Jørn Lier Horst: Former Detective
– Norway
Jørn Lier Horst (b. 1970) stands out from the other Nordic crime writers on a small but significant point: He himself first worked for many years as a police investigator. In addition to criminology, he has also studied philosophy and psychology, but for the past ten years he has been a full-time writer. For the novel Jakthundene, which was published in Czech, he won the two most important Nordic crime prizes, the Riverton Prize and the Glass Key, i.e. the prize for best Norwegian crime and the prize for Nordic crime of the year. The Riddle of the Salamander, a crime novel for "readers aged 9-14", has also been published in Czech. Admirers of the Nordic crime icon Jo Nesbø will perhaps be disappointed by the lack of improbable action scenes, but lovers of honest and good crime will not be disappointed.