The mystery genre had an established place in Scandinavian literature long before Lisbeth Salandar captured the imagination of an international audience. Our first and our final novel will introduce two of her counterparts, an earlier Smilla Jaspersen in Denmark and Gunnhildur, a more recent “Gunna” in Iceland. With these as bookends, we shall meet Harry Hole in Norway, Kurt Wallander in Sweden, and Kimmo Joenta in Finland. Even as their natures are distinct and their investigations diverse, still there remain the ever-present overtones of Scandinavian culture.