2010 List: My Criminal Record

 
Some of my favourite book bloggers have been compiling end of the year lists, many showing prodigious reading. Maxine at Petrona lists no less than 70 authors she read for the first time in  2010,  and Norman at Crime Scraps added 25 . I am grateful as both have pointed me to novels I might otherwise not have read (though one of my favourite reads merited a bottom of the scale E for Erroneous from Maxine!).

I read a reasonable number of crime novels this year, not least because they almost always have a strong sense of place, and partly because they often feature vignettes from journalists for my much neglected Scoop! and PR in Fiction projects.

Place drew me to the Warsaw of Zygmunt Miloszewski's Entanglement, and Mikkel Birkegaard's Library of Shadows. I have spent quite a lot of time in Copenhagen without feeling I know the city at all well, so Danish fiction is on my 2011 list, and drew me to Shadows, a thriller with supernatural themes I would normally avoid. I made an exception because the special powers involved reading, and I knew some of the locations, and for some reason the book has stuck with me all year.

I quite enjoyed first acquaintanceships with Jo Nesbø (Redbreast) and Val McDermid (Darker Domain) but neither made me rush out and buy their other work. I will, however, follow Simon Lelic with interest after the excellent Rupture. 

Skåne is perhaps not the best place to be introduced to Andrea Camilleri, but I enjoyed the coincidence of reading a reference to Sjöwall and Wahlöö  in August Sun, just a couple of days after I had the pleasure of meeting Maj in the Savoy Hotel, Malmö.  Likewise, I appreciated the - oblique references to Nangijala in Entanglement, which I wouldn't have understood if I hadn't read Astrid Lindgren's  dark and splendid Brothers Lionheart this summer.

For sheer fun, I romped through LC Tyler's The Herring Seller's Apprentice and Ten Little Herrings (though sadly, not about herring!) - highly recommended!

Disappointments included Secret Speech which I found nowhere as good as Child 44, and to a lesser extent Potsdam Station, which suggested David Downing's hitherto excellent John Russell  series is running out of steam.

Needless to say, the crime novels I enjoyed most were Swedish, and all by authors I was returning to. There was a lot about The Man From Beijing that I admired, but there is always something about Mankell that doesn't quite work for me. She may be a little lightweight but I do enjoy Mari Jungstedt, and I thought The Killer's Art was her best to be translated so far.

For me the best written - or perhaps best translated Scandinavian crime was  Johan Theorin's Darkest Room, and I will read more Yrsa Sigurdardottir after enjoying Last Rituals (which reminded me of Donna Tart's Secret History) but for me the highlight was Liza Marklund's Red Wolf (review).  

Comments

[Petronatwo.wordpress.com]

Interesting how opinions vary! In my case I have little patience for magic in novels....apart from Harry Potter of course. I do enjoy reading new-to-me authors, I have to admit most of them come from Euro Crime, either the International Dagger eligibles each year, or from books that get highlighted there.

I enjoyed the Herring Seller's Apprentice but I thought the joke had had its day in Ten Little Herrings.

I liked the Man from Beijing but Mankell isn't a new-to-me author so it did not make that particular list. Like you, I prefer other Scandinavians to Nesbo, he is too "ghoulish set-piece" for me, on balance. Very much agree on Simon Lelic.

[Philip]

Thanks for this, Maxine, and for the recommendations - Lelic and Miloszewski came from you.

All reviewing is subjective and these sort of lists particularly so. It is not just the book, it is about when you read it and where you read it. I read Library of Shadows mostly on flights in and out of Copenhagen - would I have enjoyed it as much if i was sitting at home? Or would the 'magic' have annoyed me. Possibly so. I read Ten Little Herrings over half a dozen train journeys after giving a series of quite challenging lectures, and appreciated something light and English. Would I have enjoyed Red Wolf as much if I didn't feel I know Annika quite well and wanted to catch up with an old 'colleague'? Perhaps I would have sniped more readily at Marklund's occasional clumsiness if I hadn't been smiling in recognition at the trivial details of her domestic life?

One way of assessing new writers is to ask whether one would read another novel by them; perhaps another, more rigorous test would be, which of these books can I envisage reading again?

I can easily see myself starting the Martin Beck series all over again (and would love to read one of the books Per Wahlöö wrote on his own). I am not sure I will return to any of the novels I mentioned here... but I am pretty sure my favourite read of 2010 (revealed soon!) will make that list.

[Maxine]

Looking forward to seeing the winner! Glenn at his blog International Noir Fiction has reviewed one or two of the Wahloo standalones in the past few months.

[Karen Russell]

I have "Library" and "Redbreast" in my TBR pile so am glad you recommend them. I also had "Secret Speech" checked out from the library but returned it unread after reading your comments, echoed by another blogger I respect, given the other great books on my desk.

It sounds like you like "Darkest Room" more as time goes on -- I read Theorin's "Echoes" at your recommendation and liked it more!

[Philip]

Thanks, Karen - I have Fundraising the Dead on my TBR pile at your recommendation.