I predict that the Next Big Thing in fiction, once everyone tires of the Scandinavians (which I haven’t yet either, but surely it will happen one day) will be the Germans: with Ferdinand von Schirach’s Crime earlier this year and Zoran Drvenkar’s Sorry this month both topping my list of crime reads of 2011, this makes me think that soon there will be an entirely new bunch of authors whose names I’ll embarrass myself trying to pronounce.

In the thrilling and beautifully written Sorry, a bunch of twenty-somethings come up with a business model that instantly thrives: apologising to those who need it on behalf of those needing to alleviate guilt. The business is going wonderfully – as is the book itself, which opens with a tense and bloody scene and then gives the characters room to breathe and become close to you before throwing the next shock at the reader – when a new client asks them to visit someone, and upon arrival, the intended is dead, nailed to a wall. The crime, and everyone involved, uncovers a delicate line between criminals and victims, sometimes uncomfortable to read but ultimately revealing. The threads of the main characters (and other, mysterious characters that get voices in alternating chapters) knot together unexpectedly, and Sorry is a surprisingly brilliant read.

[[fiona-hardy-pic]]Fiona Hardy sells books and talks too much to customers at Readings Carlton, and puts together Dead Write for the