Do you like crime fiction? Then why not try a Norwegian author next time if you haven’t done so already? There are many good ones to choose from – here is a selection of the most famous names to get you started.
- Karin Fossum: The Norwegian queen of crime started her career writing poetry, before changing genre and finding international success with her inspector Konrad Sejer series. Her books have been translated into 16 languages. Among her best are Don’t Look Back, He Who Fears the Wolf, and Calling Out For You (American translation - The Indian Bride) ‘One of the very best of the new wave of Nordic crime writers… She evokes brilliantly the claustrophobia of small-town Norway’ The Times wrote about Fossum when reviewing the latter in 2005.
- Jo Nesbø: This former journalist and stockbroker is a popular author who has won a number of awards for his crime fiction. Several of those were for his Harry Hole novels, of which the best known among English speakers are probably The Bat Man, The Redbreast and The Snowman.
- Anne Holt: Norwegian author and lawyer Holt worked for the Oslo Police Department for two years – and no doubt got the inspiration for many of her stories during her stint there. Her novels are published in 25 countries. Her first book, Blind Goddess, featured the lesbian police officer Hanne Wilhelmsen, who reappears in several of her later novels, including Blessed Are Those Who Thirst, Death of the Demon, Beyond The Truth, and more recently, 1222.
- Gunnar Staalesen: The man behind the popular Varg Veum series (also on TV in Norway), a private investigator based in the city of Bergen. Titles translated into English include Yours until Death, The Writing on the Wall and The Consorts of Death.
- Jon Michelet: A prolific Østfold-based author whose work has not, to date, been widely translated into English. His most famous novel, Orion’s Belt (1977), set in Svalbard during the Cold War, was adapted for the big screen in the 1980s, and was a big box office success.