M for Mankell, Marklund, Marsh and Moore.

This week´s letter in Kerrie´s Alphabet Meme is M, and I have a quartet of crime ready for you.

First the Swedish writer Henning Mankell whose excellent series about Kurt Wallander is probably well-known to any crime enthusiast. Mankell´s plots are often brutal, and his view on Sweden rather bleak.

This series may appeal to more men than women.


Second the Swedish writer Liza Marklund who writes about the journalist Annika Bengtson. I was highly impressed by this writer throughout the first handful of stories about Annika, but in volumes eight and nine I think Marklund´s feminist project has begun to overshadow the crime plot.

[Annika Bengson is as focused on career as any man has ever been, and if journalists ask Marklund if women should not try to handle family and career just a little bit better than men, they are immediately accused of wanting women back in the kitchen.]

This series may appeal to more women than men.


Third, the prolific New Zealand writer Ngaio Marsh. Marsh, who died in 1982, wrote more than thirty Inspector Alleyn stories, most of which were solid police procedurals.

This series may appeal to lovers of traditional British whodunits.


Fourth, the young and entertaining Scottish writer Donna Moore. Donna has not written thirty novels yet, but her delightful Go to Helena Handbasket was a promising debut indeed.

Donna´s debut will appeal to any lover of fun, and her second novel, Old Dogs, is just around the corner.