I have loved reading crime series ever since I was a teenager. There is something about following the same characters through several books that makes you feel particularly connected to them. More often than not, their development becomes just as important, if not more important, than the crime at the heart of the book (although, of course, that still needs to be exciting!). Following their growth, personal lives and the changes they go through is something I have always loved. They become like old friends who I visit again and again. That is probably one of the reasons why, when I started writing myself, I decided to write a series. When you fall in love with the main character in your own book, one book simply isn’t enough!
So here are five crime series I have loved reading most, not just because of the mysteries at their heart, but because their main characters have become almost friends, and I love visiting them over and over again.
Arnaldur Indriðason – The Erlendur Series
Arnaldur Indriðason was the first Icelandic crime writer to achieve international success, with his books finding readers all over the world. I would argue that his main character, Erlendur, has played a big part in that.
Erlendur is not exactly someone I would befriend in real life. He is an eccentric loner who never seems to make relationships last, is obsessed with missing-person cases, and mostly eats traditional Icelandic food such as sheep’s head. His obsession with missing people is closely tied to his past: he lost his younger brother in a terrible storm when they were children, and the loss has haunted him ever since. He also has a daughter, Eva Lind, who struggles with addiction. Erlendur left her and her mother when Eva Lind was young, but as she grows older, she begins seeking him out again. And yet, there is something so endearing about him, and you can’t help but feel for him. These qualities also make him an excellent detective.
There is a constant sense of dread and gloom hanging over the entire series, while Indriðason paints a remarkably realistic picture of Icelandic society – the perfect-looking surface, but also the darker underworld and the cracks underneath it. Social commentary at its best.
These are the books I read as a teenager. I got one for Christmas every year, and they became part of a Christmas tradition for me, just as they have for so many Icelanders.
Camilla Läckberg – The Fjällbacka Series
Camilla Läckberg’s Fjällbacka series has to come next. I worked in a library in my twenties, and these were some of the most popular books at the time. I became curious and started reading them myself.
They are the kind of books where the characters feel like people you could really be friends with; in fact, Erika and Patrik are the sort of people you would want in your life, and their everyday lives provide a lovely contrast to the often horrific crimes taking place around them. Erika is a writer, mainly writing biographies, while Patrik is a detective. Their different perspectives make them a great pair for telling these stories.
That is one of the things I find so fascinating about Nordic crime fiction: the way good and evil can exist side by side without the world ever becoming simply black and white. The crimes are often morally grey. People are not necessarily evil; they are people who do terrible things, find themselves in terrible circumstances, or make terrible decisions. Okay, there are, admittedly, quite a few genuinely awful people in the beautiful Swedish village of Fjällbacka, which is now known around the world, thanks to Läckberg’s books.
What I love about the series is the way she weaves together different stories from the past and present. The crimes often have a long history, and the characters’ stories gradually become intertwined in a way that feels effortless and compelling. These are truly characters you want to spend a long time with – which is fortunate, because the books are long.
Viveca Sten – The Sandhamn Murders
Much like Läckberg, Viveca’s protagonists are friendly and likeable people, and the stories are set against the beautiful backdrop of Sandhamn, an island in the Stockholm archipelago where idyllic summer days, yachts and a close-knit community provide the setting for some less idyllic events.
Unlike Läckberg’s Erika and Patrik, the main characters – Nora and Thomas – are not a couple, but very close friends. Nora is a lawyer and Thomas is a police officer, so they make a great team when it comes to investigating crimes.
Viveca Sten herself was a lawyer, and her legal knowledge is evident throughout the books. She is also a wonderful storyteller, creating fascinating mysteries while making the setting really come alive. I love being transported to Sandhamn and experiencing the stories through the eyes of the people who live there.
Nora and Thomas also have very interesting personal lives, and just like with Läckberg’s books, it is the characters and their lives outside the crimes that keep me coming back. There is something about returning to Sandhamn, and seeing what has happened to these people since the last book, that I find incredibly comforting
Ann Cleeves – Vera Stanhope
Vera Stanhope is another eccentric loner, as so many great detective protagonists are, except she is very much her own kind of character. Not at all the polished detective, she is an older woman who drives around in an old Land Rover, is sharp and fiercely intelligent, and has absolutely no interest in fitting anyone’s idea of what a detective should look like – or behave.
She gets close to witnesses through her blunt manner, but also through her warm and friendly presence. And often, good food is the best way to get people talking. She is also an excellent judge of character, with a deep understanding of human nature.
I have loved all of Ann Cleeves’s books, but there is something particularly special about the Vera series. The Northumberland setting is so vividly brought to life: the small towns and villages, the wild landscape, the feeling that everyone knows everyone – and the atmosphere that comes with it.
Tana French – The Dublin Murder Squad
I haven’t been reading Tana French for long, but there is no going back now!
She is amazingly talented when it comes to prose and character development. Her characters are immediately layered and complex, and their stories are endlessly fascinating. I was completely captivated by the way she writes and how she manages to draw you in with just a few sentences at the very beginning.
Her books are very different from the Nordic crime fiction I was used to reading, with much more emphasis on psychology – which I absolutely love. She plays with the traditional detective format and takes a much more unconventional approach. Each book follows a different detective from the squad, so it doesn’t quite have the same ‘visiting old friends’ feeling as the other series on this list. Instead, characters who were secondary characters in one book can become the main character in the next, giving you a completely different perspective on the same world.
The creativity and writing style are so extraordinary that, as a fellow writer, they honestly give me a little bit of an inferiority complex.
If you haven’t read these series yet, I hope they take you on a journey to Iceland, Sweden, Ireland and England, and that you come to love these characters as much as I have.
Happy reading!
Eva Björg Ægisdottír is the author of The Last Tenant, the sixth book in the international bestselling, award-winning Forbidden Iceland series,translated by Victoria Cribb and published by Orenda Books on 10th September 2026.
