Seattle is hot for Scandinavian detectives

Lit Life has spotted a trend, a literary icon for our time — the scruffy Scandinavian detective. Make that a depressed, scruffy Scandinavian detective, and you've got Swedish police superintendent Kurt Wallander, the protagonist of a series of police detective novels by Swedish author Henning Mankell and the hero of a creepy, evocative television series coming to a PBS station near you.

Legions of readers of the Wallander books, published in 33 countries, will have a good time arguing with themselves after seeing the PBS Wallander series, which airs in three 90-minute segments at 9 p.m. on the Sundays of May 10, 24 and 31 on KCTS Channel 9's "Masterpiece Mystery" series.

Does Irish actor Kenneth Branagh make a good Wallander? Having screened an early copy, my opinion is that Branagh (who does look kind of Swedish) throws his heart into it, bleeding guilt and depression from every pore, but is maybe a bit too weepy for the bluff, mercurial Wallander.

But there's no argument from this quarter over the quality of this series. The camera work turns the country around the southern Swedish town of Ystad into a Bergmanesque dream. The plots are relentlessly creepy, and the forensic scenes have a nightmarish "Lord of the Flies" cast.

Seattle loves 'em

But back to trend-spotting; I asked J.B. Dickey, owner of Seattle Mystery Bookshop (117 Cherry St. in Seattle, 206-587-5737 or www.seattlemystery.com), how Seattleites have taken to Kurt Wallander. I got a virtual mini-essay on the burgeoning field of mysteries featuring Scandinavian detectives.

"They're very popular," Dickey wrote in an e-mail. With the Wallander series, Mankell has "done for Scandinavian mysteries what (Tony) Hillerman did for Southwest mysteries — he's opened up an entirely unfamiliar territory to readers who don't know much about that world or its writers.

"There has been a flood of Scandinavian authors since he hit it, from Sweden, Norway, Finland, and we lump Iceland in there, too. Many have been translated by former Seattle residents Tiina Nunnally and Steve Murray, under their own names, as well as pseudonyms."

Dickey then rolled off a list of a dozen other mystery authors with Scandinavian roots, including the talented Jo Nesbø, author of "Redbreast" and "Nemesis," gripping mysteries featuring Harry Hole, a scruffy Norwegian police detective.

"As for why they're so popular here, " Dickey said, "I would guess it has to do with our long, dark and damp winters and the heavy Scandinavian influence on the area's history. ... Plus, they're supposed to be fabulous books. That always helps!"

Tune in and see what you think — the May 10 PBS episode is "Sidetracked," based on the novel of the same name, followed by "Firewall" on May 24 and "One Step Behind" on May 31. Do not count on untroubled sleep afterward.

Mary Ann Gwinn: 206-464-2357 or mgwinn@seattletimes.com. Mary Ann Gwinn appears on Classical KING-FM's Arts Channel at www.king.org/community/bookdrive.aspx