Come summertime — whether you’re lounging on a beach, sitting lakeside, or sunk into a lawn chair in your backyard — there’s nothing quite like getting lost in a crime thriller. And ever since Stieg Larsson’s made it big stateside, writers from Scandinavia, Finland, and Iceland — with their Ö’s and Ø’s — have become prime exports, translated and delivered to hands eager to read about gruesome crimes we can’t look away from. Nordic crime writing often excels at a variety of common elements that make for great page-turning thrillers: flawed top-of-their-game detectives, twisted serial killers, deft plotting, and a particular love of red herrings to leave readers guessing whodunit. Most of all, the best of Nordic crime fiction offer stories with the kind of momentum that leaves you listening for hours — often at the expense of a good night’s sleep or your skin left too long in the summer heat without sunscreen. Here are seven novels that should do just that.
Chills: 7 Nordic Thrillers Giving Us Shivers This Summer
When we're craving a respite from the summer's sweltering heat, we give ourselves goosebumps with mysteries and thrillers from our neighbors in the north. Think of them as our ... "ice picks."
