After a great year of new book releases in 2022, we’re making some more room on the shelf, as 2023 is set to bring more great new stories from our favourite authors from the Nordic region.
We take a look at 8 new Nordic novels to look out for in 2023.
Stigma
by Jorn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger | Translated by Megan Turney
The crime writing duo are back with character Alexander Blix – who finds himself in a spot of bother when he is incarcerated in a Norwegian maximum security prison. Blix joins forces with journalist Emma Ramm to help find a killer who has escaped a German jail in what promises to be a pulse-pounding thriller!
Why not read our interview with the two authors and find our more about their writing dynamic here.
Stigma will be released in April 2023.
The Lazarus Solution
by Kjell Ola Dahl | Translated by Don Bartlett
The Norwegian author is back with a different type of story this time round, the author said of his new novel:
“It’s a historical standalone that takes place during WW2. In 1943 Norway was occupied by Germany but Sweden was not. As a result lots of Norwegians fled to Sweden, especially Stockholm and so there became a big population of Norwegian refugees and officials there.
The crime element of the story comes from a courier going between the two countries who is found dead. The Norwegian authorities based in Stockholm want to solve and suspect espionage. It’s a book I’m really proud of”.
You can read more on that interview here –
The Lazarus Solution will be released in May 2023.
Thirty Days of Darkness
by Jenny Lund Madsen – Hardback | Translated by Megan Turney
One title that has certainly caught our eye is Jenny Lund Madsen’s Thirty Days of Darkness. The book has already had Netflix pick it up, where Jenny is working as screenwriter, a role she is already familiar with having penned the likes of Rita and Follow The Money.
The is the start of a new series which sees a Danish author challenged to write a crime novel in thirty days. She takes up the challenge and heads off to Húsafjöður, a quiet fishing village in Iceland, to find some inspiration. What they didn’t plan for was a body to turn up.
So we have a darkly comic and unsettling thriller set in Iceland by a Danish author – you can’t really go wrong there can you?!
Roll on the 25th May 2023 – you can pre-book yourself a hardback copy at Orenda Books.
You Can’t See Me
by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir | Translated by V Cribb
Speaking of quiet Icelandic locations with dead bodies appearing, the great Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir is back with this prequel to the Forbidden Iceland trilogy – little more is known on this one but we will keep you posted on any more news we hear about the release (expected in July).
White as Snow
by Lilja Sigurdardottir | Translated by Quentin Bates
The extremely popular Iceland crime writer is back with another new novel – which at this stage we have no further information on except that it is due to be released in October!
The Beaver Theory
by Antti Tuomainen | Translated by David Hackston
Antti Tuomainen is back with the third installment of his excellent trilogy. Fans of The Rabbit Factor and The Moose Paradox can rejoice as the antics of the mathematically minded life of Henri continues.
“I found myself about 20/30 pages away from the end of The Rabbit Factor and got a very strong feeling that Henri’s story doesn’t end with it” – the author had said to Nordic Watchlist in an interview last year and clearly there was a lot more to his story, as The Moose Paradox wraps up the trilogy – and we might even get a glimpse at the new film in the works based on The Rabbit Factor!
The Winners
by Fredrik Backman | Translated by Neil Smith
Another third book to complete a trilogy is Fredrik Backman’s The Winners, which is a follow-up to Beartown and Us Against You.
The hardback is already out there but you’ll be happy to know that the paperback will be available from the 23rd June.
The story picks up two years from the last novel and sees the residents of Beartown moving on from all the events that caused so much grief and drama – but have they? Can they? We can’t wait to find out what Backman has instore for us.
The Winners is released on 23rd June.
Stolen
by Ann-Helén Laestadius | Translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles
‘A coming-of-age-story to be loved everywhere in the world’ were the words of author Fredrik Backman which is high praise from the Swedish author as we see the release of Ann-Helén Laestadius‘s debut Stolen, a story that has already been picked up by Netflix to be made into film (which they are shooting as we speak).
Stolen is out on hardback next month so be sure to grab yourself a copy!
Feature by Alex Minnis
