Authors Similar to Hakan Nesser???

[Jonathan]

Hi all. I'm a huge fan of Hakan Nesser and I've read all of the Van Veeteren books. First, I wish Nesser started the series a little earlier in VV's career as he's only the main detective in like the first 6 books in the series.

Second, can anyone please recommend authors they think are similar to Nesser? Ideally those authors translated into English...

Thanks!

[Sharon, Moderator (Netherlands)]

Jonathan wrote: "Hi all. I'm a huge fan of Hakan Nesser and I've read all of the Van Veeteren books. First, I wish Nesser started the series a little earlier in VV's career as he's only the main detective in like t..."

His other books are in English and very good imho. There are 10 Van Veeteren books all in all. Barbarotti only a few translated.
The Living and the Dead in Winsford Håkan Nesser, July 2,2015. Set in Exmoor.
A Summer with Kim Novac. 1998/2015. iBook.
The Darkest Day, Inspector Barbarotti 1 of 5, Håkan Nesser / Sarah Death, November 2017.

[Jonathan]

Thanks Sharon.

Have you read either of those 2 non Veeteren Nesser books? The Barbarotti series looks good.

[Tone]

Hi Jonathan,
I'm a fan of Håkan Nesser too, and I don't know any other author who compares with him. As I understand Swedish, I have read all his books. In my opinin the Barbarotti series is even better than the Van Veeteren books. Unfortunately, only the first one has been translated yet. I hope the other 4 also will be available in English soon. In the meantime, I can recommend the stand-alones that Sharon mentioned above, i.e. first and foremost The Living and the Dead in Winsford, but A summar with Kim Novak is not bad either.

[Sharon, Moderator (Netherlands)]

Tone wrote: "Hi Jonathan,
I'm a fan of Håkan Nesser too, and I don't know any other author who compares with him. As I understand Swedish, I have read all his books. In my opinin the Barbarotti series is even b..."

Agree. His two stand alones were excellent. Enjoyed the VV tv series on dvd too. Keep an eye on this group and there are many great Scandinavian authors. Been reading several for decades and like that many write series. Enjoy.

[Tone]

You are right, Sharon, there are many other great Scandinavian authors. Still, I think that Nesser has a writing style of his own, and I find it hard to name anyone who is similar.

[Miss M]

I would recommend Jorn Lier Horst's Inspector Wisting. He's on a pretty even keel and doesn't have any of the usual neuroses of the other Scandi cops. I like those too, but makes for a refreshing change.
Dregs is the first of the series translated into English - and the publisher adds a short intro to cover a bit of Wisting's general background from the earlier, untranslated works.

[Kathy]

Miss M wrote: "I would recommend Jorn Lier Horst's Inspector Wisting. He's on a pretty even keel and doesn't have any of the usual neuroses of the other Scandi cops. I like those too, but makes for a refreshing c..."

I, too, love and recommend Jorn Lier Horst's Inspector Wisting series.

[Jonathan]

Tone wrote: "Hi Jonathan,
I'm a fan of Håkan Nesser too, and I don't know any other author who compares with him. As I understand Swedish, I have read all his books. In my opinin the Barbarotti series is even b..."

Tone wrote: "Hi Jonathan,
I'm a fan of Håkan Nesser too, and I don't know any other author who compares with him. As I understand Swedish, I have read all his books. In my opinin the Barbarotti series is even b..."

Thanks Tone. I will def read the one Barbarotti book now out in English. Sounds awesome!

[Jonathan]

Sharon wrote: "Tone wrote: "Hi Jonathan,
I'm a fan of Håkan Nesser too, and I don't know any other author who compares with him. As I understand Swedish, I have read all his books. In my opinin the Barbarotti ser..."

Thanks Sharon. I tried watching VV on tv and i didn't care for it too much. It didn't seem like a good quality production to me like a Beck or Johan Falk. I don't think they managed the story line in a credible way. But as I said to Tone, I will def get that first Barbarotti book that's available in English.

[Jonathan]

Tone wrote: "You are right, Sharon, there are many other great Scandinavian authors. Still, I think that Nesser has a writing style of his own, and I find it hard to name anyone who is similar."

Tone - I couldn't agree more. I read a ton of Scandi / Nordic Noir authors but I think Nesser has a truly unique voice that really makes him special. My other favorites are Jussi Adler-Olsen, Arnaldur Indridason, Jo Nesbo and Johan Theorin.

But yes, my goal for that initial post here was to find some other writers with that unique voice that Nesser has. I'm thinking of trying to write a Noir mystery book and if I do, I will aspire to have that kind of voice.

[Jonathan]

Kathy wrote: "Miss M wrote: "I would recommend Jorn Lier Horst's Inspector Wisting. He's on a pretty even keel and doesn't have any of the usual neuroses of the other Scandi cops. I like those too, but makes for..."

[Jonathan]

Kathy wrote: "Miss M wrote: "I would recommend Jorn Lier Horst's Inspector Wisting. He's on a pretty even keel and doesn't have any of the usual neuroses of the other Scandi cops. I like those too, but makes for..."

Hi Miss M and Kathy. Thanks for recommendation. I have, in fact, read a few Horst books with Inspector Wisting. They're not bad, but slightly dry. I actually prefer when the main detective has those "usual neuroses". I think that helps create the Noir effect. After reading the first 2 Horst books, as I was reading book 3, I got distracted and put it down. That would never happen to me with a Nesser or Indridason book.

BTW, also good and from Norway, and I think a bit better than Horst is Karen Fossum. She is very good. Great characters and also creates interesting plots and moods.

[Kathy]

Jonathan wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Miss M wrote: "I would recommend Jorn Lier Horst's Inspector Wisting. He's on a pretty even keel and doesn't have any of the usual neuroses of the other Scandi cops. I like those too,..."

I agree that Karen Fossum is one of the best Scandi writers.

[Pamela]

I'm interested in this thread because I'm a big Hakan Nesser fan myself. Living in the US, not all of his books are available to me, and oddly, a few of the ones that are available haven't been published in Kindle format, which is my preferred format. I may have to break down and buy a couple of these in paperback form. I'm also considering rereading the VV series, I like it so much, and my memory is so bad I likely won't remember the outcomes anyway!

[Pat]

Jonathan wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Miss M wrote: "I would recommend Jorn Lier Horst's Inspector Wisting. He's on a pretty even keel and doesn't have any of the usual neuroses of the other Scandi cops. I like those too,..."
I'm not sure, Jonathan, if you are only interested in reading Scandinavian authors, but if you don't mind going further afield I think Fred Vargas's Adamsberg series is hard to beat.

[Jonathan]

Pat wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Miss M wrote: "I would recommend Jorn Lier Horst's Inspector Wisting. He's on a pretty even keel and doesn't have any of the usual neuroses of the other Scandi cops. ..."

Thanks so much Pat. I don't only read Scandi, but I def like to focus as much as possible on Noir mysteries. I hadn't heard of Fred Vargas before. Her books look very interesting though. I will read the first in the Adamsberg series as one of my next books.

Pierre Lemaitre is a very good noir French author. His Commandant Camille Verhoeven series is a good read.

[Pat]

Jonathan wrote: "Pat wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Miss M wrote: "I would recommend Jorn Lier Horst's Inspector Wisting. He's on a pretty even keel and doesn't have any of the usual neuroses of the other S..." Thanks, Jonathan, I've put Lemaitre on my list. I like to dip into noir from time to time. I'm currently reading Dorothy B. Hughes's In a Lonely Place. Despite knowing the story, I'm finding the writing totally riveting and hard to put down. And in Australia you can't go past Wake in Fright. Such an apt title! Happy reading!