Best Crime Novel in Swedish Translation

Swedish crime fiction award

The Best Crime Novel in Swedish Translation is an award given by the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy (Svenska Deckarakademin) for the best crime novel in translation . It is one of the most prestigious international crime-writing awards.

It was called The Martin Beck Award between 1996 and 2009, named after Martin Beck, a fictional Swedish police detective who is the main character in a series of ten novels by Maj Sjöwall (1935–2020) and Per Wahlöö (1926–1975).[1] [2][3]

## Winners

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The country and year of the first publication in brackets.

### 1970s

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* 1971 – Julian Symons, The 31st of February, (UK, 1950)
* 1972 – Frederick Forsyth, The Day of the Jackal, (UK, 1971)
* 1973 – Richard Neely, The Walter Syndrome, (USA, 1970)
* 1974 – Francis Iles, Malice Aforethought, (UK, 1931)
* 1975 – Cornell Woolrich, Rendezvous in Black, (USA, 1948)
* 1976 – John Franklin Bardin, The Last of Philip Banter, (USA, 1947) and Devil Take The Blue-Tail Fly, (UK, 1948)
* 1977 – Leslie Thomas, Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective, (UK, 1976)
* 1978 – Anthony Price, Other Paths to Glory, (UK, 1974)
* 1979 – Brian Garfield, Recoil, (USA, 1977)

### 1980s

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* 1980 – Ruth Rendell, Make Death Love Me, (UK, 1979)
* 1981 – Sébastien Japrisot, One Deadly Summer, (L'Été meurtrier, France, 1977)
* 1982 – Margaret Yorke, The Scent of Fear, (UK, 1980)
* 1983 – Pierre Magnan, Death in the Truffle Wood, (Le Commissaire dans la truffière, France, 1978)
* 1984 – Len Deighton, Berlin Game, (UK, 1983)
* 1985 – Elmore Leonard, LaBrava, (USA, 1983)
* 1986 – John le Carré, A Perfect Spy, (UK, 1986)
* 1987 – Matti Joensuu, Harjunpää and the Tormentors, (Harjunpää ja kiusantekijät, Finland, 1986)
* 1988 – Scott Turow, Presumed Innocent, (USA, 1987)
* 1989 – Anders Bodelsen, Mørklægning, (Denmark, 1988)

### 1990s

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* 1990 – Ross Thomas, Chinaman's Chance, (USA, 1978)
* 1991 – Doris Gercke, Weinschröter, du musst hängen, (Weinschröter, du musst hängen, Germany, 1988)
* 1992 – Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, The Southern Seas, (Spain, 1979)
* 1993 – Tim Krabbé, The Golden Egg, (Het gouden ei, Netherlands, 1984)
* 1994 – Maarten 't Hart, Het Woeden der Gehele Wereld, (Netherlands, 1993)
* 1995 – Scott Smith, A Simple Plan, (USA, 1993)
* 1996 – David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars, (USA, 1994)
* 1997 – Barry Unsworth, Morality Play, (UK, 1995)
* 1998 – Mary Willis Walker, Under the Beetle's Cellar, (USA, 1995)
* 1999 – Iain Pears, An Instance of the Fingerpost, (UK, 1997)

### 2000s

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* 2000 – Thomas H. Cook, The Chatham School Affair, (USA, 1996)
* 2001 – Peter Robinson, In a Dry Season, (USA, 1999)
* 2002 – Karin Fossum, Black Seconds, (Svarte sekunder, Norway, 2002)
* 2003 – Ben Elton, Dead Famous, (UK, 2001)
* 2004 – Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, (UK, 1998)
* 2005 – Arnaldur Indriðason, Voices, (Röddin, Iceland, 2002)
* 2006 – Philippe Claudel, Grey Souls, (Les Âmes grises, France, 2003)
* 2007 – Thomas H. Cook, Red Leaves, (USA, 2005)
* 2008 – Andrea Maria Schenkel, Tannöd, (Germany, 2006)
* 2009 – Andrew Taylor, Bleeding Heart Square, (UK, 2008)

### 2010s

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* 2010 – Deon Meyer, Devil's Peak, (Infanta,  South Africa, 2004)
* 2011 – Denise Mina, The End of the Wasp Season, ( Scotland, 2010)
* 2012 – Peter Robinson, Before the Poison, ( Canada, 2011)
* 2013 – Dror Mishani, The Missing File, (Tik ne'edar,  Israel, 2011)
* 2014 – Jørn Lier Horst, The Hunting Dogs, (Jakthundene,  Norway, 2012)
* 2015 – Nic Pizzolatto, Galveston, ( USA, 2010)
* 2016 – Ray Celestin, The Axeman's Jazz, ( UK, 2014)
* 2017 – Ane Riel, Harpiks, ( Denmark, 2015)
* 2018 – Thomas Mullen, Darktown, ( USA, 2016)
* 2019 – Jane Harper, The Lost Man, ( Australia, 2018)

### 2020s

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* 2020 – Deon Meyer, The Last Hunt, (Prooi,  South Africa, 2019)
* 2021 – Guillaume Musso, La jeune fille et la nuit, ( France, 2018)
* 2022 – Chris Whitaker, We Begin at the End, ( UK, 2020)
* 2023 – Jo Callaghan, In the Blink of an Eye, ( UK, 2023)
* 2024 – David Baldacci, A Calamity of Souls, ( USA, 2024)

## See also

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* MWJ Award for Mystery Fiction in Translation

## References

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1. ^ "Svenska Deckarakademin". Svenska Deckarakademin (in Swedish). Retrieved October 1, 2020.
2. ^ "Maj Sjöwall". leninpriset.se. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
3. ^ "Martin Beck book seriesThe Martin Beck Stories". Audible, Inc. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

## External links

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* (in Swedish) Swedish Crime Writers' Academy