As my virtual friends at Petrona and The Game’s Afoot have already started discussing titles eligible for next year’s International Dagger award for crime fiction translated into English (and published in the UK) I thought I’d better catch up (at least in terms of number of posts on the topic if not number of books read). It’s early days yet but already Euro Crime lists a potential 56 titles (though only per author is eligible and the publication of some titles will inevitably be delayed so the list is a work in progress). So far I have read a rather paltry 5:

• DISGRACE, Jussi Adler-Olsson, tr Kyle Semmel (Danish)
• LAST WILL, Liza Marklund, tr Neil Smith (Swedish)
• MISTERIOSO (a.k.a. THE BLINDED MAN), Arne Dahl, tr Tiina Nunnally (Swedish)
• THE BLACK PATH, Asa Larsson, tr Marlaine Delargy (Swedish)
• THE THIEF, Fuminor Nakamura, tr Stephen Coates; Satoko Izumo (Japanese)

These are all good novels but the standout so far is Liza Marklund’s LAST WILL. And I have to say Nakamura’s THE THIEF has stayed with me for months after reading it.

In some format or another I have these additional 5 titles lined up ready to read:

• IN THE DARKNESS, Karin Fossum, tr James Anderson (Norwegian)
• PIERCED, Thomas Enger, tr Charlotte Barslund (Norwegian)
• THE AGE OF DOUBT, Andrea Camilleri, tr Stephen Sartelli (Italian)
• THE BLIND GODDESS, Ann Holt, tr Tom Geddes (Norwegian)
• THE CRUEL STARS OF THE NIGHT, Kjell Eriksson, tr Ebba Segerberg (Swedish)

And I have rather a long wishlist from which to choose. My goal is to read at least 25 of the eligible titles before the shortlist is announced (around May next year).