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Mankell, Larsson and more: the names behind Nordic crime fiction

October 07, 2015

The world of crime fiction lost one of its greatest authors this week, Swedish author Henning Mankell, writer of the adventures of police investigator Kurt Wallander. A  review of the best-known authors who have helped establish the international reputation of Nordic crime novels.

Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell, who lived his life between Mozambique and Sweden, passed away this week at the age of 67. Regularly nominated for the Best Swedish Crime Novel Award, the author was the recipient in 1991 for "Faceless Killers" (English translation 1997) and again in 1995 for "Sidetracked" (English translation 1999). Both novels are issued from the same series featuring the famous police detective Kurt Wallander. In 2010 Mankell closed the series, which comprises 12 investigations in-all. The author has sold 40 million copies worldwide. In "Quicksand: What it Means to be a Human Being" due out next year, Mankell described his fight with cancer.

Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson, author of the highly popular "Millennium" trilogy, passed away from a heart attack in 2004 after making a deal with a publisher but before the three books were released. Born in 1954, the journalist's writing spanned from covering economy to war reporting in Africa and he was editor in chief of the Expo journal in which he analysed how fascism manifested itself in his home country of Sweden. His investigative skills are apparent in his famous trilogy, where the protagonist is a journalist who works for the magazine "Millennium". Along with the character of Swedish hacker Lisbeth Salander, the series remains highly popular in bookstores and has been adapted for the big screen in Sweden with Noomi Rapace in the role of Lisbeth and in the United States in a version starring Rooney Mara, produced by David Fincher. A fourth chapter to the saga was written by David Lagercrantz, biographer of Zlatan Ibrahimovich.

Arnaldur Indridason

Arnaldur Indridason's novels are set in Iceland and based on detective Erlendur. Before becoming a literary writer, the son of famed Icelandic author Indridi G. Thorsteinsson was also a journalist until 1997 when he published his first novels. A key figure of dark Icelandic fiction, his works have been translated in 37 countries. An award-winning author, he has collaborated with The Icelandic Film Fund on the adaptation of one of his published works.

Maj Sjowall et Per Wahloo

Considered the pioneers of the literary genre, the real-life Swedish couple formed by Maj Sjowall et Per Wahlpp wrote over a dozen novels between 1965 and 1975, the year of Per Wahloo's passing. The investigations of detective Martin Beck are among the first to have analysed and criticized Swedish society, usually admired and envied worldwide.

Leif GW Persson

Another renowned Swedish writer, Leif GW Persson worked as criminologist and profiler and uses his experience in the field in the investigations of detective Lars Martin Johansson.

Other authors like Liza Marklund, Camilla Lackberg, Ake Edwardson and Asa Larssonhave also significantly marked Nordic literature. – AFP/Relaxnews, October 7, 2015.