Favourite Discoveries of 2016 (5)

Here is Michelle Peckham's favourite crime discovery of 2016:

Michelle's Favourite Discoveries of 2016

Fortunately, while in the US in the summer, I was able to access many TV productions of books by my favourite Scandi authors, including those based on Liza Marklund's Annika Bengtzon series. I watched all the episodes, and they were excellent. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be available in the UK, but hopefully will be at some point.

I also discovered the two films of the first two Jussi Adler-Olsen Department Q series (The Keeper of Lost Causes, and The Absent One). Both were excellent, and highly recommended.

Review Roundup: Bolton, Carol, Carter, Den Tex, Edwards, Gordon-Smith, Hodgson, Jones, Kelly, Mankell, Marklund, Mogford, Patterson & Ellis, Staalesen

Here are sixteen reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, all have appeared on the blog since last time.

If you like translated crime fiction then you may be interested in the International Dagger 2016 Speculation list of titles.

You can keep up to date with Euro Crime by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page and follow on Twitter, @eurocrime.

New Reviews

Michelle Peckham reviews Sharon Bolton's Little Black Lies, set in the Falklands;

Susan White reviews James Carol's Prey, the third in the Jefferson Winter series set in the US;

Amanda Gillies reviews Chris Carter's I Am Death, the seventh in his Robert Hunter series set in LA;


Guest reviewer Bob Cornwell reviews the Dutch thriller Mr. Miller by Charles Den Tex tr. Nancy Forest-Flier;

Rich Westwood reviews Martin Edwards's The Golden Age of Murder - a history of the Detection Club;


Terry Halligan reviews Dolores Gordon-Smith's The Chessman, the ninth in the 1920s Jack Haldean series;

Terry also reviews The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins by Antonia Hodgson, the sequel to the award winning The Devil in the Marshalsea;


Geoff Jones reviews J Sydney Jones's The Third Place, the sixth in the Viennese mystery series;

Geoff also reviews Jim Kelly's Death on Demand, the sixth in the Shaw & Valentine series set in North Norfolk;


Lynn Harvey reviews Henning Mankell's An Event in Autumn tr. Laurie Thompson;

Michelle also reviews Liza Marklund's Without a Trace tr. Neil Smith - the tenth and penultimate entry in the Annika Bengtzon series;

Lynn also reviews Thomas Mogford's Sleeping Dogs which takes Gibraltar-based lawyer Spike Sanguinetti to Corfu;

I review parts Three, Four and Five of Murder House by James Patterson and David Ellis


and Ewa Sherman reviews Gunnar Staalesen's We Shall Inherit the Wind tr. Don Bartlett which is the sixteenth in the PI Varg Veum series though only six are currently available in English and is the first of three from Orenda Books.

Review: Without a Trace by Liza Marklund tr. Neil Smith

Without a Trace by Liza Marklund translated by Neil Smith, June 2015, 352 pages, Corgi, ISBN: 0552170968

Reviewed by Michelle Peckham.
(Read more of Michelle's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

This tenth book in the series that features the journalist Annika Bengtzon, focuses around the mystery behind the disappearances of two women. One is Nora, the wife of the ex-politician Ingemar Lerberg, who has just gone missing. The other is Viola Söderland, who went missing twenty years ago.

At the start of the book, Nora’s husband Ingemar, is being tortured rather horrifically and the perpetrators clearly want to know where Nora is. His almost lifeless body is found and reported anonymously, and Annika is sent to cover the story. Viola’s disappearance was covered by Annika’s boss: Anders Schyman, in a TV documentary for which he was given an award for Excellence in Journalism. Although the consensus was that Viola had been murdered, Anders found evidence that the billionairess, faced with some kind of financial crisis, had planned her disappearance very carefully. But on searching the web for information about Ingemar, a man whom Schyman knew and sometimes socialized with, he comes across a website calling itself the ‘Light of Truth’ where the author has started to call into question Schyman’s story about Viola, and appears to have started a personal attack on Schyman himself. These two threads form the main part of the story.

Meanwhile, there is the usual family background as part of the story. Annika is now living on Södermalm, a very cool and trendy part of Stockholm, with Jimmy Halenius (with whom she got together in the last book, while her ex-husband Thomas was kept hostage in Africa), her two kids, and his two. Thomas, also appears from time to time, and true to form, is feeling very sorry for himself after their break up, as well as very self conscious about the hand he lost while captive, which is now simply replaced with a hook. And there is the re-appearance of Nina, assigned to National Crime, and working with Annika’s long term inside contact ‘Q’. Nina and Annika also know each other from the past (as detailed in an earlier book). Nina is in charge of finding out who tortured Ingemar, and what has happened to Nora, and it’s she who starts to uncover Nora’s secret life, as we start to find out something about Viola’s through Annika.

There are also the interesting reflections on how journalism has changed, with there no longer being the print deadline, but with Annika videoing herself in front of the crime scene, editing some footage, and uploading the video as well as text on line, as soon as she is ready. But is Annika a little battle-weary? At one point she comments on how she could write several of the articles on line, without even leaving the office and going to see anyone, as the same types of stories resurface again and again. Annika also has an intern to look after, Valter Wennegren, son of the man who owns the paper, who turns out to be very useful. The ‘Light of Truth’ also highlights the ability of anyone to write anything they like online, and how destructive this can be especially when what appears to be a hot story, is taken up by other online media and goes into the mainstream. It’s interesting to see how Schyman, himself a veteran journalist, deals with the character assassination and how doubts raised about him and his integrity raised by an anonymous blogger start to take on a life of their own, as myths are circulated as truths.

WITHOUT A TRACE is a book with lots of bits and pieces, that just about hangs together as a whole. There is much musing on journalism, Annika’s role in it, her slightly jaded approach to it all, and yet still her engagement with it, and love of her job. The pressures of her new family and various uncertainties there also play an important part in the book, while the stories of Nora and Viola are almost plot devices to compare journalism then, and now. That is, one is rather less concerned as to what has happened to these two women, than how the stories are (or were) presented. I always enjoy Marklund’s books, and this is no exception, and while it didn’t have the taut drama of some of the previous books, it was a thought-provoking read.

Michelle Peckham, October 2015

New Reviews: Chisholm, Cleeves, Collett, Indridason, Jacobsen, Kitchin, Marklund, Nickson, Webster

Here are nine reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, one has appeared on the blog since last time, and eight are completely new.

NB. You can keep up to date with Euro Crime by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page.

New Reviews

Terry Halligan reviews the sixth in P F Chisholm's Elizabethan Robert Carey series, An Air of Treason, in which is tasked to discover who killed Amy Dudley;

Susan White reviews the latest in Ann Cleeves's Shetland series, Thin Air;

Terry also reviews Chris Collett's Dead of Night, the seventh book to feature one of the few fictional Birmingham coppers, Tom Mariner;


Lynn Harvey reviews the latest (and possibly last) in the 'Older' Erlendur series, Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indridason tr. Victoria Cribb. (NB. The recent Reykjavik Nights features a younger Erlendur.)

Susan also reviews Trophy by Steffen Jacobsen tr. Charlotte Barslund, which she "thoroughly recommends";


Rich Westwood reviews Rob Kitchin's Stumped, a "slightly blacker comedy set in Dublin, Manchester and the West of Ireland";

Michelle Peckham reviews Liza Marklund's Borderline tr. Neil Smith, which see reporter Annika Bengtzon on the other side of the media fence when her husband gets kidnapped;


Michelle also reviews Gods of Gold by Chris Nickson, set in 1890's Leeds

and if you weren't already convinced by Lynn's review earlier in the year then Laura Root's review should ensure that you give Jason Webster's Blood Med a go.


Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year. NB. Forthcoming releases by category for 2015 are now available.

Petrona Award mention in The Long Shadow

I received a review copy of Liza Marklund's The Long Shadow yesterday and was very pleased to see inside, reference to the fact that Last Will won the Petrona Award. Both titles are translated by Neil Smith.

Work is quietly going on in the background regarding the 2014 Award with the judges reading the titles submitted so far. The list of potential entries for the 2014 Award can be found on this Petrona Award Eligibles post.

A Copycat Cover for Saturday

Liza Marklund's next book, available in English courtesy of Neil Smith, has been retitled The Long Shadow (formally A Place in the Sun) and is published in September.
The girl in the field looked familiar...

And the Winner Is...

Lots of people guessed correctly and the winner of the first Petrona award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year is Last Will by Liza Marklund, translated by Neil Smith. More photos to come but here is the "trophy". Liza also wins a ticket to CrimeFest 2014 and a guaranteed panel which it sounds like she'll be taking up!

Photo courtesy of Emma Buckley.

New Reviews: Camilleri, Gray, Johnston, Marklund, Quinn, Rhodes

Here is the final set of reviews to be added to the Euro Crime website in 2012 however over the next couple of weeks I'll be posting the reviewers' favourite discoveries of 2012 on the blog, so please check back frequently.

I'm continually grateful to the dedicated reviewers who keep the review section of Euro Crime going with their submissions. Early in the New Year I'll be compiling their favourite reads of 2012.

The next set of reviews will appear around 6-7 January 2013.

Here are the final reviews of 2012:

Susan White reviews the paperback release of the International Dagger Award-winning The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri, tr. Stephen Sartarelli;

Terry Halligan reviews Alex Gray's ninth Lorimer-Brightman book A Pound of Flesh set in a wintry Glasgow, and now out in paperback;

Paul Johnston's Alex Mavros is caught up in the Olympics - the 2004 Olympics in Athens - in The Green Lady, reviewed here by Geoff Jones;

In wintry Stockholm, Liza Marklund's Annika Bengtzon gets the story of a lifetime in Last Will, tr. Neil Smith, which reviewer Lynn Harvey calls "nail-biting";

Terry also reviews Anthony Quinn's debut Disappeared which introduces Northern Ireland policeman Celcius Daly

and Lizzie Hayes reviews Kate Rhodes debut Crossbones Yard.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year.

Harrogate - 50 Different Words For Murder

The first of two panels on the final day, the ones I'd been eagerly awaiting:

From the Programme:
With crime fiction from around the world as popular as ever, we ask four overseas authors what, if anything, is lost in translation. Writing originally in Swedish, Spanish and Afrikaans, Camilla Lackberg, Antonio Hill, Deon Meyer and Liza Marklund will tell Barry Forshaw just how much of their work is filtered or coloured by their translator. How much involvement do they have in the translations? And crucially…will we ever get tired of Scandinavian crime fiction?

My notes:

If LM is Godmother of Swedish crime fiction what does that make Maj Sjowall? LM's granny!

BF says that DM is the best crime writer in Afrikaans. DM said that it was a huge honour to be here, thank you Theaksons.

CL's latest book is The Drowning.

AH - poetic title (The Summer of Dead Toys) but kind of creepy, only book so no problem with being translated out of order, set in a very hot Barcelona.

CL is a celebrity for her private life eg being on the Swedish version of Strictly; her personal life was a gossip item 4 years ago complaining about media, got revenge by attacking reality tv in The Stonecutter/The Stranger.

BF asked LM - do we get right image of Scandinavia from her books? Scandinavians like to think were the best and that the problem with the rest of the world was that they are not Scandinavian. LM wanted to covered issues like abused women/children so wrote crime novels about these issues.

BF says Afrikaans has 87 years left. That's enough for DM! DM's English not as impeccable as his Afrikaans mother tongue, which is a beautiful and varied language.

BF: Translators so grateful to be included in Death in a Cold Climate. CL's books are shared between husband and wife team Steven T Murray and Tiina Nunnally. She's never got into how they do that! They are good at emailing her. She rarely hears from translators.

AH has been a translator so knows process.

LM works closely with (translator) Neil Smith, rework US edition quite a lot.

Translators object to editors changing US to British English (or vice-versa) as it's a whole way of thinking not just the language. DM: British people know more about South Africa than Americans as they only know America. DM's US editions have extra paragraphs or chapters to explain.

AH Read English translation (by Laura McGoughlin) and dialogue was very good, she got the rhythm.

CL & LM are huge in Germany, pictures everywhere. CL wearing angel wings! It's really easy to persuade her to get into angel wings! Been a ghost, dead floating body - crazy campaigns for her books.

LM read everything - raised close to Arctic circle (so not much to do) read Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie, Maj Sjowall.

DM sees self as ambassador for SA and try to rectify misconceptions about SA. "Once a time you couldn't have a sympathetic white cop" changed after apartheid.

LM - you never find crime novels in dictatorships.

CL likes contrast between everyday life (everyday dramas) and dead bodies, hideous murders.

Legacy of Franco hangs heavy. AH not so young (he says0 lived under it for 9 years.

The panel hoped they were translated due to quality of book not ease with which name can be pronounced in English.

AH was asked to change his name in Germany as not Spanish enough - add an extra letter - but he refused.

Translators clean up LM in German editions. make Annika more polite. Usually you spend several hours for your author portrait - look nice and then German publisher says we need ugly pictures - want author to look like girl next door, roots showing. DM doesn't have this problem and wife think he looks like Brad Pitt anyway!

Annika is an incarnation of LM that makes every mistake but gets away with it. Women are human beings even if not treated like that. LM likes to be a bit Annika if pushed around. We should all be a bit Annika.

CL: didn't want Erica to be her but writes better about her when she writes about her own experiences. Over time Erica is 50% her. Patrik is based on her ex-husband who was a tax economist but she is now married to policeman.

AH's main character is a melancholic, normal guy unless he gets angry! He beats 1 man up but he deserved it and he is the big brother he would like to have.

BF asked DM which of your characters do you like best? He tries to make them different - question is like being asked to choose your favourite child!. He misses them, as characters become like  friends/family and worries about them and make stories up about what they're doing.

LM wrote about union leaders going to strip club as don't have many scandals in Sweden so have to treasure them.

The Ice Princess started with that image of woman in frozen bath. Got title and story built from that image.

AH had an image of girl in swimming pool surrounded by broken toys - made up whole story to explain this image.

DM - press us very free in SA. Took a while to get used to. Dangerous to write a crime novel trying to make a political point as you may lose readers.

LM writes political novels.

CL doesn't think highly of British press - glad that Swedish press isn't as curious. Tabloids are generally nicer than the UK ones.

DM - some of UK press is the best in the world, some is worst.

AH - journalist write scandals about each other in Spain.

BF asked about sex scenes...

LM tries to write them from a male pov.

CL can't make herself write sex scenes as picture of mum & mother-in-law in her head.

DM - Afrikaans of Cape Flats very specific way of speaking but cannot translate (very musical).

CL - get many questions on Scandinavian crime - analyse the success and why they're so good at it; why do people like reading about Scandinavian countries?

Assassinations (Palme & Lind) were a wake up call pulled them into rest of world. Sweden has problems like any other country, not all tall and blonde. A Kennedy moment when Olaf Palme killed. LM said Sweden was 50 years ahead in 1950s as weren't in wars.

Why are Latin countries not as popular. Climate? AH - show we can kill, don't need snow. Not a long tradition of crime fiction in Spain most papers won't review crime fiction.

Corruption endemic theme in all books. No worse in SA than UK, UK politicians "cook the books" (DM). CL said Swedish politicians aren't as colourful or don't hear about it. Now economic scandals as sexual scandals are not scandals any more!

Literary reviewers think CLs books are written in too everyday language and so put their success abroad down to really good translators. LM said Scandi books not better but have a spotlight on a whiter society and spots are darker;the contrast is bigger in Scandi society.

CL - people are curious about Sweden.

LM in Germany always gets question - why did you start with 4th book - only gets that in Germany!! (could be out of order translation or down to the fact that her first book The Bomber is a later one chronologically)

CL in Italy - got so many questions abut Patrik staying at home looking after baby. Convinced a large audience of women that it was a good idea.

DM - email feedback is about the books but when on tour is asked abut country.

AH get different questions about woman character, depending on country - too sexually liberated for some.

DM - 85% of crime is domestic and drug/alcohol related.

LZ - theme is power, in all novels, and stories around that.

DM - vast majority of crime is in disadvantaged communities.

Question from audience about British authors writing about their countries eg Spain (Quintin Jardine) and Alexander McCall Smith (Africa):

AH says why not, have a different view.

CL says "stay away!" (re Brit writers writing about Scandinavia)

DM says that AMS gets Botswana people exactly right, No crime fiction novel can be a panoramic view of all society. Thinks AMS absolutely brilliant and does it very very well.

Comment from German member of the audience post-war Germany very stable, crime fiction very pop since 50s. Patricia Highsmith not seen as crime writer in Germany or Spain.

Ruth Rendell often mentioned as being read by Scandinavians. CL a crime nerd since little. 80% of her reading is crime.

BF ended the session by saying the Germans are coming...

New Reviews: Goodwin, Harvey, James, Johnston, Kitson, Koppel, Marklund, Pastor, Price

As well as the 9 new reviews, don't forget to see which title, author and translator made the top spot for the Euro Crime reviewers' favourite book of 2011.

The competition's still open: win Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley (no geographical restrictions).

Here are this week's reviews:

Susan White reviews the latest in the Yashim the Eunuch series by Jason Goodwin, An Evil Eye (and Susan has even tried some of the recipes featured in this series);

John Harvey's Good Bait features a new protagonist plus a couple of characters from earlier books including DCI Karen Shields from the heart-breaking Cold in Hand and is reviewed here by Maxine Clarke;

Michelle Peckham thinks Peter James's Dead Man's Grip signals that the series could be running out of steam;

The Silver Stain is a belated but welcome return for Paul Johnston's PI Alex Mavros, set in Greece, reviewed here by Geoff Jones;

Terry Halligan found Bill Kitson's latest DI Mike Nash, Back-Slash hard to put down;

I review Hans Koppel's She's Never Coming Back tr. Kari Dickson which I didn't enjoy very much;

Fortunately Lynn Harvey had a better experience with Liza Marklund's The Bomber which has been retranslated by Neil Smith;

Norman calls Ben Pastor's Liar Moon "grown-up crime fiction"

and Lizzie Hayes reviews Joanna Price's debut A Means of Escape set in the Glastonbury area (and incidentally is very cheap on Kindle at the moment).

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here and new titles by Mark Billingham, Kevin Brophy and Hakan Ostlundh have been added to these pages this week.

Retranslations, I'm picking up good vibrations..

There are several books being published with a new translation in the "Dagger year" ie June 2011 to May 2012 which are not eligible for consideration as they have already been published in English. So as not to lose them as it were, I'll be linking this post to the 2012 International Dagger eligibles list.

First up is Liza Marklund's The Bomber which, complete with "from the bestselling co-author of Postcard Killers" sticker will be published on 24 November by Corgi in a fresh translation by Neil Smith.

All she wants for Christmas...is to survive.

Seven days. Three killings. And one woman who knows too much...

Crime reporter Annika Bengtzon is woken by a phonecall in the early hours of a wintry December morning. An explosion has ripped apart the Olympic Stadium. And a victim has been blown to pieces.

As Annika delves into the details of the bombing and the background of the victim, there is a second explosion. These chilling crimes could be her biggest news story yet. When her police source reveals they are hot on the heels of the bomber, Annika is guaranteed an exclusive with her name on it.

But she is uncovering too much, and soon finds herself the target of a deranged serial killer...

I've already listened to this one in the original 2002 translation by Kajsa Von Hofsten (which sounded like an American translation) and enjoyed it very much: my review.

Next up, are Per Wahlöö's two books featuring Chief Inspector Jensen: Murder on the Thirty-First Floor and The Steel Spring which were published with a translation by Joan Tate in the 1960s. Sarah Death's new translations will be published by Vintage on 15 December.

In an unnamed country, in an unnamed year sometime in the future, Chief Inspector Jensen of the Sixteenth Division is called in after the publishers controlling the entire country's newspapers and magazines receive a threat to blow up their building, in retaliation for a murder they are accused of committing. The building is evacuated, but the bomb fails to explode and Jensen is given seven days in which to track down the letter writer. Jensen has never had a case he could not solve before, but as his investigation into the identity of the letter writer begins it soon becomes clear that the directors of the publishers have their own secrets, not least the identity of the 'Special Department' on the thirty first floor; the only department not permitted to be evacuated after the bomb threat.






Chief Inspector Jensen is a policeman in an unnamed European country where the government has criminalised being drunk, even in private at home, and where the city centres have been demolished to devote more space to gleaming new roads. Recovering in a hospital room abroad after a liver transplant, Jensen receives a note instructing him to return home immediately, but when he reaches the airport he discovers that all flights home have been cancelled and all communication from within his homeland has ceased. One of the last messages sent requested urgent medical help from abroad and when Jensen is piloted across the border it soon becomes clear that an epidemic has ravaged the country.


Look out for the Wahlöös in a W H Smith's Scandi promotion after Christmas.

Finally, in February, Liza Marklund's Vanished from Corgi, which is Neil Smith translation of the book published in 2004 as Paradise.

Red Wolf - Cover Opinions

This week's selection for "cover opinions" is the US and UK covers for Liza Marklund's Red Wolf tr. Neil Smith, which has just been published in the UK. The US edition will come out on 15 February 2011.

So what are you thoughts on the US (LHS) and UK (RHS) covers? Which would entice you to pick the book up if you were not familiar with Liza Marklund?

If you have read it, how well does the cover match the story?

Bonus question: Does a cover quote from a well-known author encourage you to pick up the book?

Here is the Euro Crime review by Maxine of Red Wolf.

New Reviews: Cotterill and Marklund

One competition for October and it is open internationally closes 31st:
Win one of five copies of Someone Else's Son by Sam Hayes

Here are this week's reviews. [Sorry for there only being two. I've had a cold/migraine induced sickness which meant the time I had allocated to do the reviews was spent in bed! I did want to get Maxine's review of Red Wolf up as a) it's great and b) the book came out just a couple of days ago]:

The latest (and is it the last?) in the Dr Siri series by Colin Cotterill has just come out in paperback - Love Songs from a Shallow Grave, reviewed by Michelle Peckham and

Maxine Clarke reviews the long awaited Red Wolf by Liza Marklund, tr. Neil Smith.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found by author or date, here.

New Reviews: Bourland, Patterson-Marklund, Roslund-Hellstrom

Last call: Closing today. September's Competition which is open internationally:
Win one of three copies of From the Dead by Mark Billingham (Worldwide)

Here are this week's reviews, sorry there's only 3 this time but I'm away this weekend. Normal service should be resuming very soon!:

Terry Halligan reviews The Baker Street Phantom by Fabrice Bourland, tr. Morag Young;

I review the Patterson-Marklund collaboration that is: Postcard Killers (definitely not the next Stieg Larsson);

and Maxine Clarke reviews the "addictive thriller" Three Seconds by Roslund-Hellstrom, tr. Kari Dickson which is published today.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found by author or date, here.

Different covers for The Postcard Killers

The James Patterson, Liza Marklund collaboration, tr Neil Smith will be published soon in the US. The UK edition is out in September. I thought it might be interesting to see the different approaches taken by the different countries, in particular US and Sweden given the relative fames of the two writers. I rather like the Danish cover.

US/UK-----------------------------------------Swedish (Norwegian & Finnish are very similar)

Danish---------------------------------------------------German

Dutch-----------------------------------------------Italian

Publishing Deals - Marklund, Mariani

I reported earlier this year that Transworld are publishing Liza Marklund's books in the UK and in today's Publishers Lunch Weekly it seems that she's getting the US treatment as well:

Scandinavian crime writer Liza Marklund's THE RED WOLF, NOBEL'S LAST WILL, LIFETIME and A PLACE IN THE SUN, to Emily Bestler at Atria, in a four-book deal, by Niclas Salomonsson at Salomonsson Agency (US).

and also Scott Mariani's who is already published in the UK, will soon be published in the US:

Scott Mariani's THE MOZART CONSPIRACY, pitched in the tradition of Robert Ludlum and Dan Brown, following recurring character former British Special Air Service officer Ben Hope as he gets caught up in a centuries-old mystery surrounding the death of Mozart, along with its follow-up THE DOOMSDAY PROPHECY... for publication in spring 2011.

Liza Marklund news

As well as the collaboration with James Patterson - Postcard Killers - in September (UK), the current edition of The Bookseller lists Liza Marklund's fifth Annika Bengtzon novel, Red Wolf, as being published in October, and there's more:

Transworld have bought eight of Marklund's books to publish twice a year with plans to replicate her pan-European popularity.

James Patterson & Liza Marklund in 2010

Details of the result of the collaboration between James Patterson and Swedish author Liza Marklund are now on amazon.

The book is called The Postcard Killers, and is published in August in the US and September in the UK.

Synopsis from amazon:

NYPD detective Jack Kanon is on a tour of Europe's most gorgeous cities. But the sights aren't what draw him--he sees each museum, each cathedral, and each restaurant through a killer's eyes.

Kanon's daughter, Kimmy, and her boyfriend were murdered while on vacation in Rome. Since then, young couples in Paris, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Stockholm have become victims of the same sadistic killers. Now Kanon teams up with the Swedish reporter, Dessie Larsson. Every killing is preceded by a postcard to the local newspaper--and Kanon and Larsson think they know where the next victims will be. With relentless logic and unstoppable action, THE POSTCARD KILLERS may be James Patterson's most vivid and compelling thriller yet.

Will you be reading this book?

Patterson-Marklund collaboration

From Publisher's Lunch:

James Patterson is reaching across the ocean for his latest writing partner, working on a new thriller set primarily in Stockholm with Scandinavian crime writer Liza Marklund, best known for her Annika Bengtzon series. The book will be published in Sweden in 2010 with Marklund's regular publisher Piratförlaget (of which she is a part owner), but that is the only territory sold so far. It's a bilingual collaboration as well. Marklund will write in Swedish, which will then be translated for Patterson, who will work in English as usual.

Robert Barnett at Williams & Connolly is representing rights for the US and the UK and has "a great deal of interest" from Patterson's existing publishers in both territories. Linda Michaels, who was the "driving force in brokering the collaboration," represents rights for the rest of the world for Barnett, except for Sweden where The Salomonsson Agency represented Marklund.

Barnett sees it as "another example of Jim being innovative" as well as "an opportunity to introduce him to a whole new area of fans [internationally] who might not be aware of him" while doing the same for Marklund.

Marklund says in a brief statement, "Writing this book is so much fun. The story is violent, emotional, and fast paced. It’s very exciting to work with such an intelligent and creative writer. James Patterson is not only exceptionally smart and funny, he is also incredibly humble."

Lets hope this leads to the rest of Liza Marklund's books being translated into English.

New reviews and other updates to the Euro Crime website

Both the new reviews added to the Euro Crime website this weekend are of titles by female Swedish authors: Liza Marklund's 'Prime Time', reviewed by Karen Chisholm, and Helene Tursten's 'The Torso'.

Other changes include:

The 'News' page has been updated.

The 'New Releases' pages have been updated.

The 'Authors' (485 sites) page of author websites has been updated.

In 'Books' I've added bibliographies for the following authors: Sean Brickell, Derek W Lake and Dennis Lewis.

In 'Books' I've updated the bibliographies (ie added new titles) for: Mark Billingham, Arnaldur Indridason, Arturo Perez-Reverte and Helene Tursten.