During the Easter holidays, Norwegians retreat to remote huts to read crime novels. That’s the background.
April 5, 2026, 6:06 p.mApril 5, 2026, 6:06 p.m
It all started with a clever marketing stunt in 1923. To market their new book, the authors Nils Lie and Nordahl Grieg bought advertising space on the front page of a newspaper shortly before Easter.
The headline and crime story title was “Bergenstoget plyndret inat!”, which translates to “The train to Bergen was robbed tonight!” is called. Readers mistook the book’s title for a headline, and the confusion generated enormous attention, high sales, and the start of a 100-year tradition.
Since then, the Easter season has been closely associated with crime novels, and Norwegians began to spend their days off consuming suspenseful stories – from classic detective novels to heists, detective stories and true crime.
The official name for this tradition is Påskekrim, in German: Osterkrimi.
“You see Easter crime novels everywhere: in publishers, bookstores and also in libraries,” says Merete Lie, head of the Deichman Library in Oslo, to the BBC. And further: “I even believe that there is not a single library or bookstore in Norway that does not make crime novels easily accessible to its customers at this time of year. Around Easter we see a huge increase in loans.”
Reading crime novels in a remote cabin is an Easter tradition in Norway.Image: Shutterstock
Crime novels are already omnipresent in the weeks before Easter account for around half of all books sold. Fans can also enjoy the annual Crime Festival visit in Oslo. But it’s not just books that are very popular: more crime films and series are also being broadcast on television than usual.
During the ten-day Easter holidays, Norwegians retreat to their huts and immerse themselves in crime novels. Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are traditional favorites, but the most popular are domestic and generally Nordic productions. It should therefore be no coincidence that a new crime series about a detective from Oslo recently started on Netflix.
Detective Harry Hole is on the trail of a serial killer in Oslo in this Norwegian Netflix series.Image: Ronald Plante/Netflix
Påskekrim is an event for the whole family. While thrillers and true crime are mainly aimed at adults, Norwegians start reading age-appropriate crime stories as children.
This tradition is still very popular after over 100 years. The film adaptation of the original Påskekrim novel was recently announced, scheduled to open in Norwegian cinemas in time for Easter 2027.