Favourite Euro Crime Reads of 2013 - Lynn

In today's instalment of the Euro Crime reviewers' favourite reads of 2013, Lynn Harvey details her favourite Euro Crime reads:

Lynn Harvey's favourite reads of 2013

My favourite reading of 2013 brought me back to my enjoyment of Scandinavian crime fiction. I liked two of the books so much (THE QUARRY and SAVAGE SPRING) that I have searched out the previous titles in their respective series and am setting out to catch up with them.

I would have liked to add one or two more titles to this list … but rules are rules. So here are my favourite five:

THE QUARRY by Johan Theorin tr. Marlaine Delargy. Easter time on the Swedish island of Oland, a shrinking community whose population is maintained by the addition of second-homers including one or two returnees. One finds his father caught up in a violent crime, another is haunted by her childhood on the island. A dark mix of modern-day crime and local folklore.

SAVAGE SPRING by Mons Kallentoft tr. Neil Smith. A bomb in a Swedish town square claims two young victims. Police detective Malin Fors and her team must find the bomber. A gripping story set in Kallentoft's distinctive world in which the voices of the dead mingle with the voices of the living.

THE HEALER by Antti Tuomainen tr. Lola Rogers. A dystopian Finnish crime story set in a world altered by climate change. The waters are rising; a serial killer is on the lose in Helsinki – and a poet searches for his missing journalist wife. A surprisingly moving love story with grit, suspense and with a truly exciting finish.

BROTHER KEMAL by Jakob Arjouni tr. Anthea Bell. His fifth and sadly last book in which his Turkish-German private eye, Kemal Kayankaya, takes on two cases: finding a missing sixteen-year-old and body-guarding a controversial Moroccan author at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Seductive clients, “mean streets” and complications for Kayankaya in this short gem of a thriller.

BAD BLOOD by Arne Dahl tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles. A sadistic American serial killer arrives in Sweden. With the help of the FBI, a specialist Swedish police team must find this grim killer with a secret past. Each member of the team has their own part to play in the hunt. From Dahl's “Intercrime” series which was serialised by Swedish TV and shown on UK TV earlier this year retitled Arne Dahl. Dark suspense, rich characters, and a wry wit that perhaps did not come across in the TV version.