Nordic Noir November: Spotlight on Danish Crime Fiction
Happy Sunday, readers, and welcome back to our weekly spotlight on Scandinavian crime fiction! If you’re new to CBTB, every Sunday this November, I’ll be spotlighting crime fiction from a particular Nordic country. We’ve already explored Norwegian crime fiction and Swedish crime fiction, and this weekend, it’s Denmark’s turn! Denmark is home to two bestselling crime writers whose work helped introduce me to the Scandinavian crime fiction genre, writers who remain some of my favorites to this day,, and it’s also home to a number of up-and-coming crime writers whose novels are shaking up the genre, and delivering truly gripping and inventive stories. Today I’ll be walking you through my personal favorite Danish crime writers, and giving you tips for where to start with their work! I’ll add the same disclaimer here that I’ve had on my last couple Nordic Noir blog posts: this list is by no means an exhaustive rundown of all the Danish crime writers out there, simply a guide to my personal favorites, which I hope will help you embark on your own journey discovering their work!
For more Scandinavian crime fiction coverage, check out my website’s dedicated Nordic Noir section, including a list of Nordic Noir By Country and lots more! Without further ado, let’s dive on in to today’s feature on Danish crime fiction!
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Spotlight on Danish Crime Fiction
My Personal Favorite Danish Crime Writers
Sara Blædel
Detective Novels | Compelling Female Protagonists | Great for Nordic Noir Beginners
I’ve got to start my discussion of Sara Blædel’s work with a little story. Denmark’s Queen of Crime Sara Blædel has been one of my favorite authors ever since I purchased a copy of her fantastic book THE FORGOTTEN GIRLS at the local bookstore down the street from my college years ago. Sara was going to be coming through town on book tour later that week, and I planned to attend her event (it would have been the very first author event I ever attended!)... but unfortunately, I wound up with a bad case of strep throat, and spent the afternoon of her event at my doctor’s office. I was so disappointed to miss out on her event, and I ended up snapping a photo of the book and posting it on my social media anyway. Much to my surprise, Sara responded right away! I can’t remember the exact comment she left on that post, but I remember how completely touched I was that such a big-name author would take the time to respond to me. This memory perfectly encapsulates Sara. Over the years, Sara and I have become good friends, and I am constantly amazed by her generosity, kindness, and genuine passion for building relationships with her readers, and with her colleagues in the crime fiction community. Oh, and she’s a fantastic crime writer, too. Sara Blædel writes the Louise Rick series, a series of police procedurals set in Denmark. I frequently recommend the Louise RIck books to newcomers to the Nordic Noir genre for a couple reasons. First and foremost, for their characters: police officer Louise Rick and her journalist friend Camilla Lind are the kinds of characters I wish I could befriend in real life. They are smart, strong, independent women, and Blædel does a beautiful job developing their characters to show all aspects of their lives: the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Louise Rick books also make for excellent reads for genre newcomers because they’re not too bloody or gory. Though these books all involve dark crimes, Blædel never writes excessively violent scenes—her books focus on the methodology of investigators as they try to solve crimes, and they will be a great way for readers to ease into the genre. I adore this series and I’m (impatiently!) awaiting the next installment to be released in English.
Note: Sara Blædel is also the author of a trilogy - the Family Secrets trilogy - which I didn’t mention here simply because it doesn’t, in my opinion, fall under the Nordic Noir umbrella (it’s thematically very different, and not set in Scandinavia). If you wish to learn more about that trilogy, check out her website!
Where to begin with Sara Blædel’s work:
Traditional option: The Louise Rick books can (of course!) be read in chronological order, beginning with the first series installment, THE MIDNIGHT WITNESS.
Alternative option: THE FORGOTTEN GIRLS. This is a later series installment, but it’s a great one to start with if you’re just looking to sample her writing and see if it’s up your alley! I accidentally started reading her series with this book (at that time, I didn’t realize there were previous installments!) and found it a great way to get a feel for Sara’s writing. I’ve since gone back and read her earlier books!
Jussi Adler-Olsen
Quirky Characters | Dark Humor | Gritty Atmosphere
If crime novels that involve elements of dark humor are your cup of tea, you’ll want to check out bestselling crime writer Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q series. The Department Q books are dark, gritty crime novels that follow protagonist Carl Mørck and his ragtag team of investigators. When readers first meet Carl in the series’ first installment, THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES, he has just found himself reassigned to the police force’s cold case department—an undesirable job by most standards, but one that suits Carl perfectly. Carl is a down-on-his-luck police officer whose personal life is in as much turmoil as is his career. Curmudgeonly and disheveled, Carl’s character is quite different from some other (more charismatic!) Nordic Noir protagonists, but it’s exactly this difference that makes him so compelling. Carl is endearing not in spite of his messy life and dark, biting sense of humor, but because of it. The Department Q books center around Carl and his colleagues in Department Q: a truly unlikely and ragtag bunch who, over the course of the series, readers will get to know in great detail. Adler-Olsen’s writing is dark and gritty, but it’s also quite funny, and it never shies away from skewering some of the darkest and most pressing ills of Danish society.
Where to start with Jussi Adler-Olsen’s work:
Read this series in order to get to know the characters best. Start with Book 1, THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES.
Søren Sveistrup
Dark & Gritty | Serial Killer Thriller | Cinematic Storytelling
Søren Sveistrup is best known as the creator of the TV show The Killing, but with his debut crime novel THE CHESTNUT MAN, he quickly established himself as a must-read crime writer in the Nordic Noir scene. Sveistrup has only published one crime novel so far, but it’s a must-read for anyone who loves dark and thrilling crime stories. THE CHESTNUT MAN, Sveistrup’s debut novel, is a dark (and sometimes quite gory) serial killer thriller set in Denmark. It follows a pair of investigators who find themselves on the trail of a terrifying killer: a villain who is terrorizing Copenhagen, leaving at each crime scene a creepy calling card, a handmade doll known as a “chestnut man.” When a link is discovered between one of the crime scenes and the missing daughter of a government official, the stakes are raised. THE CHESTNUT MAN is utterly page-turning reading material: it’s a gripping blend of serial killer thriller storyline and the immersive atmosphere of Copenhagen. The author’s background in television shines through in this story, too, with the book’s snappy dialogue and propulsive plotting. Fans of Lars Kepler will absolutely love THE CHESTNUT MAN. I can’t wait to see what Sveistrup writes next!
Where to begin with Søren Sveistrup’s work:
This one is easy! Begin with THE CHESTNUT MAN.
Katrine Engberg
Investigative Duo | Quirky, Engaging Characters | Suspense & Intrigue
Katrine Engberg made her US debut early this year with the first book in her crime fiction series, THE TENANT—a compelling mystery that follows two police officers investigating a bizarre series of crimes. When a young woman is found brutally murdered in her home, a series of intricate lines carved into her face, detectives quickly establish a connection between the woman and her landlady, who just so happens to be writing a crime novel in which a character inspired by her real-life tenant dies a gruesome death. Is life imitating art? Has the landlady taken to committing real-world crimes to inspire her fiction? Or is something bigger—and even more sinister—at play here? THE TENANT is an original and highly compelling debut novel. Of particular interest to me when I read Engberg’s debut was the way her novel moves between crime fiction subgenres. This book certainly falls into the Nordic Noir genre, with its immersive Copenhagen setting and its strong procedural threads. But THE TENANT also incorporates many other, and quite unique, elements: a bookish mystery, offbeat and quirky characters, and elements of psychological suspense make THE TENANT quite unlike many other Nordic Noir novels. With so many unique elements to this story, I did find that it took me a little bit longer than usual to feel in sync with Engberg’s writing, but once this book “clicked” for me, I was hooked. I’m looking forward to the release of the next installment in Engberg’s series in early 2021!
Where to begin with Katrine Engberg’s work:
Another easy one! Start with THE TENANT, and keep your eyes peeled for THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE in early 2021.
And that’s a wrap on this week’s Spotlight on Danish Crime Fiction! Are you a fan of any of these authors? Are any of these books on your TBR list? I’d love to hear from you! And come back next Sunday for our next Nordic Noir spotlight. Happy reading! xx A
Home ownership feel like a distant dream? Zillow listings have you convinced you’ll be renting for the rest of your life? The woman at the heart of Carissa Orlando’s debut The September House feels your pain—and she’s prepared to put up with a lot if it means she and her husband can finally have a place to call their own. In this case, that might just mean living in a house that’s haunted. Playful and irreverent, spine-tingling and spooky, The September House puts a fresh spin on the classic haunted house story, delivering an immersive tale about the secrets lurking within one building’s walls, and within the lives of its inhabitants.