Stockholm Noir

By Akashic Books

Named a Pick of the Week for the week of February 29th by Publishers Weekly

"Grouped under three headings, the 13 stories in this outstanding entry in Akashic's noir series capture the gloomy underside of Sweden's capital, portraying the hopelessness of those trapped in what Larson and Edenborg in their introduction call the city that devours your soul."
--Publishers Weekly, Starred review

"Coedited by local authors Larson and Edenborg, this superb sampling of Swedish crime writing talent, some of whose work has been translated into English for the first time here, will be appreciated by fans of Stieg Larsson's 'Millennium' trilogy and Jens Lapidus's Easy Money; they will enjoy getting to know these authors, who write about Stockholm's dark side."
--Library Journal

"Akashic's multivolume Noir series returns to Scandinavia, focusing this time on the capital city of Sweden, a country that is famously neutral in time of war but is also a large-scale dealer in arms....Another worthy entry in this globe-trotting mystery series."
--Booklist

"Larson and Edenborg manage to unearth a dark side to a city that is verdant, clean, and surrounded by crystalline water....Stockholm may not be Marseille, but Larson and Edenborg's contributors show that even a verdant place with socialized medicine can have its seamy side."
--Kirkus Reviews

"The series offers the best of bite-sized crime stories from all over the world--you can't go wrong!"
--Book Riot

"On the heels of editions set in Copenhagen and Helsinki comes Stockholm Noir, edited by Nathan Larson and Carl-Michael Edenborg with a predictably discerning eye for stories that wring suspense, violence, and worry from social and political issues percolating in a given milieu."
--Village Voice

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city.

Brand-new stories by: Unni Drougge, Inger Edelfeldt, Carl-Michael Edenborg, Åke Edwardson, Torbjörn Elensky, Inger Frimansson, Carl Johan De Geer, Martin Holmén, Nathan Larson, Malte Persson, Anna-Karin Selberg, Johan Theorin, and Lina Wolff.

From the introduction by Nathan Larson & Carl-Michael Edenborg:

"To the tourist, the city of Stockholm appears a shimmering dream. Laid out on a series of islands, it is verdant, clean, and surrounded by crystalline water. On paper, Stockholm is paradise. And in some respects, it truly is. But in most respects, it is anything but...

In Stockholm Noir, the city is presented as a gaping maw ready to devour your soul should you wander down the wrong alley...Everywhere is noir. Even, and especially, in a paradise like Sweden, where the citizen is given every tool to go out and become a great success but is paradoxically held to an almost subliminal expectation to fall in line...and never shine so brightly that you disturb your neighbor...

In this anthology it's our aim to showcase the darker, grittier, more intense world of Swedish noir fiction. Here the dangers lurking beneath the IKEA lifestyle are given free rein, and words are given to the ambivalence and despair of a model society."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Akashic Books
• Release date: Feb 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781617754227

Reviews for Stockholm Noir

[sus456 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this clever and thought provoking selection of short stories one is sure to find the dark side of Stockholm. Normally, when I think of Sweden I think of something modern, light, airy and beautiful but, this collection shows that there is another side altogether. It's dark, shadowy, gritty and full of disillusionment. Some of my favorite stories included The Splendors and Miseries of a Swedish Crime Writer, in which the main character gets more than he bargained for with his writing career. Still in Kallhäll, shows that no matter how hard Klas tried, he couldn't find a way to his dream location. In Black Ice, the children who want a parent to move to a retirement home for selfish reasons, have no idea of the harm they will cause in the end. There are many more stories included that will show the reader a darker, edgier side of life to Stockholm than they have probably seen before. Overall, its an engaging look at what lurks under the surface when the veil is pulled back from the beautiful facade.Thanks to Akashic Books for allowing me to read an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

[ralphcoviello · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Stockholm Noir edited by Nathan Larson and Carl-Michael Edenborg a recent addition to the globally minded Akashic Noir Series this collection features 13 gripping stories exhuming the darker aspects underlying Sweden's capital city. Each tale is set in a different Stockholm neighborhood or outlying suburb and the book even includes a map of the area marked by the bodies of the innocent and not so innocent victims. The book opens with an introduction from the editors and is divided into three sections Part I: Crime & Punishment, Part II: Fear & Darkness, and Part III: The Brutality of Beasts. I was pleasantly surprised by the wide range the authors demonstrated with stories evoking a variety of fiction types including detective, satirical, police procedural, thrillers, and even fairy tales while remaining true to the darkness promised by having 'noir' in the title. All the stories are good while for me highlights included 'Black Ice' about an elderly woman increasingly gripped by fear and paranoia and 'The Splendors and Miseries of a Swedish Crime Writer' which satirizes the mania for reading and writing crime fiction in prosperous low crime Sweden.The book concludes with photos and brief descriptions of all of the contributors including the authors and translators. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys taking a vicarious walk on the dark side of town in our global village.

[danielle_burnette-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I won a free copy of this book through LibraryThing, and I originally requested it because I was excited at the chance to "see" the dark side of Stockholm, but the book wasn't entirely what I expected. To start, one of the stories wasn't really noir, but more fantasy/paranormal ("From the Remains" by Inger Edelfeldt). Another story, "The Wahlberg Disease", seemed, frankly, pointless; it was a reminiscence of the narrator's time as a nearly homeless young man, which could have been interesting, but it focused too much on photography history and technicalities and not enough on plot (I couldn't really figure out the turning point in the story, even after rereading it). I also really wanted to like "Death Star", but the characters (especially the villain) felt too flat to me, even for a short story. However, the other stories were enjoyable and some were even brilliant; "Horse", "Black Ice", and "Nineteen Pieces", especially, crawled under my skin. And each story, even the ones I didn't like, made you smell and feel Stockholm. I will definitely take a look at other anthologies in this series. Overall, a good read.

[artlib14 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The short stories in Stockholm Noir are organized into three sections with themes of Crime and Punishment, Fear and Darkness, and The Brutality of Beasts. Each part offers four or five stories by leading Swedish authors. The book begins with a good introduction by the editors, illuminating the reader on Swedish culture and the popularity of Swedish crime stories. The introduction sets a background for the reader to enter the mind of the Swedish citizen and the conflicting reality of their relatively crime-free existence, and the lure of crime fiction. My favorite stories were in the Part I: Crime and Punishment, but each section has stories that I enjoyed. The anthology moves through a nice succession of crime plots that progress to the dark and eerie side of the noir genre. I recommend the book for anyone interested in the crime, noir genre. My interest in Swedish crime fiction drew me to the book, and I appreciate the opportunity to review the book for LibraryThing.

[marleen_cloutier-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent compilation of noir fiction set in Stockholm, Sweden. 13 very well-written stories that provide the reader with an excellent understanding of the dark side Stockholm.

[5eva5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A collection of mystery and suspense stories that explore the darkest of dark underbellies in the otherwise so picturesque City of Stockholm. I've read a few Akashic books before and, like the other ones, this one has a few great stories, a few good ones, and a few I didn't care for. A couple of these authors have been favorites of mine for a long time, Edelfeldt and Theorin, so unsurprisingly I liked their stories the best, but I was happy to find a couple of new potential favorites as well: Persson's story is quite solid, Edenborg's story was very creepy and had a surprising protagonist, and Frimansson's story just broke my heart (after having creeped me out, of course). I have to say that this one is edited really well and the stories in this collection are all noir, whether they are mysteries or not.

[murdermysterymayhem · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Set in Sweden’s capital city Akashic’s noir series yanks back the curtain on Stockholm’s underbelly-revealing a strange, savage, corrupt side of this upscale cosmopolitan city. A few of the authors are familiar to Nordic crime readers, such as Ake Edwardson and Johan Theorin, but many have been translated into English for the first time offering a gritty introduction. The stories reference common social and political issues from economic disparity to immigration with a Scandinavian twist. Affordable housing, the war on drugs, human relationships, politics, and the failures of social planning wrapped up in terror and suspense. The nice thing about an anthology is that you find new authors, hopefully a few offered up in this series will continue to be translated.

[bayleaf_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the many things I like about the Akashic noir series is the introduction. Nathan Larson and Carl-Michael Edenborg do an excellent job laying the groundwork for the stories included in Stockholm Noir and provide a good definition of noir fiction. The stories in this compilation are good quality, often surprising, and gave me what felt like an authentic feel for the many sides of Sweden’s capital.

[ozzer_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There is an old joke that says, “Swedes are only happy when they are depressed.” The stories in this anthology are testaments to that belief. In his introduction, Larson emphasizes that most tourists see Stockholm as a “shimmering dream” and refugees see it as a well-run and welcoming social democracy. The ring of truth in these perceptions notwithstanding, he points out that “the city is . . . a gaping maw ready to devour your soul should you wander down the wrong alley . . . Everywhere is noir.” Like all anthologies, this collection has some remarkably good stories that are worth the price of admission, but it also has and others that are just average. The authors come from various writing backgrounds—some detective noir, while others fantasy or horror. The stories seem to have been selected to highlight the failings of Sweden’s ambitious attempts at social engineering—housing shortages, suburban sprawl, tolerance of drugs and extremely liberal immigration policies. All of the characters portray the tendency for dark moods that the joke seems to emphasize.The 13 stories are grouped under 3 headings: crime and punishment—classical detective noir; fear and darkness—horror; and the brutality of beasts. The settings depict dark moods with jaded characters, who tend to be in hopeless situations. All of the authors have an uncanny ability to slowly develop suspense and mystery in their writing. Some of the more noteworthy contributions are: Johan Theorin’s “Still in Kallhäll.” It tells of the housing shortage that exists in the inner, more desirable, but expensive section of Stockholm and the length to which a person might go to live there instead in the more affordable but distant suburbs. “Black Ice” demonstrates Inger Frimansson’s superb ability to slowly build a mood of terror. Once again, the story is driven by the unusual ways people might cope with Stockholm’s housing shortage. Martin Holmén’s “The Smugglers” is more of a conventional crime story, but its threatening mood is palpable. In “From the Remains,” Inger Edelfeldt takes advantage of another dreary setting to tell a more classical vampire story. Similarly, Unni Drougge’s tells of a grim neighborhood that serves as body dumping ground in “Death Star.”