Standalone Novels
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Chestnut Man / Oktober | 2018 | Buy |
| Hide And Seek | 2026 | Buy |
Soren Sveistrup was born in Denmark in 1968, the son of a teacher and a psychologist whose crime fiction collection gave him an early taste for the genre. After studying literature and history at the University of Copenhagen, he trained as a screenwriter at the Danish Film School. He joined DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) and rose to prominence first with the family drama Nikolaj og Julie — which won an International Emmy in 2003 — and then with Forbrydelsen, the police procedural known internationally as The Killing. The show ran from 2007 to 2012, sold to more than 100 territories, and won a BAFTA in 2011.
His move to novels came with The Chestnut Man (Kastanjemanden) in 2018. The book follows Copenhagen detectives investigating murders linked by small figures made of chestnuts, with a fingerprint on one figurine belonging to a missing politician’s daughter. It won the Barry Award for Best First Mystery Novel, was adapted into a Netflix series in 2021, and has been translated into more than 30 languages. His second novel, Hide and Seek, followed in 2026 with a new Netflix adaptation planned.
Sveistrup’s fiction carries the signature qualities of Nordic noir — slow-building tension, psychologically complex characters, and a social-realist undercurrent. He has spoken about the genre’s appeal as coming from a cultural tension: Scandinavia presents itself as a model society, yet anxiety and hidden violence simmer beneath the surface. His novels follow a tradition he traces directly back to his father’s bookshelves.