Helene Tursten Books

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Helene Tursten is a Swedish author that writes crime fiction. She is best known for the Irene Huss series of novels. Tursten was born in 1954. She worked as a registered nurse for three years. But then she went back to school and changed tracks, becoming a dentist.

She plied her trade for a decade before rheumatic illness forced her to retire from the field. So, she turned her attention to writing, working as a translator of medical articles at first and then delving into fiction.

Her medical background comes in handy on those occasions where her characters have to operate within a medical setting. She also leans on her husband, an ex-cop that has practiced dentistry for over three decades.

He introduced her to several police officers. Her interactions with these individuals surprised Tursten because the policewomen were so normal. In fiction, women were rarely police officers. And the few female police officers that appeared looked and acted like men.

They were lonely, with dysfunctional personal lives and an unhealthy obsession with their jobs. But the policewomen the author saw in real life looked ordinary. This pushed Tursten to create Irene Huss, a character that stands out because she is ordinary.

She is a good cop with a stable job and a happy family. Irene’s most destructive habit is her coffee addiction. Otherwise, she’s just a person. In any other field, these qualities would make Irene boring. But in crime fiction, it made the character unusual because most detectives are miserable drunks.

Despite the assumptions some of her fans have made, Tursten did not use herself as inspiration for Irene Huss. The two of them have nothing in common. Irene is a former jiu-jitsu champion with an athletic body. She has no interest in intellectual matters.

Tursten, on the other hand, loves film, literature, and the theater. The author believes that Irene would respect her if they met in real life, but they wouldn’t become best friends. This hasn’t stopped Tursten from turning Irene into a fully realized character.

The author is dedicated to her craft. Writing is the first thing she does. She gets out of bed at 6:30. By nine, Tursten is seated and ready to work. She writes for three hours and takes a break before writing for two additional hours.

She sticks to this schedule every day if she’s home. But she changes things up on holidays like Christmas.

Helene Tursten Books into Movies

The Irene Huss books have been adapted into several Swedish movies. The first 90-minute film was released in 2007. Most of the films adapted Tursten’s books. But a few films told brand new stories. Though, they still used characters from the author’s novels. They all have Danish and English subtitles.

Best Helene Tursten Books

The author’s favorite writers include Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Van McDermid. Tursten’s best books include:

An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good: Maude is 88 years old. But her age doesn’t make her helpless. The Swedish woman is alone. She has neither family nor friends, and she likes it that way. Maude is not content to pass the time in peace and quiet.

She prefers to spend her days eliminating the people that have made her life difficult. That includes her annoying neighbors. But can she get away with it, or will her deeds come to light?

This book consists of five funny stories that follow Maude’s escapades as she gives in to her worst instincts. The stories are quick and easy to read.

Detective Inspector Huss: A prominent Goteborg citizen is dead. He fell. People are ready to dismiss the case as a suicide. But Irene is not so sure. Once she digs into the victim’s history, she quickly realizes that the mystery is far more complicated than previously assumed.

The first novel in the Inspector Huss series stands out because it introduces Inspector Huss, the most ordinary detective you will ever meet. She’s not haunted by demons, addictions, and regret like her peers in the genre. She has a loving family and a passable social life.

But once a murder occurs, Helene Tursten uses the mystery to reveal that her characters are not one-dimensional. There’s more to them than you can see on the surface.

When Does The Next Helene Tursten book come out?

Helene Tursten doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Snowdrift and was released on December, 8th 2020. It is the newest book in the Detective Inspector Embla Nystrom Series.

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