Barry Forshaw, the UK's principal crime fiction expert, presents a celebration and analysis of the Scandinavian crime genre, from Sjöwall and Wahlöö's Martin Beck series through Henning Mankell's Wallander to Stieg Larsson's demolition of the Swedish Social Democratic ideal in the publishing phenomenon The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo .

Barry Forshaw's books include Death in a Cold Climate, British Crime Film, The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction, Italian Cinema, British Crime Writing: An Encyclopaedia , and a biography of Stieg Larsson. He has written for a variety of newspapers, Crime Time, and is a talking head for ITV author profiles and BBC documentaries.

Acknowledgments Introduction Crime and the Left The Cracks Appear: Henning Mankell Sweden: The Dream Darkens Sweden: Foreign Policy and Unreliable Narratives Last Orders: The Larsson Phenomenon The Fight Back: Anti-Larsson Writers Criminals and Criminologists Norway: Crime and Context Norway and Nesbø Iceland: Crime and Context Fringe Benefits: Icelandic Woes Finland: Crime and Context Death in Denmark Danish Uncertainties Film and TV Adaptations Bibliography Index