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Roslund & Hellström

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Roslund & Hellström were a Swedish duo of crime fiction writers comprising journalist Anders Roslund and activist and author Börge Hellström. They were full-time writers from 2004 to Hellström's death in 2017. Among others, they wrote a series of three books featuring Detective Inspector Ewert Grens, and after Hellström's death, Roslund wrote another in that series.

Background

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Roslund (born 1961), was formerly a journalist and TV presenter. He worked for 15 years for the Swedish national broadcaster SVT, directing Kulturnyheterna, a current affairs programme. He won several journalism awards, including the Swedish Trade Unions Award for Investigative Journalism, but his work also brought enemies. He was put on a "death list" of an extremist far-right-wing organisation, and for a while employed a bodyguard and was protected by moving into safe houses. He discussed his experience with another Swedish crime writer, Steig Larsson, who had also received death threats from Neo-Nazis. He also worked within the Swedish Prison and Probation Service for several years.[1]

Hellström (1957–2017), an ex-convict,[2] was one of the founders of Kriminellas Revansch i Samhället (KRIS), an organisation devoted to rehabilitating former criminals.[3] He had been sexually abused as a child and later turned to crime.[1]

Roslund heard about Hellström's work at KRIS and produced a documentary on the subject of imprisonment and its effects, called Lås in Dom (Lock them Up). The two met and became friends during the making of the film, and decided to write about their experiences together.[1]

Writing career

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The duo made their debut with the crime novel Odjuret (The Beast) in 2004. Their novels put a particular emphasis on the roles of victim and perpetrator, offering a morally grey portrayal of motive and responsibility.[4]

They co-authored seven books between 2004 and 2016, their partnership ending when Hellström died on 17 February 2017.[5][6]

Their works have been translated into Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Russian, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Lithuanian, Estonian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Slovenian, Croatian, Hungarian, Slovak, Czech, Icelandic, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Hebrew, Turkish, Greek, Macedonian, and Catalan.[citation needed]

Anders continued to write novels in the Detective Inspector Ewert Grens series after Hellström's death, publishing no. 4 in the series, Jamåhonleva[7] (Knock Knock) published in 2019.[8] Film rights in the US were sold to Thunder Road.[7]

Bibliography

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Ewert Grens series

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  • Odjuret (2004, published in English as The Beast)
  • Box 21 (2005, published in English in England as The Vault and in the United States as Box 21[9])
  • Edward Finnigans upprättelse (2006, published in English in 2011 as Cell 8)

Others

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  • Flickan under gatan (2007)
  • Tre sekunder (2009, published in English in 2010 as Three Seconds)
  • Två soldater (2012, published in English in 2013 as Two Soldiers)
  • Tre Minuter (2016, published in English in 2017 as Three Minutes)

Adaptations

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Box 21 and Cell 8 (Edward Finnigans upprättelse) were made into TV series directed by Swedish director Johan Brisinger, in 2020 and 2022 respectively. Both starred Leonard Terfelt and Mimosa Willamo as detectives Ewert Grens and Mariana Hermansson.[10][11][12] Box 21 was filmed in Bucharest and Stockholm,[13] while Cell 8 was filmed in Estonia.[10]

Recognition and awards

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  • Winner, Glasnyckeln (The Glass Key Award) in 2005 for Odjuret
  • Nominated, Best Swedish Crime Novel in 2005 by Svenska Deckarakademin, for Box 21
  • Winner, Stockholm City's Book of the Year in 2005 for Box 21
  • Winner, Guldpocket (Gold Pocket) for the year's Most Sold Swedish Crime Novel (more than 50 000 copies sold) in 2005 for Odjuret
  • Nominated, Best Swedish Crime Novel in 2006 by Svenska Deckarakademin for Edward Finnigans upprättelse
  • Winner, Platinapocket (Platinum Pocket) for the year's Most Sold Swedish Crime Novel (more than 100,000 copies sold) in 2006 for Box 21
  • Winner, Best Romanian Crime Novel by Romanian Crime Writers Club, for Box 21
  • Nominated, Bookseller's Prize – Box 21
  • Winner, Platinapocket (The Platinum Pocket) for The Year's Most Sold Swedish Crime Novel (more than 100,000 copies sold) in 2007 for "Edward Finnigans Upprättelse"
  • Nominated, Bookseller's Prize – "Edward Finnigans Upprättelse"
  • Nominated, Best Swedish Crime Novel in 2007 by Svenska Deckarakademin for Flickan under gatan
  • Winner, Platinapocket (Platinum Pocket) for The Year's Most Sold Swedish Crime Novel (more than 100,000 copies sold) in 2008 for "Flickan Under Gatan"
  • Winner, Best Swedish Crime Novel 2010 – "Tre Sekunder"
  • On the New York Times list of Notable Crime Fiction for 2009
  • Awarded The Great Reader's Prize 2010, for Tre Sekunder
  • Nominated, Glasnyckeln (Glass Key Award) in 2010, for Tre Sekunder
  • Awarded Platinapocket (Platinum Pocket) for The Year's Most Sold Swedish Crime Novel (more than 100,000 copies sold) in 2010 for Tre Sekunder
  • Awarded CWA International Dagger 2011 for The Best translated crime, thriller, suspense or spy fiction novel, for UK publication. – "Three Seconds"
  • Nominated, Barry Award for Best Britith Crime Novel 2011, for Three Seconds
  • Nominated, Best Swedish Crime Novel 2013, for Två Soldater
  • Nominated, CWA International Dagger 2013 for Best translated crime, thriller, suspense or spy fiction novel, for UK publication, for Two Soldiers
  • Nominated, Best Swedish Crime Novel 2013, for Tre Minuter

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Roslund and Hellström's Books". Crime Books. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  2. ^ Maslin, Janet (5 January 2011). "Stoking the Fire Larsson Ignited". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Ett lyckat samarbete" (Swedish). Piratförlaget AB. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
  4. ^ Foster, Jordan (1 January 2011). "The Perpetrator and the Victim: PW Talks with Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Succéförfattaren Börge Hellström är död". Expressen (in Swedish). 17 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  6. ^ Bakkejord, Miriam (17 February 2017). "Forfatter Börge Hellström er død". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  7. ^ a b Roslund, Anders (11 October 2022). "Jamåhonleva". Salomonsson Agency. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Knock Knock by Anders Roslund". Crime Books. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  9. ^ Roslund; Hellström (2009). Box 21. New York City: Sarah Crichton Books. ISBN 978-0-374-28295-0.
  10. ^ a b Morris, Anthony (20 July 2023). "Nordic Noir gets personal: director Johan Brisinger on murder mystery 'Cell 8'". SBS Television. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  11. ^ Roslund & Hellström: Cell 8 at IMDb
  12. ^ Roslund & Hellström: Box 21 at IMDb
  13. ^ Blaga, Iulia (29 November 2019). "Swedish TV Series Based On Crime Bestsellers Shot in Romania". FilmNewEurope.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
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