In Sweden, we've moved away from the notion that mothers have some magical, special bond with children.

The pace of Swedish crime fiction is slower - Stieg Larsson's the exception. And I think we use the environment more.

People in Sweden talk a lot about the weather - how much we hate it. But Finns get more depressed.

In Sweden, we've moved away from the notion that mothers have some magical, special bond with children.

Crime stories are our version of sitting round a camp fire and telling tales. We enjoy being scared under safe circumstances. That's why there's no tradition of crime writing in countries that have wars.

I don't feel the need to prove myself by writing the next generational novel.

Northern Sweden holds a special kind of magic. It's cold, lonely, and the people are tough and silent, or so the stereotype says. This is Asa Larsson's home turf and I find as much joy in reading her closely observed descriptions of the environment, as in following her intriguing plots.