The shortlist for the 2025 Riverton Prize has just been announced in Norway, with Jo Nesbø’s Blood Ties and Jørn Lier Horst’s Dry Land among the five novels nominated for the prestigious crime writing award, which is presented annually to the best Norwegian crime story

The jury commends Jo Nesbø’s Blood Ties with the following motivation: “Love, power struggles, rural life, intrigue and murder are woven together into an intense suspense novel. Nesbø brings the gallery of characters to life in an enjoyable way, in a project that oozes excess.”

Dry Land, the latest installment in Jørn Lier Horst’s William Wisting series, is praised by the jury as follows: “Horst’s finely tuned murder mystery is stripped down to the bone, with a sober, calm language where the relentless, almost fate-driven plot takes center stage. With an exquisite sense of place and character dynamics, the puzzle pieces are laid out, and the threads come together in a slow-burn page-turner.”

The winner will be announced on April 10.

Lars Kepler’s The Sleepwalker, claims the No. 1 on the hardcover list this week. Lisa Ridzen’s When the Cranes Fly South secures the No. 2 spot in the paperback category, and comes in at No. 5 on the hardcover list. Meanwhile, Martin Widmark dominates the children’s list, with The Space Mystery at No. 1, The Football Mystery closely followed at No. 2 and the Diamond Mystery at No. 5.

The Sleepwalker, the latest installment in Lars Kepler’s Joona Linna series, ranks No. 1 in the crime genre this week.

Pascal Engman’s No One, the seventh installment in the bestselling series about detective Vanessa Frank, ranks No. 1 on both the hardcover and e-book lists this week. 

Lisa Ridzen’s bestselling debut, When the Cranes Fly South, ranks No. 5 in the fiction category on Bog og Idé, Denmark’s largest book retailer, this week.

Lars Kepler’s The Sleepwalker, the tenth novel about detective Joona Linna, holds the No. 2 spot on the hardcover list for the second consecutive week.