Monday, January 30, 2012

Publishing Deal - Arne Dahl

In the "how did I miss this!" category, belated news of a UK publishing deal for Swedish author Arne Dahl. From The Bookseller:
Harvill Secker has acquired two books by Swedish crime writer Arne Dahl, with senior crime editor Alison Hennessey making her first signing in her new role.

Hennessey bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, in the titles, both from Dahl's Intercrime series. Harvill Secker plans to publish the first book, The Blinded Man, as a Vintage paperback in July 2012, and the second, Bad Blood, in summer 2013.

The Blinded Man kicks off the series which follows an elite team of detectives assembled to investigate international violent crime, with Bad Blood revolving around an American serial killer on the loose in Sweden.

Hennessey said: "I am delighted to be bringing Arne Dahl's critically acclaimed Intercrime series to Harvill Secker as my first acquisition; with clever plotting and brilliant characterisation that will appeal to readers of Henning Mankell and fans of 'The Wire' alike..."

Dahl is already published in the US, with Misterioso, translated by Tiina Nunnally published last July. I am assuming that either The Blinded Man or Bad Blood is the same book as Misterioso. My notes say that "Misterioso was the second published in Swedish, but chronologically the first, the one in which a team of misfit police officers are pulled together to form a new investigative unit" which makes me none the wiser, so if anyone can shed any light I'd appreciate it.

Arne Dahl is on twitter: @arne_dahl

3 comments:

Uriah Robinson said...

Karen you are correct Misterioso was the US title [and Swedish title] of The Blinded Man. This was published in Sweden in 1999 but refers to action in 1997; the second to be published but first chronologically.

Why could this not have been released in the UK under the same title? If people buy this book looking forward to reading a new book and then find it is Misterioso they are going to be rather annoyed.

Ont blood-Bad Blood is the first book published in the series but set the year after Misterioso/The Blinded Man.

Anonymous said...

Karen it seems to me that "Misterioso" is the same book as "The Blinded Man", and "Bad Blood" is the second in the series. See Arne Dahl webpage: http://english.arnedahl.net/?rID=1086&page=the-first-book-series

Karen (Euro Crime) said...

Many thanks chaps. I have kept the chronology order rather than published order for the first 2. (Seems the rest come out in the "right" order!) I've added the website to the database as well.