It may seem premature to think about the contenders for this award, but my fellow bloggers are well advanced in reviewing books that are setting a high standard for the 2012 short list. Even I, at my slower reading pace, have read one and half really brilliant books that should challenge for that short list.
These are Trackers by Deon Meyer translated from the Afrikaans by Laura Seeger, and thanks to Maxine of Petrona an ARC of The Unlucky Lottery by Hakan Nesser, translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson, which although I am only half way in has had me laughing out loud at the author’s irreverent treatment of the standard police procedural.
The main contenders will probably be books from authors who have won, or at least been nominated previously, but from my sneak peeks at other bloggers reviews, and opinions, there may be some dark horses.
You can visit Karen’s encyclopedic Euro Crime website for a full list of the eligible books, but I am going to select just a dozen hopefuls and see how close I can get to next year’s short list. At this stage most of this will be pure guess work as I haven’t read eleven and a half of the novels yet.
Trackers: Deon Meyer [South Africa]
The Unlucky Lottery: Hakan Nesser [Sweden]
Outrage: Arnaldur Indridason [Iceland]
The Quarry: Johan Theorin [Sweden]
The Boy in the Suitcase: Lene Kaaberbol & Agnete Friis [Denmark]
Until Thy Wrath Be Past: Asa Larsson [Sweden]
Dregs: Jorn Lier Horst [Norway]
The Bat Man: Jo Nesbo [Norway]
Sweet Money: Ernesto Mallo [Argentina]
Temporary Perfections: Gianrico Carofiglio [Italy]
Last Will: Liza Marklund [Sweden]
Disgrace: Jussi Adler-Olsen [Denmark]
These fairly wild guesses are a first draft, and as I read through the contenders, and Karen adds more eligible titles, I will revise and modify my long list, trying eventually to predict the winner. [The photo shows some Norwegian contenders for the International Dagger]
Giving opinions about books I haven’t read and know virtually nothing about makes me feel almost like a politician or a journalist, so do feel free to criticize my selections if you have read any of these books, or even if you haven’t. 😉
CRIME SCRAPS REVIEW 