Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

A scramble is on to feed mystery readers' hunger after they've finished Stieg Larsson's Millennium series.
NY Times article -- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/boo...
"The fall catalog for Minotaur Books, part of Macmillan, notes that “Hypothermia,” by the Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason, will be marketed directly to fans of Mr. Larsson. "
I enjoyed Arnaldur Indriðason's Silence of the Grave and The Draining Lake

Thanks for posting this, Ann. Yikes, as if we didn't already have too many books we wanted to read! Now we're going to be truly overloaded.

Marcy:
The really daunting reality is that so many of these new to us authors have pretty large catalogs of books we have missed. The two Indridason books I have read are a drop in the bucket! Overloaded is right!

Marcy wrote: "Thanks for posting this, Ann. Yikes, as if we didn't already have too many books we wanted to read! Now we're going to be truly overloaded."

I wanted to readArctic Chill by Indridason, but didn't have the time before its due date. I had to return it unread. I haven't as yet read any Scandinavian mysteries. Marcy convinced me that I need to read Steig Larson's books. I discovered that there are 77 holds on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so I also put it on my PBS wish list. Let's see which copy I get sooner.

I have in my stacks a book by
Henning Mankell that someone gave me years ago. I think it's finally time tog et started with this series. There were also a couple of PBS Mystery episodes featuring the MC Inspector Kurt Wallander, so I think they have hit the big time.

Ann wrote: "Marcy:
The really daunting reality is that so many of these new to us authors have pretty large catalogs of books we have missed. The two Indridason books I have read are a drop in the bucket! Over..."

Carol:
Is it the first Wallander book, Faceless Killers? I am excited to see that the library has quite a few of his books!

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "I have in my stacks a book by
Henning Mankell that someone gave me years ago. I think it's finally time tog et started with this series. There were also a couple of PBS Mystery ep..."

Not Carol, but raising my hand to answer Ann's question - Faceless Killers is the 1st Wallender. I listened to it a short time ago and will definitely go back for more. Quite a complex character!

Thanks, Marcy -- the Wallender books do look good. I might as well start at the beginning since I can get it at the library. ;)

Marcy wrote: "Not Carol, but raising my hand to answer Ann's question - Faceless Killers is the 1st Wallender. I listened to it a short time ago and will definitely go back for more. Quite a complex character!"

I haven't read these books, but they're the cover story for EW this week.

Attached is a "starter" list of Nordic\Brit\Irish\European author thread on Amazon: I have also very much enjoyed Mark Billingham's Tom Thorne series:

Here's a list of Nordic writers I compiled shortly after this original thread began:

Here's some Scandanavian/Icelandic books that are popular: Author, protag(s),1st translated book (s)

K. O. Dahl-----------Two policemen in Oslo, Norway
THE MAN IN THE WINDOW, THE FOURTH MAN

Ake Edwardson----Erik Winter, a jazz-loving Chief Inspector in Gothenburg, Sweden
SUN AND SHADOW, NEVER END, DANCE WITH AN ANGEL (SEPT 2009)

Karin Fossum--------Inspector Sejer of a small village in Norway
DON'T LOOK BACK, HE WHO FEARS THE WOLF

Arnaldur Indridason--A detective Inspector and his colleagues in Reykjavic, Iceland
SILENCE OF THE GRAVE, THE DRAINING LAKE

Mari Jungstedt---Anders Knutas, a police inspector on Gotland Island, Sweden
UNSEEN, UNSPOKEN, THE INNER CIRCLE, A LONELY PLACE

Asa Larsson---------tax attorney Rebecka Martinsson in Kiruna, northern Sweden
SUN STORM, THE BLOOD SPILT, THE BLACK PATH

Steig Larsson-------Swedes Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist and Lizbeth Salander, computer hacker
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE

Henning Mankell-----Inspector Kurt Wallander of Ystad, Sweden
FACELESS KILLERS, THE DOGS OF RIGA

Jo Nesbo-----------Harry Hole, a police detective in Oslo, Norway
THE REDBREAST, NEMESIS

Hakan Nesser-------Chief Inspector Van Veeteren in a country that resembles Sweden
MIND'S EYE, BORKMAN'S POINT, THE RETURN, WOMAN WITH BIRTHMARK

Yrsa Sigurdardottir-------Thora Gudmundsdottir, a lawyer in Reykjavik, Iceland
LAST RITUALS, MY SOUL TO TAKE

Sjowall/Wahoo------Police inspector Martin Beck in Stockholm, Sweden
ROSANNA, THE MAN WHO WENT UP IN SMOKE, THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN

Johan Theorin------non-series set on island of Oland, Sweden - The Oland Quartet
ECHOES FROM THE DEAD, THE DARKEST ROOM (SEPT 2009)

Helene Tursten-----Detective Inspector Irene Huss of Violent Crimes in Goteborg, Sweden
THE TORSO, THE GLASS DEVIL

P. S. I agree with Susie. Start with the Martin Beck and Van Veeteren ones!
Jane

I prefer to listen to these type books on audio, so I don't get hung up on how to pronounce the names in my head! Sadly, some are not available on audio, or for the kindle, only in "book" form, which may be fine for other readers. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks to the Nordie's on Amazon.

Mary QC - I love this type of book on audio too!!
Thanks for the list!

Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "I prefer to listen to these type books on audio, so I don't get hung up on how to pronounce the names in my head! Sadly, some are not available on audio, or for the kindle, only in "book" form, wh..."

Ann...you are welcome...those Nordie folks are extremely well read in the genre and have some authors who stop by to chat. If you are curious it is under Amazon discussions > Mystery > Nordic/British/Irish/Euro mysteries II (NBIE II). I am mary quite contrary there also.

Mary QC - is it possible to get a digest of the discussion posts on Amazon? I couldn't find anything like that in the settings, and my in box was inundated this morning. I have turned off notification for now. It is a prolific group over there!
Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "Ann...you are welcome...those Nordie folks are extremely well read in the genre and have some authors who stop by to chat. If you are curious it is under Amazon discussions > Mystery > Nordic/British/Irish/Euro mysteries II.."

Yes, very prolific and mostly on-topic about books, too. Unfortunately there is no digest. I used to follow the discussion entirely on email but recently they changed the email's and only show a portion of the post. So now I have a link directly to that discussion, when I get to it I click on the NEW POSTS link so it only shows the latest. That is the best way I have found to keep up. If you get behind, just skip to the latest...there is often too much for me. RJ (Roger) Ellory & Leighton Gage are frequent posters on that thread. Roger wrote A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS

That's not the one I have in my stacks, but being the faithful RIO that I am I requested Faceless Killers from the library. Have just had to return it unread as I was too busy not returning Storm Prey, but I re-requested it.

Ann wrote: "Carol:
Is it the first Wallander book, Faceless Killers? I am excited to see that the library has quite a few of his books!

Carol/Bonadie wrote: "I have in my stacks a book by
[auth..."

Mary QC:
Thanks for the tips on handling the Amazon discussion posts. They look interesting. I noticed Grada (in The Netherlands) mentioned on the Introduction thread that Amazon wouldn't let her comment without buying something - that seems unfair since they won't let her purchase on the Amazon US site.

Mary/Quite Contrary wrote: "Yes, very prolific and mostly on-topic about books, too. Unfortunately there is no digest. I used to follow the discussion entirely on email but recently they changed the email's and only show a portion of the post..."

Ann...I think Grada needs a profile, not a purchase, in order to post. But I hate that she was turned away and discouraged from joining the discussion. Those ladies on there are amazing in their knowledge and their willingness to chase down these titles. They order books from the UK, haunt the libraries, request the libraries purchase books for them, and if all else fails they will share. They're not shy about contacting the authors directly and asking them to join the conversation. I hope you enjoy it if you stop by.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article on non-American crime and mystery writers that will be published in the near future. It includes writers from Nigeria: Treachery by the Yard, Adichinma Ibe; Italy: The Past is a Foreign Country, Gianrico Carofiglio; Germany: Kismet, Jakob Arjouni; Turkey: The Wig Murders, Mehmet Murat Somer; Japan: Villian, Shuichi Yoshida; and Korea: Your Republic is Calling You, Youngha Kim. They also mention other author's who have already been published/translated - most due to the popularity of Larsson's trilogy. One other one that caught my eye was Japanese author's The Devotion of Suspect X, Keigo Higashino.

The article also lists some books by Literary fiction with ghosts (Japanese); politics and social issues (Swedish); noir (South African); organized crime (German and Italian); and stories of gangs, drugs political corruption and class conflict (Latin American).

Sounds like if you're looking for a change, there's something for everyone.

Anyone interested in Nordic, Brit, Irish, European & Intl authors, please visit Amazon discussion thread called NBIE II. There is a lovely group of folks there with the most amazing amount of experience in this area. They are a well read, well traveled group who know this genre back to front. Some authors stop by occasionally, but the regulars are the reason to visit. Hope to see you there:

http://www.amazon.com/tag/mystery/for...

Daniel wrote: "The Wall Street Journal ran an article on non-American crime and mystery writers that will be published in the near future. It includes writers from Nigeria: Treachery by the Yard, Adichinma Ibe; ..."

Interesting, Dan. I think I mentioned before that Larsson's books were the cover story on EW magazine a couple of weeks ago. I definitely think international stories are the "next big thing"!

You're right, Melodie. The article also stated that only about 3% of U.S. books are translations opposed to 40% of Euro books. (Of course, translating from Portugese to Spanish is roughly the equivalent of translating from Jerseyese to Valley Speak). Seriously though, publishers are now searching out non-American writers rather than waiting for someone to convince them to take a chance. This will last until a coujple of translations bomb, and then they'll move on to the next "latest thing in publishing."

Okay, I caved and ordered THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO from Walmart.com. The large trade-sized paperback was only $7.14 and site-to-store shipping is free. It's much more than that if you actually buy it in the store. Guess I'll see what all the hype is about!

Dan:
Wow, that is quite an impressive list! I need to figure out how to get a well paying job to read books all day!

Daniel wrote: "The Wall Street Journal ran an article on non-American crime and mystery writers that will be published in the near future. It includes writers from Nigeria: Treachery by the Yard, Adichinma Ibe; ..."