For many, the dark season is their favorite spooky time.
But in Norway, interest in crime novels increases at Easter.
And there's a good reason for that.
Easter in Norway is a very special celebration.
Since the shops here close on the Wednesday afternoon before Maundy Thursday, there are many days up to Easter Monday that people spend together with their families to celebrate and read.
The days are slowly getting lighter, a lot is done outside and Norwegians love to ski at Easter.
But at the top of the list are crime fiction.
Whether bought from the bookshelf or new.
The whole book market in Norway has adapted to this phenomenon.
Crime thrillers for Easter: They love that in Norway
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For 100 years, detective stories have been part of Easter in Norway, along with chocolate and traditional fish dishes.
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© imageBROKER/Reinhard Pantke/Imago
In Norway, "Påskekrim", in German about "Easter crime", is to be regarded as a separate season.
In the weeks leading up to Easter, publishers bring out new thrillers that promise readers exciting entertainment.
At this time, more and more thrillers were shown on television and radio, as
reported by the
Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) .
For many Norwegians, the combination of skiing and crime reading has belonged together for years.
Norwegian detective stories and thrillers: The most exciting titles from the far north
Norwegian detective stories and thrillers: The most exciting titles from the far north
If you take a closer look at this phenomenon, you will learn that 100 years ago the authors Nordahl Grieg and Nils Lie wrote a thriller entitled "Bergensbahn plundered in the night".
At the time, publishers Gyldendal placed an ad for the thriller in a newspaper, which many did not recognize as an ad.
The title read like a message and many readers believed that the train had really derailed and been robbed at the time.
The book was a success and, according to
the NZZ,
is said to have laid the foundation for the Easter thriller phenomenon.
The most exciting crime writers in Norway - a small selection
Ingar Johnsrud
Ruth Lillegraven
Jo Nesbo
Kjell Ola Dahl
Thomas Enger
Anne Holt
For many readers, crime reading is something of a distraction from their everyday lives, including a distraction from all the bad news that is thrown at them day after day.
For all thriller fans, it usually ends well in the end.
The perpetrator is caught and the case is solved.
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Jo Nesbø, who has presented one of the best thrillers of the last year with “Blutmond”, has proven for years that Norwegian crime writers can write.
Many crime writers also live in neighboring Sweden.
Here we have compiled a list of five crime thrillers set in Stockholm.
And in Germany, Berlin is the crime capital.
In an interview, author Johannes Groschupf, who won the German Crime Prize for “The Hour of the Hyenas” in 2022, explains why this is the case.
List of rubrics: © imageBROKER/Reinhard Pantke/Imago
