A night with Jo Nesbø in Dublin's RDS

Best-selling Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø visits Dublin this April in an event marking the launch of the International Literature Festival Dublin.

'Deutschland 83' star really can play piano

From its opening episode, fans of Deutschland 83 will know that Jonas Nay's character Martin Rauch can't play the piano. In real life Jonas is a trained musician, and plays keyboards, bass, guitar and sings in the four-piece German band Northern Lights.

'Au service de France'

Au service de France is a quirky historical espionage series, but unlike the acclaimed Deutschland 83 the French series begins at the start of the 1960s and puts the emphasis on parody and comedy.

Channel 4 launches 'Walter Presents'

While BBC 4 has shown a clear demand for foreign-language crime shows such as the original Wallander, Borgen and The Bridge, Channel 4 upped the ante this week with the launch of its new online channel Walter Presents.

Normany noir series 'Witnesses' heads to C4

Channel 4 has picked up the acclaimed French crime series Les Témoins (Witnesses).

Petros Markaris, the Greek master of crime

"If you really want to find out what is going in Greece right now. Markaris is your man. And if you love high quality crime fiction he can definitely deliver the goods."
- Lakis Fourouklas in CriminalElement.com

Not greatly known in the English-speaking world, Petros Markaris is the grand master of modern crime fiction in Greece.

10 facts about Jack Higgins

1. Jack Higgins is a pen name

It is the principal pseudonym of Harry Patterson, who has written more than 80 books.

Patti Smith does Jo Nesbø's audio book

By Jake Harrington

Poet and rock legend Patti Smith is the inspired choice to read the new audio edition of Jo Nesbø's latest thriller Blood On Snow.

Sofi Oksanen: 'All nations have untold stories'

Award winning writer Sofi Oksanen has won more awards than any other contemporary Finnish author. Her latest novel When the Doves Disappeared will be published in Ireland and the UK next month.

Some Håkan Nesser interviews

"There is no such thing as a Swedish way of writing a crime story," says best-selling Swedish writer Håkan Nesser.

Camilla Läckberg on Scandi noir

Sometimes called "the Swedish Agatha Christie", here Camilla Läckberg discusses Scandinavian crime fiction.

Shetland Noir: island gets first crime festival

Shetland Noir
13-15 November 2015
Mareel, Shetland, UK

Shetland Noir is the islands’ first crime writing festival which is held in association with Iceland Noir. The event aims to celebrate crime writing by bringing writers and readers together.

The authors will include Scandinavian writers Arne Dahl, Håkan Nesser and Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. There’s also a strong Scottish presence from authors including Stuart Macbride, Denise Mina, Alex Gray and Ann Cleeves.

The islands have already been recognised as a setting for a Nordic crime thriller – Ann Cleeves’s sequence of six murder mysteries featuring detective Jimmy Perez is now a major BBC One drama starring Douglas Henshall.

Shetland Noir will be held in Mareel, the UK’s most northerly music, cinema and creative industries centre. The programme will be packed with workshops, readings and Q&A sessions, tours and much more.

Ian Banks to write another Rebus

Rebus is back. The maverick Scottish detective returns for a 20th novel (provisional title Even Dogs In The Wild), after author Ian Rankin's year-long sabbatical.

The new book, to be released in autumn 2015, will also see the return of regular characters DI Siobhan Clarke and local gangster Ger Cafferty.

DI Clarke is investigating the death of a senior lawyer during a robbery. But the case becomes more complex when a note is discovered indicating that this may have been no random attack. When Ger Cafferty receives an identical message, Clarke decides that the recently retired John Rebus may be able to help...

Scotland’s favourite detective has already made three comebacks since he closed his first "final" case in Exit Music (2007). The series was written in real time, so Rankin was forced to "retire" the detective when he hit 60.

Since the first Rebus Knots and Crosses appeared in 1987 Rankin has published 28 novels, several short story anthologies, a graphic novel and a play. Sixteen months ago Rankin says he suffered a burnout. He had also lost several close friends.

Gavin Wallace, head of literature at Creative Scotland, died in February 2013. At Wallace’s funeral Rankin saw another good friend, fellow author Iain Banks. Within months Banks revealed he was suffering from terminal cancer and he died in June 2013.