Blackout

For recovering alcoholic and Oslo detective Harry Hole, waking up with a pounding headache isn't that unusual. But waking up to a headache, no memory of the night before, and the discovery that his ex-girlfriend -- who he had spent the previous night with -- has been murdered is slightly out of the ordinary. Can Harry clear his name and track down a ruthless bank robber terrorizing the streets of Oslo?

Nemesis is the second book in Jo Nesbø's series to be published in English. Also be sure to follow Harry Hole in his other adventures in The Snowman and The Leopard. HM

Brrrrrrrr!

For those who maybe aren't ready for winter or don't even want to hear the word, "snow," this book might make you feel a little bit better about Michigan weather. In The Palace of the Snow Queen: Winter Travels in Lapland, travel writer and translator Barbara Sjoholm journeys from her home in Washington to the arctic circle -- in December. Just a reminder here: the winter solstice usually occurs around December 20th, marking the shortest day of the year. In the far north, that means that for weeks before and after the solstice, the sun never actually rises. Sjoholm recounts her adventures in this perpetual twilight, including a trip to the original Ice Hotel, a visit to Santa's Village, an ill-conceived dog-sledding excursion, and an outdoor film festival where the movies are projected onto a giant sheet of ice. Along the way, she slowly comes to realize that the untouched north is full of vibrant and sometimes irreconcilable stories. HM

In For A Wild Ride

When I saw this title on our New Book shelf, I was beyond excited. Jo Nesbø is one of my favorite authors, and I had no idea that he had a new book out. My enthusiasm increased when I scanned the summary on the back and realized that this was going to be a great read. Headhunters is, at heart, a thriller. The unlikely protagonist is Roger Brown, a cunning headhunter for a top firm in Oslo, who just so happens to be a successful art thief on the side. But his carefully manicured life is thrown upside down when he meets Clas Greve, a candidate he is recruiting for a Norwegian technology company. We follow Brown as he finds himself the unwilling participant in a cross-country caper, North by Northwest-style, with a finale that will keep you guessing until the very end.

If you enjoy this title, check out Nesbø's Harry Hole series, following the self-destructive detective's twisted path to redemption. HM

Cool Down

I have a confession to make: when the temps start to soar and the weather gets unbearably hot, I like to pretend that I'm somewhere cold. And not just anywhere. I try to trick myself into thinking I'm in Scandinavia. In winter. So when I can't get down to IKEA, I find the next best thing is to turn up the air conditioning and curl up with some good Nordic crime fiction. Håkan Nesser is a Swedish author who sets his stories in a non-descript northern European country. In Mind's Eye, we are introduced to Inspector Van Veeteren, who has the uncanny ability to accurately assess a suspect's guilt within moments (19 times out of 20 anyway), much to the exasperation of his fellow detectives. His confidence waivers, however, when he meets a high school teacher who is accused of brutally murdering his own wife. The problem? The suspect has no memory of the night in question, and no idea that someone else is going to stop at nothing to make sure he never remembers. This is the first book in Nesser's Inspector Van Veeteren series. HM