To celebrate Women’s History Month and also to share our joy of reading best Nordic noir novels we have come across in the last decade covering the genre, we decided to focus on notable crime and mystery novels written by female authors.
Whether you’re new to the genre or are already an avid Nordic noir reader, we are fairly certain you’ll find few new names here and given the high caliber of female authors in this list, you won’t be disappointed with these titles.
The train crew was alerted and kept a watchful eye on the sleeping child. But when the train pulled into Stockholm Central Station, the little girl had vanished. Inspector Alex Recht and his special team of federal investigators, assisted by the investigative analyst Fredrika Bergman, are assigned to what at first appears to be a classic custody fight.
But when the child is found dead in the far north of Sweden with the word “unwanted” scribbled on her forehead, the case soon turns into the investigation team’s worst nightmare—the pursuit of a brilliant and ruthless killer.
It’s Erica herself who finds Alex’s body—suspended in a bathtub of frozen water, her wrists slashed. Erica is bewildered: Why would a beautiful woman who had it all take her own life? Teaming up with police detective Patrik Hedström, Erica begins to uncover shocking events from Alex’s childhood.
As one horrifying fact after another comes to light, Erica and Patrik’s curiosity gives way to obsession—and their flirtation grows into uncontrollable attraction. But it’s not long before one thing becomes very clear: a deadly secret is at stake, and there’s someone out there who will do anything—even commit murder—to protect it.
Camilla is one of the most financially successful female writers in the Nordic noir category.
As Maria discovers, bitter passion and jealousy seethe under the placid surface of the group’s privileged, carefree lifestyle. As Maria uncovers the victim’s unsavory secrets, motives for all seven suspects come to light. Now it’s up to her to untangle the clues before the killer strikes again.
Beautiful and fragile, Sanna needs someone like Rebecka to remove the shadow of guilt that is engulfing her, to forestall an ambitious prosecutor and a dogged policewoman. But to help her friend, and to find the real killer of a man she once adored and is now not sure she ever knew, Rebecka must relive the darkness she left behind in Kiruna, delve into a sordid conspiracy of deceit, and confront a killer whose motives are dark, wrenching, and impossible to guess.
When his dead body is found the next morning, Sybilla becomes the prime suspect. For years, her anonymity has sheltered her; she has found a kind of home in the invisibility of homeless life. But with her anonymity shattered, Sybilla is forced into the one course of action that might allow her to go home again.
When the lifeless body of Sara Matteus—a young patient of Siri’s with a history of drug addiction and sexual abuse—is found floating in the water near the cottage, Siri can no longer deny that someone is out there, watching her and waiting. When her beloved cat goes missing and she receives a photo of herself from a stalker, it becomes clear that Siri is next.
But as their investigation unfolds, Siri’s past and present start to merge and disintegrate so that virtually everyone in her inner circle becomes a potential suspect. With the suspense building toward a dramatic conclusion as surprising as it is horrifying, Siri is forced to relive and reexamine her anguished past, and finally to achieve some kind of peace.
Blackwater by Kerstin Ekman. In 1974, after moving to the remote town of Blackwater in northern Sweden to live with her lover, Annie Raft stumbles upon a brutal double murder that remains unsolved for twenty years, until her daughter falls in love with the man Annie had seen leaving the scene of the crime. 25,000 first printing. Tour.
On a July afternoon, a young woman’s body is dredged from Sweden’s beautiful Lake Vattern. With no clues Beck begins an investigation not only to uncover a murderer but also to discover who the victim was. Three months later, all Beck knows is that her name was Roseanna and that she could have been strangled by any one of eighty-five people on a cruise.
Maj is one of the most well-known female Scandinavian authors and a pioneer of the genre in her region.
Only One Life – or The Drowned Girl – (Louise Rick #3) by Sara Blaedel. It’s clearly no ordinary drowning. When a young girl is pulled from the watery depths, a piece of concrete tied around her waist and two mysterious circular patches on the back of her neck, Detective Louise Rick is immediately called out to Holbaek Fjord.
I Can See in the Dark by Karin Fossum. Another one of our Nordic noir favorites.
Riktor doesn’t like the way the policeman storms into his home without even knocking. He doesn’t like the arrogant way he walks around the house, taking note of its contents. The policeman doesn’t bother to explain why he’s there, and Riktor is too afraid to ask. He knows he’s guilty of a terrible crime and he’s sure the policeman has found him out.
But when the policeman finally does confront him, Riktor freezes. The man is arresting him for something totally unexpected. Riktor doesn’t have a clear conscience, but the crime he’s being accused of is one he certainly didn’t commit. Can he clear his name without further incriminating himself?
The Dead of Summer (Anders Knutas #5) by Mari Jungstedt. While vacationing on the Swedish island Gotland, a young father of two is shot on the beach while jogging. Assistant commissioner Karin Jacobsson, who must lead the investigation while Anders Knutas is on vacation, is at a loss until another horrific crime is committed. Mari Jungstedt successfully combines a thrilling, raw crime novel with a multilayered relational drama.
But the “Society Suicide” turns out to have been a carefully plotted murder. As more murders ensue, she tangles with street gang members, skinheads, immigrants and neo-Nazis—a cross-section of Sweden’s disaffected—in order to catch the killer.
One week later, the bishop of Bergen is found stabbed to death on a deserted street. Eva Karin Lysgaard is a popular public figure, a sixty-two year-old grandmother: why was she on a lone errand in the deserted city, on the night before Christmas?
The Island of Naked Women by Inger Frimansson. Tobias, an author of mystery novels, must return to the family farm after his father became incapacitated due to a fall from the hayloft. Tobias resents his father’s judgmental attitude, but he finds the allure of his father’s young wife Sabina hard to resist.
Meanwhile, Hardy, the hired hand, scoffs at Tobias’s city ways, while encouraging Sabina’s mentally challenged son Adam to turn into an Elvis impersonator; and Ingelize, who runs a nearby riding school, finds Tobias irresistible. The rural life becomes increasingly claustrophobic for Tobias, but before he can return to the city, death strikes a hard blow and chaos ensues.
Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is a compulsive do-gooder who can’t say no when someone asks for help—even when she knows better. When her estranged friend Karin leaves her a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous project yet. Inside the locker is a suitcase, and inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy: naked and drugged, but alive.
Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to authorities, or will they only return him to whoever sold him? When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy’s are in jeopardy, too. In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is trying to hunt him down.
Lumikki Andersson must uncover a dark personal truth to outwit her murderous stalker…Lumikki has a new boyfriend – easygoing, gorgeous Sampsa – but she is unfaithful in her dreams, longing for the electrifying touch of her ex, Blaze. Then the threats start arriving, from someone who seems to know Lumikki intimately.
Sharing her fears risks deadly consequences, so now she is more alone than ever. When Blaze suddenly reappears, Lumikki is torn. She can’t deny the chemistry between them, but can she trust him? To stop the killer, Lumikki must uncover a dark secret that has haunted her family for years.
As the murder spree in Stockholm continues, Annika is dragged into a violent hostage situation that shakes both Europe and East Africa. When their unreasonable demands are rejected, the kidnappers begin to execute the hostages, one by one.
The titles featuring this female reporter are among our favorite commercial novels.
The Last Lullaby: Hammarby Book 3 by Carin Gerhardsen. Stockholm Criminal Investigator Conny Sjöberg finds a mother and her two young children lying peacefully in bed, their throats coldly and efficiently cut and no signs of a struggle.
As Conny and his team get to work they draw a blank on both motive and suspect for these cruel, senseless murders. The only lead they have is a mysterious benefactor of the family – who eludes their every search.
Distracted and hampered by the mysterious disappearance of one of their officers, Conny’s squad struggles on – until an astonishing discovery turns the case upside down and threatens to tear his team apart.
*****
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