Christoffer Carlsson, “A Little Drop of Blood”
The publisher of Albert Bonnier
One of the absolute best crime novels of last year. With a focus on novels, because Christoffer Carlsson moves in the literary border area between fiction and crime stories. He has the linguistic security to dare to wait for his story. Moves between the fifties and the present, about espionage, Swedish nuclear weapons and the hardships of writers.
Anne Holt, “Twelve Untamed Horses”
Trans. Barbro Lagergren. The Pirate Publisher
The threads are numerous and the personal gallery is large. The focus is on former police officer Hanne Wilhelmsen, who is becoming increasingly irritable. Anne Holt’s storytelling skills are first-class and immerse the reader in a balanced mix of suspense, death, horror and human relationships. The intrigue is surprising and the image of society’s loner is uncomfortably credible.
Marie Hermanson, “Furthest Into the Forest”
The publisher of Albert Bonnier
At first I had difficulties with Marie Hermanson’s historical crime stories. I didn’t think they were in control but became too accountable. But here in the third part the narrative technique has really condensed and taken shape. On a cold January day in 1926, a girl disappears from the Natural History Museum in Gothenburg. Naked and unsentimental about class, addiction, illness and disability.
Mattias Edvardsson, “Graglänta”
forum
Some police officers find their way into my heart from the first page. Gunni Hilding from the Trelleborg Police is one such person, deeply humane, searching and righteous. The first part of the series “Tatort Söderslätt” is about repressed memories and children who are accused of having done the worst thing to a friend. The story is frighteningly close to several real crimes.
Maria Adolfsson, “Silent as the Wall”
Wahlström & Widstrand
Those of us who love the fictional Doggerland were probably a little worried when detective Karen Eiken Friis left the island nation in the middle of the North Sea for Stockholm shortly before the start of the seventh part of the series. But Maria Adolfsson does it brilliantly. Once again she manages to create a pleasant mix of everyday life, crime, family relationships and police work.
Lars Mytting, “Skrapenatta”
Trans. Lotta Eklund. Wahlström & Widstrand
Third and final part of the large family crown from Gudbrandsdalen, Norway. The 17th-century story of two church bells and a loom, which are said to foretell misfortune, illness and death, is well written and with enormous momentum. Here the three parts are connected, but the novel can be read independently. Plus for the elements of magical realism.
Karin Slaughter, “The Lie”
Trans. Villemo Linngård Oksanen. HarperCollins Nordic
A powerful suspense novel starring Special Agent Will Trent and coroner Sara Linton, who are drawn into a dark family drama during their honeymoon. Everyone has secrets from the past and needs them as deep as bottomless quicksand pits. Incomparably powerful portrayal of interdependence and the strong influence of childhood trauma on people.
Carina Burman, “Death Takes a Vacation”
The publisher of Albert Bonnier
Retro crime thriller full of charm, as if Maria Lang herself had taken a bus trip to Rome in 1956. The details fit like a charm, from the clothes to the dishes and how to put away the titles and get along. Deck reviewer Florrie Granat suspects that a sudden death is not a given in the company and detects murderous motives among the fellow travelers.
Conny Palmkvist, “Count the happy moments”
forum
The language is stubborn and rhapsodic, like fluttering thoughts. It takes place on both sides of the Øresund from 1940 to 1942, where people flee, betray, love and try to do their best in an inhumane time. Conny Palmkvist writes a complete and convincing character gallery. The second part of the Öresund trilogy was released this summer and also held up.
Malin Haawind: “If you follow a star, you don’t turn back”
The Pirate Publisher
Ellen Key loved children and working women. But she did not see everything that her servant and housekeeper saw. Class and depression have rarely been portrayed as insightfully as in the novel about Malin Blomsterberg, who wandered to the beach house of her idol Ellen Key in 1914 and stayed there until her death in 1925. Voted book of the year 2025.
Rebecca Yarros, “Fourth Wing”
Trans. Åsa Kempe. gondola
Hands up to everyone who has prejudices against fantasy, dragons and demons. Now it’s time to give the genre a chance. I myself surrendered after 622 pages of battle between good and evil in the fictional country of Navarrea. The young heroine Violet is more brave than strong and teams up with the big black battle dragon. It’s hot, bloody and irresistible.
Mian Lodalen, “The Dancer and the Demons”
Romanus & Sell
Mian Lodalen demonstrates his full strength and ability as a writer. She crawls painfully close to the young, talented dancer Hasse, who leaves behind a life and an uncomprehending family in Jönköping in 1955 for the Stockholm Opera Ballet School. But he can’t let go of himself or the lust and longing he feels for men, and self-hatred consumes him.
Ulrika Lagerlöf, “Hjortronmyren”
Romanus & Sell
Dense, beautiful and deeply moving about the clearings of the Sami and the forest operations, forbidden love, lust and poverty. All 17-year-old Siv wants is to be free. But in 1938 she ends up working as a cook for a team of lumberjacks in the hinterland of Västerbotten. The story moves between her life situation and the way the generations after her try to find their way in the forest and nature.
Simona Ahrnstedt, “Charlie’s Revenge”
forum
The Swedish Fay Weldon 2.0 is an entertaining, enjoyable read. With this honor, Simona Ahrnstedt is nicknamed “Sweden’s Love Queen”. The first part of the series about Charlie Anderson has substance and a wink. As in The Life and Desires of a She-Devil, feminist rage throbs in the story of a betrayed and betrayed woman who takes brutal revenge.
Moa Herngren, “Sibling Feud”
Norstedts
Moa Herngren is a master of subtitles. Three siblings meet in their parents’ house after their father’s death and the dialogues tremble with passive aggressiveness. Old dishes, records and the obituary are full of old jealousy and feelings of exclusion. All three children have a right to their unhappy childhood, but the author’s changes of perspective skillfully change the picture.
Kerstin Särneö is a journalist and author and has been a teacher at the University of Journalism in Gothenburg and book editor at M Magasin for many years.
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