Martin Österdahl has studied Russian, East European studies, and economics. He worked with TV productions for twenty years and was simultaneously
the program director at Swedish Television. His interest in Russia and its culture arose in the early 1980s. After studying Russian at university and having had the opportunity to go behind the Iron Curtain more than once, he decided to relocate and finish his master’s thesis there.
The 1990s were a very exciting time in Russia, and 1996, with its presidential election, was a particularly crucial year. Seeing history in the making inspired Österdahl to write the first novel in the Max Anger series,
Ask No Mercy. The series has been sold to more than ten territories and is soon to be a major TV series.
At CrimeReads he tagged
five crime novels from Scandinavia that show the breadth of the genre, including:
The Hermit, by Thomas Rydahl
Awarded with both the Danish Debutant Award and The Glass Key for best Nordic Crime novel, Rydahl should thank his brainwaves for inventing a highly unusual hero; Erhard, an elderly Danish expat. Living as a recluse with two goats, he is disillusioned with the ways of modern life and failed family relations, and he has nothing to lose. When he discovers an abandoned car, with the body of a young boy in a cardboard box in the trunk, on his Spanish island of Fuerteventura, the police want to cut investigations short not to harm tourism, and nobody believes that a hermit, with no knowledge of cell phones, internet or computers, could possibly solve the mystery. Off beat and different, highly compelling.
Read about
another entry on the list.
--Marshal Zeringue
the program director at Swedish Television. His interest in Russia and its culture arose in the early 1980s. After studying Russian at university and having had the opportunity to go behind the Iron Curtain more than once, he decided to relocate and finish his master’s thesis there.
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