🔴 NOMINATED FOR BEST SLOVENIAN CRIME NOVEL – KRIMIFEST 2025
Marija Jakopin’s novel Crystal Death was nominated for the PILA Award for Best Slovenian Crime Novel at Krimifest 2025. It was among the five finalists, alongside works by established Slovenian crime novelists.
🔴 Nominated for the 2025 PILA Award for Best Slovenian Crime Novel at Krimifest.
In her second crime novel, Crystal Death, Marija Jakopin has also set the story in a forest. Some familiar characters from her first novel, Murder in Zrće (Umor v Zrćah, Primus, 2023), reappear, including detective Andrej and his colleague Damir, who once again investigate a mysterious case, except that this time the alleged murder has taken place in a dark forest. Professionally, the two main characters work as a well-coordinated team, perhaps even more so than in the previous book, but in their private lives, sparks still fly between them because of numerous misunderstandings rooted primarily in intercultural discord and linguistic misunderstanding. It is precisely the dynamics of their relationship that gives the gloomy story a lively undertone, something otherwise relatively uncommon in crime novels, films and television series.
The interplay of the smiling and serious sides is probably also the main weapon with which the author, Marija Jakopin, confronts everyday troubles, catastrophic news and the constant crisis in which we seem to have begun living. “Introducing humour into almost any interaction with other people already loosens this contemporary social order a little, an order that is very much oriented towards the idea that you must be serious, because only then will you be worth something,” Marija Jakopin remarked in an interview for the podcast Številke, in which she spoke with Slavko Jerič. And it is precisely this statement that excellently sums up her way of working, living and, not least, portraying reality in her crime novels. Yes, the forest can indeed be frightening and mysterious, but at the same time, life is also born in the forest; it is a place where a person can find satisfaction and peace, and it can also provide inspiration for amusing incidents and complications that a good crime story must contain. And one more thing: crime novels are also characterised by the fact that, at first, the protagonist cannot see the forest for the trees, as the well-known saying goes, until, after a thorough investigation, the whole picture suddenly emerges and the situation becomes crystal clear. (Dr Dan Podjed)
Reviews and Responses:
1. Maja Drolec – “Opinion on the Book Crystal Death”, Ventilator besed
Quote: “The forest can be frightening and mysterious, but at the same time, life is born in the forest.”
Read the review on Ventilator besed
2. Maja Drolec – Jantarna lastovka
Quote: “The forest and hunting are important elements in the novel.”
Read the article on Jantarna lastovka
3. Dr Dan Podjed – “The Forest as a Setting for Laughter and Horror”
Quote: “It is precisely the dynamics of their relationship that gives the gloomy story a lively undertone.”
4. Goodreads – A Female Reader’s Response
Quote: “An excellent, excellent book! Humour, first-rate writing and a suspenseful murder investigation.”
5. Radio AGORA – Story Generators: Marija Jakopin, Crystal Death
An extended radio conversation with the author about the novel.
