Kaja Nygaard

KAJA NYGAARD (1986) grew up in Southwestern Norway in the city of Stavanger, where she also resides today. With a background in economics, she works as head of administration at the city’s university.

In 2024, Nygaard made her literary debut with A Darker Water which was published by Bonnier Norsk Forlag. The book, revolving around Stavanger police officer Martha Krogh, instantly received high critical praise and earned Nygaard a nomination for the prestigious Bronze Knife Prize. The second book in the series, A Stronger Faith, is set for publication in March 2025.

Reviews

“Solid crime debut, entertaining and refreshing. […] She has pieced together a genuinely engaging crime story, Kaja Nygaard. […] this debutant delivers a substantial craft and succeeds in keeping the tensions high until the end. […] Nygaard’s crime debut is truly a masterpiece. The structure and characterization as well as the intrigues and eloquence work well.”
– Stavanger Aftenblad (NO)

“The story has a momentum which most authors can only dream about. The language holds high standards, rarely is the language so thorough in a crime novel. […] It is nor grotesque and there is no wild violence between the pages, which is quite good, but neither is it tame. Most of it is conspicuous without any exaggerations.
– Randaberg24, 6/6 stars (NO)

“Ocean spritzes and the noveue riche in a solid crime debut from Western Norway. […] Debutant Kaja Nygaard instantly shows that she masters a genre most of us recognize from the big screen. The story is just complex enough [and] Nygaard gets a lot out of the contrasts between the modern and urban in the oil city, and the wild nature of the West. […] A Darker Water is a professional and promising start to a new series.”
– NRK (NO)

“Debutant Kaja Nygaard joins a strong tradition within both Norwegian and international crime literature. […] It is exactly as it should be in a modern crime novel. […] Everything is seamlessly integrated, and necessary, as it contributes to mystique and suspense. […] It is done elegantly [and] the eloquence is excellent even in the details.”
– Bok365, 5/6 Stars (NO)