rut is very moving. Perhaps because Nors’ watchful eye, as well as often seeing the humour in regular situations, creates characters so believable in their small, everyday battles that we can’t help but care. Even more important, though, is the tenderness of her writing; the feeling she is giving much of herself away, wincing with Sonja’s everyday slight, warming with every moment of unexpected affection. It’s from that generous spirit of self-sacrifice that this novel gets its heart.”

The UK edition of Mirror, Shoulder, Signal is to be published by Pushkin Press on February 23rd.

Sweden’s biggest daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter has chosen The Spy with No Country as one of their five favorites from last week. Renowned critic Lotta Olsson writes:

“Espionage, poisoning, and high-level politics in a story that comes frighteningly close to the current international reality.”

Camilla Grebe has just received this rave review for The Ice Beneath Her from Bookpage:

“When a new Scandinavian mystery hits the stands, you pretty much know it’s going to be good, and Swedish author Camil­la Grebe’s The Ice Beneath Her, translated by Elizabeth Clark Wessel, does not let the team down. All the tried- and-true adjectives apply here: gripping, atmospheric, nuanced and, of course, graphically violent. […] Through it all, the true killer remains as elusive as smoke on a breezy day, and when the twist comes, it’s one that even jaded Nordic noir fans likely won’t see coming.”

The Ice Beneath Her was published in the US on December 27th.

Ahead of the US publication in February, The White City by Karolina Ramqvist continues to garner fantastic pre-publication reviews. Here are excerpts from the most recent ones, from Shelf Awareness and Booklist:

“The White City is rich in language and ambience. Moody, mysterious, maternal and magnetic […] it is a haunting novel of a woman adrift yet firmly attached to romantic memories of her lover and the simple needs of her daughter […] Like a Madonna of the tundra, Karin is a resilient and irresistible protagonist, and Ramqvist is a serious contender for the Swedish literary limelight.”
Shelf Awareness

“The ghostly Scandinavian setting and Karin’s closely narrated sense of impending doom, baby cooing patiently at her hip, make Swedish star Ramqvist’s English-language debut an atmospheric and suspenseful read.”
Booklist

Camilla Grebe’s critically praised psychological thriller The Ice Beneath Her has just been published in the US by Ballantine. In the lead-up to publication, the book received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly:

“The decapitation of a young woman propels Grebe’s exceptional solo debut, which examines three lives broken by failures to take responsibility in a Stockholm where ‘even the sky is crying’.”
Publishers Weekly

“Veteran coauthor Grebe takes her first solo turn in this tale of three troubled souls linked by a horrific crime—and what a turn it is. […] Each of these stories—Peter’s, Hanne’s, and Emma’s—is compelling enough to fuel an entire novel; Grebe’s skill in weaving them together is impressive. A tour de force that lifts its author to the front rank among the increasingly crowded field of Nordic noir.”
Kirkus

The US edition of Malin Persson Giolito’s novel Quicksand will be published by Other Press on March 7th 2017 and this rave pre-publication review has just come in from Kirkus:

“Sharp social commentary through the tragic story of a young woman’s trial for mass murder. Swedish novelist Giolito begins her English-language debut with a powerful view of a crime scene. To the narrator, 18-year-old Maja, her fellow classmates are still in the present tense, the horror not yet real. As she tells her tale we understand that she is at the center of a school shooting perpetrated by her boyfriend, Sebastian Fagerman, and the question is whether she is complicit. Both teenagers come from privileged backgrounds, she from a loving home she has no patience for, and he the son of “the richest man in Sweden,” who verbally abuses him. Giolito keeps the narrative moving quickly, alternating between the present tense of Maja’s jail cell and the courtroom and her memories of parties and travels with her jet-setting boyfriend, though as Maja says,’there are no chapters in this mess.’ That mess takes in the uneasy place of race in modern-day Sweden and the voracious press that amplifies the details of everything in Maja’s young life. There is no suspense in the shooting of Amanda, Maja’s best friend, or of Sebastian. She did it and admits to it. The literary anticipation here is in the telling of the tale, the facts that turn the story to something else, and yes, the verdict. The rhythm, tone, and language are just right, due in great part to the fine translation by Willson-Broyles. Giolito gives us the unsettling monologue of a teenage girl as she works her way through her role in murder. It is a splendid work of fiction.”

Here’s a new rave pre-publication review for Malin Persson Giolito’s novel Quicksand, which will be published in the US come March 2017:

“Giolito’s astonishing English-language debut is a dark exploration of the crumbling European social order and the psyche of rich Swedish teens. […] In crafting a first-person narrative told by a school shooter, many authors would go too far, creating and overly likable character; Giolito masterfully walks this fine line, developing a protagonist whom readers will remain intrigued by and ambivalent about, but who they won’t necessarily like. Giolito’s past as a lawyer and as a European Union official poke through the pages as she exposes the curing racism that refugees in Europe endure, even in supposed left-wing-idyll Sweden. Praise must also go to translator Willson-Broyles, as the incisive language that’s on display here surely involves translation precision that’s second to none.”
Booklist, starred review

Joakim Zander’s celebrated second novel The Believer will be published in the US on January 17th, 2017. The book has just gotten this starred pre-publication review from Booklist:

“Zander has written another compelling, timely, and character-centered thriller, and many readers will look forward to what he does next.”

Karolina Ramqvist has just received this rave pre-publication review from Kirkus:

“Though the plot of Ramqvist’s English debut may make it sound like a crime thriller, the pace is lulling, the writing sensuous and patiently observed. So much of the book, in fact, consists of long scenes of Karin nursing Dream or spending hours watching the infant play that the book feels, more than any thriller, like an allegory of parenting. […] as Karin, quite literally, works to keep Dream alive against a backdrop of violence and deception, readers root for both characters to find their way. Delicate and unsparing.”

The US edition of The White City will be published by Grove Atlantic on February 7th 2017.

In the lead-up to the US publication of Joakim Zander’s novel The Believer, this fantastic pre-publication review from Kirkus has just come in:  

“Zander’s latest page-turning political thriller weaves three interconnected stories into a hypertopical tale of international intrigue. […] Zander’s twisting, high-octane plot could not be more timely, but it’s the characters, all three of them, that bring this vivid novel to life. Suspenseful and primed for Hollywood adaptation, this is escapist fiction at its best.”

Here’s also a new, rave review from the UK:

“The Brother by Joakim Zander is a prime slice of Nordic noir. Zander is part of the influx of new blood into the genre, and this second novel is both forceful and subtle. […] What we have here are two crucial ingredients of Scandicrime: powerfully orchestrated tension set against a strong dose of social commentary.”
The Independent

Dorthe Nors’ latest novel Mirror, Shoulder, Signal has just been published in Sweden by Ordfront to fantastic critical praise. Here are a few excerpts:

“A slender novel bursting with substance and sharp turns. What’s beautiful about it is that you haven’t got a clue of where you’re going, and yet you’re wholly enjoying the ride.”
VI LÄSER

“An exquisite little novel, that feels bigger than most and that makes my heart beat.”
UPSALA NYA TIDNING 

“Ninni Holmqvist has exquisitely translated Dorthe Nors’ funny and beautiful novel about alienation and finding a home within yourself. It’s so easy to both recognize yourself and to feel for Sonja’s struggle that I, both during and after reading, tear up from giggling as well as from the solemn sensation of how peculiar life actually is. Or how singular this novel is and how rich I feel from having read it.”
BORÅS TIDNING

“Dorthe Nors writes sparsely yet at the same time poignantly and hilariously, finds the words that captures the details, the situations, the relationships sometimes with a dizzying twist, sometimes with a social-realistic accuracy of aim.”
KULTURNYTT, SVERIGES RADIO

Åsa Avdic’s page-turner Isola continues to garner praise. Here’s a fantastic new review from  Sydsvenskan:

“Isola is a well-constructed paranoid thriller […] Full of unexpected twists and turns, power games, and realizations that no one is to be trusted. With a prose so effective that it’s capable of evoking the concrete gray atmosphere of totalitarism, Avdic stays on point from beginning to end. This is exceedingly skillful  craftsmanship. […] The pages rush past – I can’t seem to be able to put the book down.”

So far, Isola has been sold to six territories:

France, Actes Sud
Germany, HarperCollins
Poland, Sonia Draga
Romania, RAO
Russia, Corpus
Sweden, Natur & Kultur