Scandinavia, you've done it again.

It seems to be that Scandinavia is very successful at producing excellent dark crime dramas, or nordic noir. There are the TV shows The Killing, The Bridge, and Borgen; not to mention the books, such as Steig Larsson's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, Henning Mankell, and Karin Fossum.

I never would have pegged myself as a lover of the crime novel, but these Scandinavian authors have been surprising me with thrillers that I can't put down. My latest favourite, and current addiction, is Norwegian author Jo Nesbo. He is the acclaimed author of the bestselling Harry Hole series, a series that focuses on Harry Hole, a detective working for the Oslo police force. Hole works to solve crimes involving serial killers, gangsters and many others, while also battling his own demons such as alcoholism. The plots of these novels are so tightly and deftly written that you will feel compelled to keep turning the pages, all the while being drawn further in to Hole's world with Nesbo's cleverly placed hairpin twists and turns.

I highly recommend this series, and it's not even necessary to read them in order, the first one I read was The Snowman, number 7 in the series, and I didn't feel like there was anything I was missing. I would recommend this book in particular as it started me on this path of Nesbo adoration, but I think any would do it!

Nesbo has also written a new stand-alone novel called The Son which has received so much buzz around it and rave reviews. I can't wait until the copies ordered for the library arrive! Reserve yours now! 

A cadaver a day keeps the boredom away

So you're getting another list of crime and suspense novels to read. Does this, in fact, suggest I may be going away on holiday and looking for an easy topic? Or simply that I like crime and felt it was time for another one?

It's a mystery...

Sorry to those of you who don't read the genre, but as Death himself likes to say: "THERE'S NO JUSTICE, THERE'S JUST ME." Thanks, Terry Pratchett.

Not My Blood - Barbara Cleverly

Scotland Yard Detective Joe Sandilands is caught off guard one night in 1933 by a phone call from a distressed boy named Jackie Drummond, who just might be the illegitimate son Joe never knew he had. Jackie is in trouble at his Sussex boarding school, where a teacher has been murdered. When Joe gets himself assigned to the investigation, he learns the boarding school case is more complicated than it appears: a frightening number of boys, all from wealthy families, have gone missing over the school's history, and by some coincidence none of the families have followed up on their sons' whereabouts.

Goddess of Death - Roy Lewis
Bored by his desk job in Northumberland, Arnold Landon welcomes the opportunity to join a group of criminal-hunters who specialise in tracing artefacts and looted antiques. Led by the formidable Carmela Cacciatore, Landon sets off on the trail of an ancient bronze statuette of Artemis the Huntress, part of a hoard looted first by the Nazis and then by Stalin's trophy brigade. As Arnold and Carmela dig deeper they are faced with the murder of an informant and as further killings pile up their efforts are frustrated. As they uncover a history of greed, corruption, murder and betrayal the long arm of revenge reaches out to kill once again.

Veronica Britton - Niall Boyce

As a fan of the late Diana Wynne Jones, this appeals to me. A Victorian private detective, Veronica Britton specialises in tricky situations that occur in time as well as space. Time travel is controlled by the Ministry, but they have now taken a sudden interest in Veronica. She uncovers a series of mysteries that all seem strangely interconnected. Steampunk and Doctor Who fans may well enjoy.

Invisible Murder - Joyce Cato
One for cosy fans. When travelling cook Jenny Starling starts her new job for the aristocracy living in a genuine castle, she is thrilled. She envisions nothing more arduous than days spent preparing her beloved recipes. But when a member of staff is murdered, it seems the reluctant sleuth must once again turn her energies towards helping the police.

Rollover - James Raven
It's a rollover week on the National Lottery and the jackpot is a whopping £18 million. Journalist Vince Mayo has picked all six numbers, but before he can celebrate his spectacular win he's battered to death at his home. In a hellish chain of events, Mayo's friend and fellow journalist, Danny Cain, is forced to go on the run when the police suspect him of the murder. With Danny Cain still alive, and knowing the truth, the ticket can't be cashed and the killers want their money, no matter what it takes. For Danny and his terrified family the odds of survival are stacked against them.

Shadows of Doubt - Evan G. Andrew

A Regency mystery by a New Zealand author, second in a series which follows the fortunes of Julia Farraday. Following the death of her great uncle, Julia receives an invitation to attend a house-party at Sharnborough, ancestral home of her friend Philip Stratton. There she meets a pair of charming people with French connections. Julia gets caught up in a world of conspiracy and intrigue, while her heart becomes caught shadows of doubt, between the safe and familiar, and the dangers of the unknown.

The Beautiful Mystery - Louise Penny
When the renowned choir director of a secretive monastery is murdered, the monks are forced to admit the first outsiders to their cloister - Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Surete du Quebec. They soon discover disquiet beneath the silence, discord in the apparent harmony. As the peace of the monastery crumbles, Gamache is forced to confront some of his own demons, as well as those roaming the remote corridors. Before finding the killer, before restoring peace, the Chief must first consider the divine, the human, and the cracks in between.

The Two - Will Carver

Five lie dead, brutally murdered - the first taken on the night of Halloween. As autumn bleeds into winter, more ritualistic murders are discovered. Detective January David must battle his demons, for in his mind lies the clue to stopping a ruthless murderer. But his worst nightmares have literally come true when he discovers there's not one but two twisted killers on the loose...

Dark Passage - Frances Burke
After a devastating fall from high society into dire poverty, Nicola Redmond battles to support her mother and herself during the 1890s Depression in Australia. Spurning the 'charity' of the man who has claimed her father's estate, Nicola joins the battle for the empowerment of the women slaving in factories under dreadful conditions, or forced by starvation to sell themselves on the streets. When her dearest friend, Rose Basevi, meets a degrading death in a back alley, Nicola vows to avenge her. Denying her growing love for a man she cannot trust, she uses him and his two rivals: a charismatic union organizer, and a cool English detective in charge of the murder investigation. Setting herself up as bait, she plunges deep into the underbelly of the city knowing that one of these three men is stalking her - that one of them is a heartless killer...

Hemlock - Kathleen Peacock

One for teen fiction aficionados...Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered. Since then, Mac is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Hemlock to hunt down the killer: a white werewolf. Lupine Syndrome - the werewolf virus - is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control and the Trackers are determined to stop them at any cost. Unwilling to work with the brutal Trackers, but desperately wanting to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy's murder herself. But the deeper she delves into the mystery behind Amy's death, the more secrets she discovers lurking in the shadows of Hemlock.

Seventy Times Seven - John Gordon Sinclair

Since his brother's murder, Danny McGuire has been a professional killer, bent on retribution. He's been contracted to eliminate the Thevshi, the most elusive informant that has ever penetrated the Republicans in Northern Ireland. But there's a problem: the Thevshi claims to know who's responsible for his brother's death.

For Your Viewing Pleasure... Or What To Watch If You're Not Into The Olympics

As you'll know from my last post I am not a huge sporting fan and though I will be catching some of the Olympics while they are on, I will also be using some of the time to catch up on other things.

There's the 30 odd pile of books by my bed for a start... plus some fan fiction writing, but even so there will be times when I feel like a break from all the reading and writing and just want to blob out in front of the TV or in my case, the computer with its DVD drive.

So while my partner is yelling and cheering at the TV screen I will be snug and warm on the other couch with my laptop on my... well lap and headphones plugged in watching something else (though of course, I will glance occasionally at the other, bigger screen).

Finding something to watch isn't going to be a problem for me either, as my DVD list is just as long as my book list. So if you're like me looking for something to while away the games or a cold winter evening there might be something here that will catch your interest.

Twenty six writers. One mystery. One book.

Instead of an anthology of crime writers, this writing project involved 26 writers, one storyline, one book.

From Faye Kellerman to Alexander McCall Smith, from R L Stine to Jeffery Deaver, all twenty six well-known crime writers all wrote at least one chapter of "No rest for the dead". My highlight was the forensic reports, as written by Kathy Reichs.

It's a cohesive storyline, the voices are real, the dialogue flows well, the characters and descriptions are all consistent with a well written mystery.

I'd recommend this to friends wanting to read a fast-paced crime novel, and who read a variety of authors and who would enjoy seeing how their favourite authors write alongside others.