The Last Viking / Den Sidste Viking

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Something exciting is happening this coming Friday: Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Mads Mikkelsen as sibllings with weird family history will present you with a new level of absurd and black humour that is funny, disturbing and criminally good.

However, let me tell you about ScandiGang that had appeared on our horizon during the first Nordicana in June 2013 in London. The event was the result of Jon Sadler’s team, and his own expertise, to bring the best of the Nordic Noir creative talent for the British fans who kept wanting more. Nordicana 2 (February 2014) and 3 (June 2015) followed, here’s an older post: Nordic Noir & Beyond. Saga’s car was brought to central London. We all wanted to wear Sarah Lund’s sweater, to inhale hygge and to read anything from the Nordic / Scandinavian authors, as well as from the Scandi Brits whose books had the similar themes, mood and equally interesting haunting stories and main characters.

The ScandiGang watched together but separately all Scandinavian shows on BBC Four on Saturday evenings while commenting on everything that happened on our screens, Twitter was a super friendly and innocent place back then. We met at various locations for different events and shared news about all exciting films, books and TV series. We ate at ScandiKitchen, ordered Scandinavian food online, bought novels and non-fiction books about the Nordic Noir phenomenon. We are still in touch but life takes over and there are not many moments to meet up.

Additionally, we played Scandi bingo which was always fun and sometimes a touch challenging as we kept discovering new names and faces, and marvelled at how well the Nordic countries collaborated in the creative spheres. You might have also played that game. Let’s take Danish The Killing / Forbrydelsen, Danish Borgen and Danish Swedish The Bridge / Bron/Broen for example. How many familiar faces have we seen since these three iconic gripping series took over our screens? How many connections between actors, projects, books and events have followed after that? Who are the actors that had worked across the genres and countries, always leaving a huge impression, sometimes big questions and for ever the passion to keep searching for more their high-quality creative work. The Danish industry has been particularly rich in delivering unforgettable experiences for all the ScandiGang members.  

The idea of Scandi Bingo isn’t gone, especially as new films and TV shows keep coming, and we are still hungry for them. Therefore, I would like you to join me, and us, in this game ahead of the UK premiere of The Last Viking, the latest film by Anders Thomas Jensen, produced by Sisse Graum and Sidsel Hybschmann. The main stars are Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas, with strong support by Sofie Gråbøl, Søren Malling, Bodil Jorgensen, Nicolas Bro and Lars Brygmann.  

The Last Viking | Official Website | 26 June 2026

The premise of The Last Viking is fairly simple. After serving fifteen years in prison, bank robber Anker (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) is released for good behaviour, and determined to recover the stolen money his brother Manfred (Mads Mikkelsen) had buried years earlier. There’s just one problem: Manfred, caught in an identity crisis and convinced he is John Lennon, can no longer remember where it is hidden. The brothers set off on an increasingly chaotic hunt for the missing fortune, digging up old family secrets on the way. It gets dark and complicated as they must face uncomfortable and painful memories while dealing with strange present. You might have already seen Riders of Justice or Men and Chickens so you know that Mads and Nikolaj are totally brilliant as film partners, knowing each other so well, and playing off each other’s strengths. Ridiculous humour and chaotic life situations prevail.

The Last Viking got great reviews: ‘Fast, furious and funny’ (Screen Daily), ‘A bloody and utterly delightful black comedy’ (The Hollywood Reporter) and ‘Brutal, hilarious, and sick in the best way possible’ (Cut to the Take). It opens in the cinemas across UK on Friday 26th June and now you have a chance to win a couple of tickets to watch it in any of the Picture House cinemas in the country. Just share my post and tell me why you also belong to the ScandiGang. Because you do, yes?

All photos (c) Rolf Konow

The Hawk is Dead by Peter James

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What do trains, art, ex-military and dark internet have in common?

Roy Grace never dreamed a murder investigation would take him deep into Buckingham Palace.
Her Majesty, Queen Camilla, is aboard the Royal Train heading to a charity event in Sussex when disaster strikes and the train is derailed. A tragic accident or a planned attack?
When, minutes later, a trusted aide is shot dead by a sniper, the police have their answer.
Despite all the evidence, Roy Grace is not convinced The Queen was the intended target. But he finds himself alone in his suspicions.
Fighting against the scepticism of his colleagues and the Palace itself, Grace pursues his own investigation. But when there is a second murder, the stakes rise even higher, and Grace is at risk of being embroiled in a very public catastrophe and in mortal danger.
Failure at this level is not an option. But time is running out before a killer in the Palace will strike again.

I am sure Peter James has had a lot of fun writing The Hawk is Dead, the latest instalment featuring Detective Superintendent Roy Grace grappling with the most difficult case in his career so far. It’s clear of course the author put in endless hours to create tightly-plotted story taking Grace from his home turf in Sussex to the heart of London; and did a huge amount of research to make sure that he had effortlessly blended fiction with reality. At the same time he brought life to all characters, never losing the track of his immense police procedural knowledge.

The Buckingham Palace setting is quite magnificent. We are all familiar with its façade, private gardens and surroundings. We’ve seen the photos. We know the Royal Family. Yet we are still just the observers of what we are allowed to see.

These two worlds do not collide in The Hawk is Dead. Rather they enter the same spectrum in a sophisticated manner, with decorum and deference. Roy Grace manoeuvres skilfully between the two realms, his language and approach adapting to the environment, history and protocol behind the walls of the Royal Household. Poetic license must have been used liberally and Peter James masterfully created imaginary conversations with Queen Camilla and King Charles, making them authentic. Could it have been like that? Does the Royal Household follow these rules? We will never know. Does it really matter? Well, the main thing is that the investigation keeps going, all avenues are explored while doubts and questions come from all sides. Inquisitive and determined Grace is not convinced the attack on the Royal Train was in fact targeted at the Queen. His thinking proves that he’s not a small-town local cop as implied and demonstrated by Greg Mosse from the Met Counter Terrorism Command and so he focuses on possibilities. Thanks God for his loyal wingman DI Glenn Branson and clever wife Cleo who deserves praise for her diplomacy and wit.

I definitely was in awe of how smoothy the contrasts between what is shown to the public and the author’s imagination are weaved into the fairly ordinary police work. Not that the case was ordinary. Placing a real monarch in an invented criminal case takes some guts and adding factual organisations and groups such as Not-My-King people plus digging into potential secrets, disappointments and grievances  that hide and brew in any big establishment – all these elements make The Hawk is Dead a gripping, enjoyable and memorable novel. And the strange connection mentioned above? That’s for you to find out.

‘It’s a decade since I discovered Queen Camilla is a Roy Grace fan and we’ve since built up a great rapport. She asked me when I might set a Roy Grace novel in London… and the seed was sown. Where better in London than Buckingham Palace? It has been the most fascinating research I’ve ever done, learning about the inner workings of the Royal Household and the Palace.’ Peter James

Huge thanks for Sophie Goodfellow of FMcM Associates for the book.

Peter James is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author best known for his crime thrillers featuring Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, who Queen Camilla recently named as her favourite fictional detective. Praised by critics and much-loved by crime and thriller fans for his fast-paced page-turners full of unexpected plot twists, sinister characters, and accurate portrayal of modern-day policing, he has won more than 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award and the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger. His books have sold over 23 million copies worldwide, achieved 21 Sunday Times No.1s, and have been translated into 38 languages.

His Roy Grace novels are currently filming their 6th season for the hit ITV drama, Grace, starring John Simm as the troubled Brighton copper and available to view on ITVX and on Britbox. Seven of his novels have been adapted into phenomenally successful stage plays, with his most recent, Picture You Dead, now on national tour in the UK. His plays have been named as the most successful stage franchise since Agatha Christie.

Jo Nesbø’s Gothic Oslo Trilogy

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As millions of people around the world (the last number was 6,9m) watch Harry Hole on Netflix, and social media are awash with stories, photographs, interviews and opinions, I read a great review by Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen of a new academic book on Jo Nesbø’s writing which is reblogged below.

Jo Nesbø and his band Di Derre in Tønsberg, 2018.

The author of monograph Jarosław Giza, who is also a heavy metal fan, focuses on three novels The Redbreast, Nemesis and The Devil’s Star, the Oslo Trilogy, and explores the Gothic tradition that has inspired and shaped the global success of Nordic Noir and made Nesbø its superstar. More details are in the review, and I would absolutely recommend that you have a look at it.

Dr Jarosław Giza, Assistant Professor at University of Applied Sciences in Nowy Sącz, Poland, has published the first study of the global bestselling Harry Hole novels. It’s titled The Traces of Gothic Fiction in Scandinavian Crime Fiction: A Study of Jo Nesbø’s Oslo Trilogy.
Jo Nesbø’s Gothic Oslo Trilogy

Påskekrim: Harry, Chastity and Stella 🐣

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Time is always right for crime. Or krim, and by that I mean crime fiction. One morning in March at the Norwegian Gardermoen airport I was waiting for a plane to Warsaw. The plane was delayed, delayed and delayed, and then cancelled. Suddenly I was scheduled to fly to Stockholm and then to Warsaw. My original plan was gone. When everything is out of my control, the only thing that remains is to deal with the day and to travel to another place via a book. I spent hours at two big airports and arrived in a hotel close to midnight. However, in a meantime I have been to Wilhelmsburg, so-called ‘problem area’ in Hamburg thanks to Sharks, a tale of greed, power and resistance, by Simone Buchholz, in excellent translation from German by Rachel Ward. That’s where the latest story takes place as the prosecutor Chastity Riley is assigned the case of a brutally murdered American couple found in a derelict villa in this part of the town. She quickly finds herself waist-deep in a murky tangle of city planners, shady investors and vanishing officials. The gentrification machine is rolling on, and someone is sending a very clear message. As November fog settles over the city, Chastity is coughing up blood, her personal life is a slow-motion disaster, and her former colleague, Faller, won’t stop interfering. But nothing’s going to stop her from cutting through the lies – not even the sharks circling ever closer.

I’ve admired Buchholz’s gritty, precise and quick-witted writing since her first book was published in UK by Orenda Books, and I love how she doesn’t shy from pushing her characters into thought-provoking situations without compromising her own sharp and visceral style. She embraces vulnerability and the feeling of camaraderie in tough circumstances: ‘Like I said, aren’t we all just glorious bastards. And my team-building techniques are a blast.’ Beton Rouge, the second book in the series, made huge impression on me, with its originality and dark sense of humour.  

My timing regarding writing reviews is often off. Basically I am late to most parties, even if I’m up to speed with what’s going on in the crime fiction world. So as I finished the latest Stella Blómkvist’s book The Murder Pool I was very impressed by the way the main character’s personal story developed over the course of four novels we had a pleasure to read in English thanks to the translator extraordinaire Quentin Bates. I occasionally arrange blog tours for new publications ready to fly into the English sphere, and have done exactly that for Corylus Books. Yet, in this case before I even got to draft my review of the most mature / compelling incarnation of two Stellas: the mysterious author and the controversial heroine, brilliant posts from knowledgeable bloggers began to appear online. So allow me to point you in the direction of their excellent thoughts. Here are comments from Peter turns the page, Raven Crime Reads, amwbooks, Brown Flopsy’s Book Burrow, Blue Book Balloon, AnnaBookBel, Jen Med’s Book Reviews, West Words Reviews, Angry Algonquin, Trip Fiction, Madame Bibi Lophile Recommends, Crime Fiction Lover, plus Paul Burke’s reviews of all four books in Aspects Of Crime. It might seem like an information overload but if you’re into high quality writing about books, you probably know these people already, or will enjoy discovering them.

Special time for the unique brilliant and damaged detective Harry Hole will come tomorrow. So far I have watched only one episode (OMG! The tension!) of the new series and Tobias Santelmann is sensational as Harry and Oslo is both realistic and totally unreal. I also wanted to read again The Devil’s Star on which the latest worldwide sensation from Netflix is based. My copy of the book is from 2009 when Jo Nesbø was still being compared to the legendary Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson. The translation from Norwegian by Don Bartlett became as iconic as the books themselves.

I’ve been a huge fan Jo Nesbø’s literary and music career for years, and followed in Harry Hole’s footsteps in Oslo: Jo Nesbø’s Knife. I also love his band Di Derre.

I had no time to finish reading One True Word by Snæbjörn Arngrímsson but I’m on it. Translated by Larissa Kyzer this is an original take on the possibly unreliable narrator: After a day of simmering tension on a trip to an uninhabited island, Júlia snaps and leaves her husband Gíó marooned in the middle of a freezing fjord in the depths of the Icelandic winter, with night drawing in. When she regrets her decision and returns, he is nowhere to be found. The police launch a manhunt, but soon their suspicion falls on his wife. She spins them a story to hide her involvement, but she can feel the net closing in.’

I also have a stack of Scandinavian crime fiction books in translation entered for the Petrona Award 2026 but that’s another long story.

Tonight I won’t be heading to a wooden cabin in the forest or mountains as per the longstanding Norwegian tradition of Påskekrim (God Påske with Don Bartlett). No time. No cabin. Yet. But I have my favourite Freya chocolate, enthusiastic daffodils, warm blanket and working TV at home. Plus milk cartons with the annual mystery from Tine, one of Norway’s largest food companies and supplier of dairy products. Outside the last night’s  snow has melted, seagulls are discussing the best places for laying their eggs, and my cat is supervising everything that’s happening (or not) in the garden. 

Outside the overnight snow has melted, seagulls are discussing the best places for bringing up their chicks and my cat is supervising everything that’s happening (or not) in the garden. 

Have a great Easter whatever you do. God påske. Happy Påskekrim 🐣

Scars of Silence by Johana Gustawsson

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Twenty-three years ago, a young woman was murdered on the Swedish island of Lidingö. The island has kept its silence. Until now.

As autumn deepens into darkness in Lidingö, on the Stockholm archipelago, the island is plunged into chaos: in the space of a week, two teenaged boys are murdered. Their bodies are left deep in the forest, dressed in white tunics and wearing  crowns of candles on their heads, like offerings to Saint Lucia.

Maïa Rehn has fled Paris for Lidingö after a family tragedy. But when the murders shake the island community, the former police commissioner is drawn into the heart of the investigation, joining Commissioner Aleksander Storm to unravel a mystery with a shockingly dark heart and as chilling as the Nordic winter.

As they dig deeper, it becomes clear that a wind of vengeance is blowing through the archipelago, unearthing secrets that are as scandalous as they are inhuman.

But what if the victims weren’t who they seemed? What if those long silenced have finally found a way to strike back? How far would they go to make their tormentors pay? And you – how far would you go?

I admit that Scars of Silence really shook me. The sequel to Johana Gustawsson’s chilling gothic thriller Yule Island is also set in the same location, relatively close to Stockholm, yet far away from capital’s bustle and hustle, and explores various relationships existing within a local community. The story also gives space to the process of grieving, allows it to take its own course – if that is possible at all. These two issues – mourning and connections –  permeate through memories of the past and the urgency and tension of present events, following the police investigation into two murders.

Johana Gustawsson creates unique tales that combine strong emotions, sober look at the society and masterful storytelling. Her eloquent and engaging writing style keeps the reader fully immersed in the world of fictional characters who nonetheless have their own roots in what has happened in reality before, or what could have happen in any community. Superb translation by David Warriner brings the nuances and subtleties of Swedish environment via French language into the English sphere. The flowing strong narration and attention to minute details helps to navigate the unknown and to decipher new emotions, never losing sight of the consequences of earlier crimes.

From the very first pages of Scars of Silence I felt that, both as a writer and as the main protagonist Maïa, the author learns of the new location, new country, habits and norms. Sweden’s attitudes in a nutshell appear as Gustawsson / Maïa discover beauty of the local customs, calm and wonder of unforgiving nature, and rigid, or very slowly changing, outlook at what should be hidden, not spoken about, forgotten.

However, the author and her heroine are two different persons: she does not become her distraught and devastated French detective trying to cope with the death of her daughter, and the absence of her husband Ebbe.

Tragedies cannot be ignored, even after a long passage of time. The silence, or the paralysis of horrendous aftermath, that follows can become overwhelming and extremely painful and takes over every single action. It needs some direction, maybe distraction. Therefore Maïa, in a way, welcomes the opportunity to bury herself in the old files of quickly solved rape and murder of Jenny Dalenius on Saint Lucia’s Day on 13th December 1999.The only suspect Gustav Hellström was Jenny’s ex-boyfriend, a rich young man from a prominent family. He served nearly all his time but had committed suicide just weeks before release from prison. For over twenty years his mother Anna fought to prove his innocence until suddenly, seven days later, she had killed herself in the most shocking way at the local school, while live-streaming it on social media. Sophia Akerman, Anna’s mother and Gustav’s grandmother, asks Maïa to help her find the truth of what has happened and to quiet her own doubts and suspicions. This task bonds them in grief of losing a child. ‘There’s no word in Swedish, or in English for that matter, to describe a parent who’s been widowed – or orphaned – from their child.’ ‘There’s a word for it in Sanskrit: vilomah. It means “against the natural order”.’

Maïa focuses on dealing with Sophie’s request while assisting Commissioner Aleksander ‘Aleks’ Storm with search for the killer(s) of Daniel Brink and Roland Lind, and their professional relationship grows from respect and empathy. They struggle to understand motives for copy-cat like killings, especially as a body of another victim is found in Stockholm: ‘We’ve gone from two teenagers, basically the same age, who went to the same high school, lived in Lidingö and played football at the same club, to an adult surgeon in the city.’

One more thing that Maïa and Aleks have in common is that both of them respect the need for quiet: ’Then, we share a necessary silence. A silence which, if spent in solitude, would be filled with infinite sadness. Together, we can carry it differently.’ These thoughts and words had a huge impact on me, too.

The final revenge isn’t sweet, the despair and sadness are huge, and there are no winners. Additionally, the outsider’s take on the lovely winter traditions that should bring peace and calm to the community unravel tensions and shame. Celebration of light and bravery turns to a brutal memory. However, they ‘clear the air’, for a lack of better expression, and seem necessary for the main characters to deal with and acknowledge own pain, maybe to atone, maybe just to breathe a tiny bit easier.

The Divorce by Moa Herngren

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Nordic Noir it isn’t but let me tell you: the post-mortem examination carried out in The Divorce makes for the gripping, emotional and sometimes uncomfortable reading, just like the best examples of Swedish crime fiction. However, in this case the detailed ‘autopsy’ focuses on a relationship, dead or very close to death, while digging deep into all possible causes as why this particular marriage has not survived. Because it should have, yes?

The process is painful, difficult and – familiar. I’m sure it has happened to many couples at different stages of their lives, for all possible reasons: emotions, boredom, age, dissatisfaction, new job, new company, old habits etc. However, what is so powerfully done here is the brilliantly observed clash between the whole picture of supposedly happy marriage and of what might be lurking underneath the surface of predictable daily routines. The Scandinavian dream that wasn’t lovely nature, clean lines and warm fluffiness.

Seemingly content pair Bea and Niklas have been together for more than thirty years, and with their two teenage twin daughters they live a comfortable life in Stockholm. Their fairly calm existence is punctuated by ordinary family events, seasons of the year, cosy winter celebrations and summers on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Sounds pretty idyllic. Niklas’ parents have a house there, and spending holidays with other members of his family became one of the life’s anchors for Bea. One evening following a trivial argument, nota bene related to the annual summer trip, Niklas leaves home to calm down. He doesn’t return. He doesn’t want to communicate. Eventually he realises that he no longer wants to be married to Bea who has absolutely no idea as why this is happening. He still doesn’t want to talk while she wants and explanations.

Moa Herngren disseminates emotions, words, actions and expectations, and explores the unravelling of a marriage from two points of view. First we witness Bea’s shock and panic as the fundaments of her entire life collapse. Convinced that everything she has ever done is for the sake of her family, she struggles to understand her soon to be ex-husband. Niklas, on the other hand, feels that finally he has reached the point of acknowledging his needs, both private and professional. He also admits some feelings for their acquaintance. Friends and family members close to the couple take sides, keep away or offer advice in the situation. Decisions are raw and reckless. You know how it is. Daughters try to find own ways of coping with the revelations that their mother’s perfectly designed kitchen cannot compare with their father’s urge for a symbolic tattoo. Did they even notice that?

I’ve read this novel titled Rozwód in Polish, translated from Swedish by Wojciech Łygaś and I really couldn’t put it down. I believe the English version by Alice Menzies is equally excellent. Alice Menzies’ translations include work by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Fredrik Backman, Tove Alsterdal and Jens Liljestrand.

Moa Herngren is a journalist, former editor-in-chief of Elle magazine and a highly sought-after manuscript writer. She is also the co-creator and writer on Netflix hit-show Bonus Family / Bonusfamiljen which is comedy and drama in equal parts, and deals with complexities of relationships in modern family life in Sweden. Bonus Family follows a new couple Lisa and Patrik, their children from previous marriages, and ex-spouses. It’s real, funny, serious and very enjoyable. After watching season one I feel that I need a good walk and maybe a cup of hot chocolate as a break between the episodes as the writing and acting in the series are fantastic; emotionally charged, full of big and small acts of human behaviour, longing for love and comfort.

Fans of Swedish TV might be familiar with Herngren’s earlier work: Black Lake/ Svartsjön, its first season shown on BBC Four in UK in 2017. The story was about a group of young friends visiting an abandoned ski resort in northern Sweden, where strange noises from the basement were just the start of a series of horrifying events. Part thriller / part horror, and not so typical Nordic Noir, yet it seems as though all my reading and viewing roads lead to this genre.

Denise Mina: the guest programmer for Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival 2026

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International bestselling crime writer Denise Mina is today revealed to be the guest programmer for the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival 2026 which will return to the historic city of Stirling from 18th to 20th September. She follows the success of Sir Ian Rankin who as the first ever guest programmer brought a host of big names to the 2025 festival including Kate Atkinson, Kathy Reichs and the Reverend Richard Coles.

Denise is working alongside festival director Bob McDevitt, and the programming team – which includes fellow authors Abir Mukherjee, Lin Anderson, Craig Robertson and Gordon Brown – to bring another world class line-up of authors and special guests to the prestigious Festival.

All will be revealed when the programme launches in June 2026 and here’s the link to the festival’s website: Bloody Scotland .

Denise Mina speaking in The Albert Halls at Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival in Stirling on the 21/09/2018. Paul Reich


Bob McDevitt said: ‘I’m very much looking forward to working with Denise on this year’s programme and can’t wait to share some of the details of what she’s bringing to the party! She’s one of my favorite writers, a passionate advocate for Scottish culture, a champion of other writers, and a huge supporter of book festivals.’

Denise Mina said:’Bloody Scotland is the high point of the crime fiction calendar in Scotland and I’m thrilled and honoured to be the second ever guest programmer. Established by crime writers for crime readers, every year feels like coming home.’

Denise is one of most charismatic authors writing in Scotland today and a great ambassador for crime writing internationally. She first won the McIlvanney Prize in 2017 with The Long Drop when she led the inaugural torchlit procession from Stirling Castle flanked by Val McDermid and Ian Rankin. She won again in 2019 with Conviction. The second time, slightly by default, when the chosen winner announced her intention to share the prize with her fellow finalists. The other winners looked perplexed, Denise was delighted.

She has a busy year in 2026. The world premiere of The Long Drop is on at The Citizens Theatre in Glasgow this summer and the play of her novella Rizzio (Polygon) is currently in development. Her most recent book, The Good Liar (Vintage), is published in paperback in March and will be Scottish Book of the Month for Waterstones. The Guardian, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the FT selected it as one of their Books of the Year 2025.

Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje

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Writing  reviews for European Literature Network is a joy and a wonderful opportunity to discover new books that otherwise I might have not noticed on my reading horizon. One of such literary gems is Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje, reviewed on that website. Somehow the novel takes me back to the places where I have never been. But my parents have, and their stories, memories and photographs created this lovely sense of familiarity with the countries that used to be Yugoslavia. My dad studied Serbo-Croatian language at the university, my mum just learnt it, and both had many friends in that part of Europe.

Writing a novel in a language that is not your mother tongue demands clarity, precision and flair on your part and deserves to be applauded, especially when it relates to emotions, shared and individual history, and yearning for things that could have been. In Slanting Towards the Sea this is exactly what Lidija Hilje has achieved: a moving and evocative story of buried feelings in the changing social and economic landscape of her country. Hilje, the Croatian writer and former lawyer, wrote her debut novel in English and I am so impressed by her nuanced style and vivid evocative film-like painting of real and emotional landscapes.  

Set in the sun-drenched beautiful city of Zadar, it follows Ivona who has returned to her childhood home to care for her sick father, manage his business affairs and consider selling a place dear to her. Nearly twenty years earlier, she was a biology student in the capital Zagreb where she met fellow student Vlaho Oberan. Their love and passion were deep and all-consuming but unfortunately not future-proof in the long term, mostly down to the social context, as well as the perceptions of other people. After several years the couple had to divorce yet never stopped loving each other. Vlaho’s new wife Marina and children welcomed Ivona into their life and as a result this unusual trio of adults managed to maintain a close friendship. Of course, when eventually a man, Asier Henry, appeared on the scene and ignited some forgotten and unspoken longing in Ivona, the new situation created tumultuous change for them all. Additionally it also forced Vlaho and Marina to see themselves from a different perspective, and it was not easy, as Ivona says: ‘The thing about feeling too much is that sometimes you have to force yourself to feel less. That in order to preserve your heart, you have to close it off, deliberately deny it its main function, and reduce it to a mere pump.’

Structurally Slanting Towards the Sea embraces two intertwining timelines allowing the main character to contemplate her current situation and analyse her life and feelings towards her ex-husband and people close to her. Is she a failure? A coward? The picture of her emotional world is both complex and simple, shaped by  al expectations: ‘The path of life had long been instilled in me: elementary school, high school, university, job, marriage, kids.’ She questions own personal and professional choices living in a young country, emerging from the post-Yugoslavian legacy: ‘It’s a special blend that works here, the bureaucratic smarts, paired with a talent for wielding connections and bending rules. Better yet if it comes with a penis.’ A woman’s traditional role is also one of the issues that seriously troubles her, as well as living in the shade of two strong personalities: ‘My parents operating between their three standard settings: togetherness, indifference, and vile fighting.’ Her brutal realisation is that many of her, as well as Vlaho’s, decisions were influenced by staying in ’parent-pleasing’ mode – which leads to them acknowledging their otherwise hidden resentments. 

Ultimately though Lidija Hilje’s story is about love and all its aspects, and these two quotes from Ivona are particularly poignant: ’If people want to love you, they do, no matter how flawed you are. But if they aren’t inclined to love you, nothing you say or do, no amount of your own goodness, can make them change their mind.’  And: ‘I nod, thinking about it, about age. About my mum who is now gone. And about that bottomless need inside me, still present now, at thirty-eight, for her and Dad to like me, love me, acknowledge me, take pride in me.’ I would encourage you to step into this sensual, deeply personal and honest space.  

Happy New Year 2026

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How is the first week of January treating you? Is it snowing where you are? Have you been reading much over Christmas? And the most important question: did Santa bring any good books for you? I got new and second-hand books but must admit that I had no headspace to focus on reading much nor writing for a while hence my blog has been hibernating since autumn.

However, now that the days are tiny bit longer even if bitterly cold, and everything is covered in the snow and the whiteness creates more light at night, and I also have a new cat introducing new routines at home and supervising everything I do, I decided to ease myself gently into the fiction reading. First on the list: Historical Value by Quentin Bates. At 29 pages the short story was indeed very short, and ‘sweet’ in the way that all cool writing is: setting up an interesting background to what could have happened in the past, shaping believable characters and even if a conclusion comes quickly and nicely packaged, it makes you want more. Introduction of the quick-thinking detective who needs to navigate the official crime scene outside his jurisdiction while on holidays could really develop into much bigger / shocking story. Maybe it will be the case.

I might have mentioned Quentin Bates once or ten times before: my favourite translator from the Icelandic, journalist, publisher (Corylus Books) and writer (Summerchill – 2015, Cold Breath – 2019, Cold Steel – 2019, Cold Malice – 2020) that could probably use more hours in a day to just write. That’s what he says about this standalone continuation of the Gunnhildur books: ‘Old bones come to light on a remote farm in the north of Iceland. Detective Helgi Svavarsson is reluctant to get involved with what looks like something he feels calls for an archaeologist rather than a policeman. In any case, he’s off duty and has family business to attend to. But he can’t help but be intrigued as suspicion falls on the now elderly woman who farmed at Fagrabrekka for so many years – and what became of the man who caught the bus south one winter afternoon, forty-two years ago?

Historical Value is cheaper than chips (or coffee) and will definitely stay with(in) you for much longer. Get it now.

Winner of Petrona Award 2025

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It is so exciting to annonce the winner of the Petrona Award 2025 for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year:

THE CLUES IN THE FJORD by Satu Rämö translated from the Finnish by Kristian London and published by Zaffre. Satu Rämö will receive a trophy, and both the author and translator will receive a cash prize. The Petrona team would like to thank David Hicks for his sponsorship of the Petrona Award.

The judges’ statement on THE CLUES IN THE FJORD:

THE CLUES IN THE FJORD is a sophisticated and atmospheric police procedural with a pleasingly unpredictable dark and twisty plot, set against the backdrop of the raw and untamed beauty of rural Iceland.

Providing the local detective with a Finnish side-kick allows the author to contrast Icelandic and Finnish traits, adding authenticity to an original story. The intriguing back-stories of both characters leave the reader anticipating the next instalments.

In the ever-increasing Icelandic crime fiction scene, Satu Rämö has carved out a unique position between traditional mysteries and the darker end of crime fiction.

Statements from the winning author, translator and publisher:

Satu Rämö:

I am deeply honoured to receive this award, and I want to thank the jury and the organizers of the Petrona Award. I also want to acknowledge the incredible writers nominated alongside me. To be included among such talented writers is a reward in itself. Your words have inspired me a lot!

This award reminds me of a conversation I had with a reader, a ninety-five-year-old woman, who shared how the book, the first part in the Hildur crime book series, THE CLUES IN THE FJORD, made her feel. She told me that she knows she is getting very old but after reading this book, she hoped she would live long enough to read the sequel, to know what happened to the two little girls who got lost on their way from school. When the sequel came out, I sent it to her and called her after a few weeks. She was still as happy and joyful as last time, waiting for the next book in the series to come out…

It is the readers who keep stories alive. Thank you for reading. I want to thank you also, my British publisher Zaffre and my translator Kristian London. Great teamwork! Thank you jury from the bottom of my heart, this award means so much to me.

Kristian London:

When I first took on translating Satu Rämö’s THE CLUES IN THE FJORD, the book’s incredible success in Finland suggested it had a high chance of connecting with audiences abroad as well. I’m gratified to see this is the case. It has been a privilege to act as an intermediary between Rämö’s imagination and those of her English-speaking readers as they enter Hildur’s world of human quirks and foibles, familial traumas and inheritances. For me, the work’s slow power springs from its true protagonist: that isolated land in the North Atlantic that serves as the setting, and the terrain and culture and people we’re introduced to through an outsider’s keen eyes. Many thanks to the Petrona Award jury for this honor.

Kasim Mohammed (editor at Zaffre):

Being Satu’s English-language publisher is a real honour. She has such an eye for crafting stories about real people, and a real heart to her writing that is hard to find these days. Bringing authors’ dreams to life is a privilege and moments like this are wonderful to experience. To know Satu’s work is resonating with so many readers, worldwide, brings the team here at Bonnier so much pride. Thank you to the Petrona Award jury for this honour – we will treasure this as we continue to publish Satu! 

The judges

Jackie Farrant – creator of RAVEN CRIME READS and a bookseller for a major book chain in the UK.

Ewa Sherman – translator and writer, and blogger at NORDIC LIGHTHOUSE.

Sonja van der Westhuizen – book critic for print and online publications in the UK and South Africa, as well as a blogger at WEST WORDS REVIEWS.

Award administrator

Karen Meek – owner of the EURO CRIME blog and website.

Petrona Award 2025 shortlist in full is here and further information can be found on The Petrona Award website.