Crime writers - good enough to die for

Mystery aficionados can take a literary expedition, book in hand, into West Sweden to discover the places featured by two of Sweden's best-selling crime writers. Let the pages come to life while exploring the picturesque Fjällbacka and the harbour city of Gothenburg.

Frighteningly beautiful - visit Läckberg's Fjällbacka
Scandinavia's crime writers are enjoying success across the world, with Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander Mysteries being adapted into a high profile BBC One Drama, and Camilla Läckberg’s novels earning a growing following.

The young writer, born in 1974, grew up in Fjällbacka on the north Bohuslän coast and has set each of her crime novels in the town she knows so well. In 2006, she was Sweden’s best-selling author and she has sold just over two million books to date (spring 2008). In 2006, she was awarded the People’s Literature Prize and another dream came true when her first two books were made into films and shown on Swedish television in the autumn of 2007. Psychological thrillers The Ice Princess, Läckberg’s debut novel, and The Preacher are now captivating readers in the UK, who have the chance to visit the mysterious and beautiful settings in West Sweden where the stories unfold.

The coastal village of Fjällbacka and “the Ice Princess”
Fjällbacka is a small coastal village situated 130km north of Gothenburg with a year-round population of just 1,000 people. In summer, the fishing village transforms itself into a lively resort within the skerry-strewn archipelago of the Bohuslän coast. Ingrid Bergman takes a family holiday almost every year in neighbouring Dannholmen, a stone's throw away, but in recent years, sleepy Fjällbacka has come to prominence for quite different reasons: the thrillers written by Läckberg have seen the location become known as a hotbed of fictional crime. With the highest average murder per capita rate in Swedish literature, even ahead of Ystad within the Wallander series, Fjällbacka and its environs are well worth investigating. During their summer holidays, fans of the detective genre can enjoy literary fact-finding tours to the crime spots in Läckberg’s books. Discover the Fjällbacka of Läckberg’s character Erica Falck, who returns to find a community on the brink of tragedy after the death of a friend, in The Ice Princess, and in which children eerily go missing in The Preacher.

The port city of Gothenburg has spawned the successful works of Åke Edwardson, one of the most-read authors in Sweden, and a writer with an increasing following in the UK for novels such as Frozen Tracks, Never End and Sun and Shadow. A true Gothenburger, his novels not only mirror the human psyche, but also encompass a lovingly scripted portrayal of the coastal metropolis. A city break to Gothenburg gives Edwardson fans the chance to explore the settings themselves – from the renowned restaurants, bars and cafés, throughout the historical district, to the picturesque city archipelago.

All those wishing to get a taste of the city and experience its culture should follow the trail of Erik Winter, Edwardson's music loving commissioner. Winter is the most popular investigator featured in Edwardson's anthology and uncommonly elegant for a detective from the literary world. Instead of worrying about speculative manhunts, he prefers to focus his energies on peering behind the scene of the crime – while drinking expensive whisky all the while. The Winter character grew up in Gothenburg and attended the downtown Rudbeck secondary school and observant readers will also be aware that he resides right in the centre of the city in a grey house in Vasaplatsen. While in Gothenburg, it is well worth paying a visit to the Vasastan district and the former working-class area of Haga, which are home to many popular cafés, pubs and restaurants.

The restaurants in Gothenburg are among the best in the country and cuisine plays a key role in Edwardson's books. Winter regularly fraternizes its best eateries; the Michelin-starred Sjömagasinet (The Sea Magazine) restaurant on the harbour, for example. With a bit of luck, you may even bump into Åke Edwardson himself during the city walk, since he grew up in Gothenburg and still lives there today.