New Writers I’ve Discovered and Enjoyed in 2011

As the year draws to a close, I thought it would be neat to highlight some of the new writers I’ve discovered in 2011. For some writers on this list, it only took one book to make me a fan. This list mostly consists of Scandinavian writers which is fitting considering that this is my area of interest. All of these writers are good at writing about social commentary, excellent at characterizations, descriptive settings and giving the reader a good sense of time and place. While there are other writers I’ve read this year, this list is of writers who stood out to me in 2011:

Colin Cotterill – this author blew me away with his stories about a seventy year old coroner living in 1970′s Laos under the newly established socialist regime. The first book in the series is THE CORONER’S LUNCH (2004). The series has some paranormal elements in them because the lead protagonist, Dr. Siri Paiboun is housing the spirit of a thousand-year old shaman. He’s also able to see dead people even though he’s not able to speak to them. Often the dead consist of people who were murdered. As the series progresses though, those elements are not used very much. I got a chance to meet Mr. Cotterill at a book-signing this year and I’ve read all of his books with the exception of his latest, just released Dr. Siri novel, SLASH AND BURN (2011).

Patricia Melo – what can I say about this writer? I was fascinated with the story she wrote, set in Brazil, about a former contract killer who was in hiding for ten years and then he resurfaces to attend his aunt’s funeral. He discovers that his girlfriend has taken off with his daughter and he decides to track them down. That is the main plot of LOST WORLD (2009), the sequel to THE KILLER (1999). The story is very gritty and and very, very dark. He goes through many adventures and faces many obstacles until he reaches his destination point. The story is very atmospheric with an anti-hero who is rather complex. I have since went on to procure many of her earlier titles like THE KILLER and INFERNO (2003) that are in print only. LOST WORLD is digitized but is geo restricted for US customers at Amazon.

Åsa Larsson – this is a writer whose star is on the rise and I am very excited about her. I am currently reading her latest book in the Rebecka Martinsson series, UNTIL THY WRATH BE PAST (2011) and am enjoying it very much. The author’s first book, SUN STORM (2006) and the alternate title for UK folks is THE SAVAGE ALTER, was riveting. The titles in the series so far are all very atmospheric with characters that are fully developed and ever evolving (love that). She writes the type of Scandinavian crime fiction that I enjoy reading in giving us different themes with complex plots that focus on religious zealotry and financial corruption (more so on the latter). Her stories have been original thus far.

Arnaldur Indridason – this author says he writes about social criticism and he does it well each and every time. The series he writes is mainly set in Iceland and follows loner, brooder, smoker and father of two grown children, Detective Erlendur Sveinsson. He is one of the main draws to this series for me and his personal conflicts especially with his contentious relationship with his drug addict daughter is interesting and is weaved in nicely into the plot(s). He makes his first introduction in JAR CITY* (2000), alternate title is TAINTED BLOOD in the UK. Strong lead character with emotional baggage (my favorite type of characters) along with strong supportive characters, solid stories that are original and that are smart and credible.

Arne Dahl – I was blown away by this writers first published book in the U.S., not necessarily the first book in the Intercrime series, MISTERIOSO (2011) that features a serial killer (how ironic). But this serial killer has his sights set on the titans of the business industry in Sweden and when he starts killing his targets one after the other and leaving very little clues behind, a special team is set up to catch him. A team made up of the best police officers in the country. While this novel is not perfect, the pacing was excellent and the characters were interesting while many and diverse. I hope the U.S. publishes more of his books because I heard there are some that are better than MISTERIOSO *drooling*

My personal wish for 2012 is for more translated novels by talented writers and that they are digitized. I usually don’t gripe about the prices when they are coming from overseas because the price for the digital copy is often way cheaper than the paper (and I prefer digital). I wish for the marketing people at major publishing houses to quit trying to label new writers books with stuff like “the next Stieg Larsson or “writes just like Jo Nesbo.” Okay I made the last one up and I think the former is nowhere to be found now. But. Each writer is their own star. They need not be the next anything but the next great writer. I hope to discover some new writers next year so I can rave about them. Happy New Year to all of you.

*Jar City is the first translated book to be published but it is not the first book in the series. Those are still untranslated.