The Northern parts of our planet are evocative of silence, loneliness, outlaws and a kind determination that doesn’t exist in places with four seasons and less extremes in temperature. Life in a place like this can change a person for better or worse.
It’s no wonder we are drawn to books that lift the veil of mystery on these lands and explore the darkness that lies beneath. Although many have read Steig Larsson’s novels that began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there are a plethora of other novelists who place their characters in these more northern locations.
So if you are addicted to nordic noir, here are a few suggestions fir your reading list:
Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason, a former journalist, writes with insight into the human condition. His detective, Erlendur, is an imperfect character who is curious about the people he investigates, both the living and dead. Lucky for him, he has no one at home waiting for him as he spends all of his waking hours dedicated to his job. In Indridason’s Hypothermia, we have a slightly different take on the murder mystery format as the incident Erlendur is investigating looks like a suicide. But as with many detectives, his gut feeling is that there is something else at play and he cannot let up until he has followed every last clue.
If you love to explore the dark underbelly of the crime world mixed with legends and creepy supernatural occurrences, try another Icelandic writer, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. In her first novel, My Soul to Take, Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, is a lawyer who gets pulled into the investigation of a woman killed at a health spa. Her client is accused of the murder but as Thora searches for the truth, she is pulled deeper into the folklore of the area, possible hauntings and the disturbing family history of the previous owners of the land. This book holds plenty of spine-tingling thrills within its pages and the plot will keep you guessing right up until the last page.
Danish writer Sara Blædel brings us detective Louise Rick, a modern and independent woman who can fend for herself in a male-dominated work place. In Call Me Princess, the reader gets pulled into the world of online dating after a woman is brutally raped and beaten; the perpetrator has left without a trace thanks to the anonymity of the online world. Louise gets into the mind of this predator and we get pulled deeper into his world.
While the novels set in Scandinavia are excellent, White Heat, set in the Canadian north is just as compelling. The novel by British author M.J. McGrath is set on Ellesmere Island, which itself becomes an omnipresent character in the book. Protagonist Edie Kiglatuk is a half Inuit and half outsider, a hunting guide by trade, and she finds herself pulled in to the mysterious death of a duck hunter from the south that local officials are quick to pass off as an accident. When the hunter’s friend disappears on a second expedition, Edie and police sergeant Palliser suspect there may be more at play. The intrigue continues as we are introduced to international players in a region desired by the energy sector but at the mercy of an unforgiving landscape.
And finally, The Black House and The Lewis Man by Peter May. These novels set in the Outer Hebrides are steeped in the Gaelic culture of the islands. The setting is dark, atmospheric and moody. These novels are not police procedurals but do deal with mysteries, cold cases and investigative plots. The characters are well developed and the stories pull you deeper into the lives of people in the Outer Hebrides.
I hope you will enjoy these and the many other books set in the far northern reaches of our world.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Kathy Johnson works at Coquitlam Public Library.
