• 1 J. Chłosta-Zielonka, "Zamiast powieści obyczajowej. Cechy współczesnej polskiej powieści sensacyjne (...)
• 2 See M. Czubaj, Etnolog w Mieście Grzechu. Powieść kryminalna jako świadectwo antropologiczne [Ethno (...)

1"Crime literature is the centre of attention"1, summarises Joanna Chłosta-Zielonka in her work concerning crime literature. The banality of the above statement leads to equally banal questions which may however initiate a search for unobvious answers such as: Why is this statement true? Which needs does crime fiction caters for? If a work is called "crime fiction" by readers does it indeed continue to be this form of fiction?2

• 3 See M. Major, "Telewizyjny kryminał 'zwierciadłem przechadzającym się po gościńcu'"? Serial "The Wi (...)
• 4 See J. Marx, A. Wydrzyński [a conversation], "W literaturze sensacyjnej znalazł schronienie pozytyw (...)

2Social and civilizational evolutions which invalidate a division into cultural cycles have contributed to a reinterpretation of the position of popular literature in social communication alongside the role of highly artistic works being appropriated by a lower register. Stories of "crime and punishment" have ceased to perform a function that had only been restricted to popular literature by which classical crime fiction was an intellectual charade solved by a reader along with the protagonists or alternatively provided a form of escapism in which readers retreat from non-artistic reality by creating a projection of a character from their own dreams. Instead this was transfigured into a Stendhalian "mirror carried down the middle of a road"3. A ludic perspective has been thereby replaced by critical thinking about extratextual reality. Meaningful remarks on this subject can be found in the conversation between Jan Marx and Andrzej Wydrzyński which provides an indication of the potential of an action story as a medium for personal patterns4.

• 5 Also see T. Bielak, Proza Macieja Słomczyńskiego (Joe Alexa) [Prose by Maciej Słomczyński (Joe Alex (...)

4After 1956, the relaxation of oppressive politics that took place in years 1945-1956 led to other genres than the militia novel being published with various variants of the crime novel appearing in the sixties and seventies. Joanna Chmielewska's (aka Irena Barbara Kuhn) work was very popular at that time as the author of a humorous crime novel (Klin [Hair of the dog], 1967; Krokodyl z Kraju Karoliny [The Crocodile from Caroline`s Country], Całe zdanie nieboszczyka [Dead Man`s Tale]). The writers also recalled a classical model of crime and punishment stories as an intellectual charade whose plot was concentrated on a crime itself and on catching the culprit (as seen between 1959 and 1991 in British-like novels written by Joe Alex [aka Maciej Słomczyński]5). The "Englishness" of Alex’s novels is expressed through references to the cultural and social background and also through fiction patterns inspired by works by Agatha Christie and other English writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.

• 6 See K. Adamski, W. Bieliński, "Kryminały też sprzedają się źle!" [Crime Fiction Does Not Sell Well (...)
• 7 It is important that in 1989 Polish Television broadcast the first seasons of the TV series Miami V (...)
• 8 Polonia1 (established in 1992) was the oldest commercial broadcaster among the ones that had been a (...)

7Changes directly arose from the introduction of a free market system to replace a centrally planned economy and were stimulated by changes resulting from a structural transformation initiated in 1989. These had an equally important influence on crime fiction as cultural evolutions. Limitations in subsidising imposed on national publishing houses meant that their main revenue now came from publishing works which were attractive for potential readers. Moreover, they had to compete with numerous private publishing companies which resulted in the replacement of highly artistic literature by popular literature between 1989 and 1993. The social demand for products of Western culture at that time meant there was little interest in Poland for Polish literature. This situation did not change even when a literary award for the best Polish action and crime novel was established with the first edition of the first edition of The Writing Contest of Alistair MacLean for action and crime novel taking place in 1991. Its winners were Robert Brutter [aka Andrzej Grembowicz] for his novel Rekontra [Recontra] which was made into a radio play in 1993 on 27 February in Teatr Polskiego Radia); Tadeusz Paleczny for Selekcja [Selection] and Wojciech Strojkowski for Terroryści z Brygady Wsparcia [Terrorists from the Support Brigade]. However, this did not change book market trends6. Moreover, literature – as a medium – was competing with audiovisual texts at that time7. Among them was the film and video industry which was gaining popularity alongside a commercial offer of satellite television8. However, an attempt to create a Polish TV series entitled Ekstradycja [Extradition] (Poland, 1995-1999, directed by Wojciech Wójcik) with its current-day topic (the Russian mafia in Poland, drug trafficking, a gang war) did not change the situation for crime fiction. Although the production won favour with most of its viewers, in retrospect it did not contribute to the rebirth of Polish crime literature to any significant degree.

• 9 Krzystek’s performance was the second attempt at transferring Lem’s work to film after the film ada (...)

8The market situation in which Polish crime fiction had to function after 1989 changed together with the rebirth of domestic popular literature which started to grow in popularity in the second half of 1990s. At this time, Polish crime fiction was gradually gaining popularity which led to the reprinting of the most interesting novels first published years earlier and also to adaptations of archaic stories of "crime and punishment". Undoubtedly, the most noteworthy of these is a theatrical adaptation of Śledztwo [Investigation] (first print: 1959) written by Stanisław Lem for Teatr Telewizji [Television Theatre] and directed by Waldemar Krzystek in 19979.

• 10 See R. Ostaszewski, "Zapał do kryminału" [Enthusiasm for Crime Fiction], Polityka, 2011, No. 13, p. (...)

10Readers of Polish crime literature will note its compliance with the "kryminał+" [crime fiction+] formula. Robert Ostaszewski coined this term to describe the evolution of the interpretation of crime fiction’s role - from pure entertainment for readers (the plot as a mystery the reader contributes to solve) to crime fiction as a language of a social discourse10. Undoubtedly, the popularity of the Scandinavian school of crime fiction gained among Poles a significant impact on the interpretation of crime fiction works from the perspective of social criticism. This popularity derives from the translation of Stieg Larsson’s saga Millenium (2005-2007; Polish edition: 2008-2009) and other Scandinavian novels such as those written by Camilla Läckberg (after 2010), and Lena Oskarsson (after 2012). The popularity of the Scandinavian model of crime fiction in Poland led to one of the most popular Polish writers, Remigiusz Mróz, publishing his Trylogia Wysp Owczych [Trilogy from the Faroe Islands] (Enklawa [The Enclave], 2016; Połów [The Haul], 2016; Prom [The Ferry], 2017) under the Scandinavia penname Ove Løgmansbø. The formula created by Ostaszewski is universal and thus does not have to refer only to stories with motifs connected with social criticism.

• 11 See J. Chłosta-Zielonka, Zamiast powieści obyczajowej: cechy współczesnej polskiej powieści sensacy (...)

11Stories of "crime and punishment" constitute a genre which is complementary to the outlined tendencies to set criminal intrigue in the past. These stories portray the dark side of present times in socio-cultural crime fiction, which is akin to the novel of manners11. Socio-cultural novels - and thus together with socio-cultural crime fiction - originated from naturalistic tendencies. It emphasises the lack of connection between readers' non-artistic experiences and the image of the reality portrayed. Some examples of this are Mariusz Czubaj's "soccer mystery" Zanim znowu zabiję [Before I Kill Again] (2012) and works that portray minors like Pora chudych myszy [The Time of Skinny Mice] by Wojciech Bauer, 2016 or Kolejność [Sequence] by Hubert Hender, 2016. There are also stories with a criminal motif serving as a pretext to express the author’s views and opinions on social or current affairs issues which often are often covered by journalists; 21.37 (2008) by Mariusz Czubaj, Ziarno prawdy [Element of Truth] (2011) by Zygmunt Miłoszewski or Kłamca [Liar] (2012) by Tomasz Białkowski are novels portraying the ecclesiastical environment while Opcje na śmierć [Death Options] (2012) by Jarosław Klejnocki describes how the shadow banking system works.

• 12 See S. Kryński, "Powieść środowiskowa o artyście. Linie jej przemian w dwudziestoleciu" [Socio-cult (...)
• 13 See K. Sidowska, "Polska powieść uniwersytecka" [Polish Campus Novel], Acta Universitatis Lodzendzi (...)

12However, one should not forget that social and vocational details are not only present in socio-cultural genres12 which is why not every story of "crime and punishment" portraying a particular community has to be a representative of socio-cultural crime fiction. What determines genealogical classification in this case is first of all the distribution of attention. A significant role is played here by a novel written by Maja Kotarska entitled Dracena przerywa milczenie [Dracaena Breaks the Silence] (2007) that portrays life in academia. This novel can be considered as representative of the campus novel genre because it presents the life of academics13. Academics’ obsessions portrayed in Kotarska’s book become an ironic description of life in academia which seemingly connects the novel with a work by Jarosław Klejnocki entitled Przylądek pozerów. Powieść antykryminalna [The Cape of Wannabes. Anticrime Fiction] (2005). Nevertheless, (and this distinguishes, de facto, the first book from the second) the reader’s concentration is focused on a mystery and discovering in a quite unconventional way who the killer is. This means social motifs are less important in Dracena przerywa milczenie [Dracaena Breaks the Silence] than in Przylądek pozerów… [The Cape of Wannabes…] which is a campus novel with an additionally implemented criminal motif whose social motif is thus more vital in the book.

• 14 See M. Czubaj, Etnolog w Mieście Grzechu. Powieść kryminalna jako świadectwo antropologiczne [Ethno (...)
• 15 See A. Hejlsted, Den skandinaviske femi-krimi – definition og historiske aner,
  http://www.krimiforsk (...)

13Socio-cultural crime fiction has similarities to the novel of manners which enables it to factually portray non-artistic reality. In this way this genre is considered as an artistic record of everyday life that turned to a "crime and punishment" story14. Poland’s entry into the European Union in 2004 turned out to be particularly important for writers presenting Polish socio-political reality. In the works of these authors, current themes from political discussions began to appear, particularly those related to gender equality which was primarily reflected in the presence of female detectives in their novels. In this way, the authors broke the existing stereotypes related to the male character of the police profession. The cycle by Katarzyna Bonda "Cztery żywioły Saszy Załuskiej" (2014-2018 [The Four Elements of Sasha Załuska]) is significant in this respect. The protagonist of the series is a single mother, working as a police profiler whose strong personality helps her work in a male-dominated environment. Despite the pressures, she is able to behave assertively without losing her feminine identity. Other writers also address the issue of women working in the "male" profession as police officers such as Katarzyna Puzyńska in her series about police officers from Lipowo (2014-2021). "Strong Women" are equivalent to the hitherto dominant male creations of police officers and detectives. Bonda, Puzyńska and other Polish women writers are inspired by the Swedish novel femi-krimi, (Annemette Hejlsted's term15). Works which are part of this trend of crime fiction redefine the model of female identity and subjectivity, rejecting the male-centric tradition of crime literature. In this way, the "detective in a skirt" becomes an exponent of feminocentrism although this does not usually imply acceptance of feminist ideology which is often used instrumentally for the requirements of the novel. Polish works modeled on the Scandinavian femi-krimi trend describe the everyday life of women in an affirmative way and show their efforts to overcome misogyny. Read from the perspective of gender studies, these works can be considered as a pop-culture resonance of the discussion on the redefinition of women's social roles.

• 16 Hence, it is a mistake to treat retro crime fiction novels written in the interwar period (e.g. wor (...)

15The abovementioned novels belong to the historical mystery genre, meaning they are stories set in a time period considered historical from the reader’s perspective16. This is a relatively new phenomenon in Polish crime literature after 1989. Although crime fiction novels set in the past had been published before (e.g. Crimen, 1975, and Przypadki starościca Wolskiego [The Case of Wolski, the Son of a Staroste], 1982, by Józef Hen; Demon z Bagiennego Boru [Demon from the Swampy Forest], 1981, by Helena Sekuła, or Naszą panią demony upiory udusiły [Our Lady was Suffocated by Demons], 1987, by Jerzy Siewierski), such works did not form a coherent genre within Polish crime literature until the turn of 20^th and 21^st centuries. Some of them (mostly works by Hen) were mostly perceived by readers and critics as historical fiction stories with criminal and sensational motifs.

• 17 See A. Gemra, "Eberhard Mock na tropie: Breslau/Wrocław w powieściach Marka Krajewskiego" [Eberhard (...)
• 18 See P. Kaczyński, "Kryminał historyczny – próba poetyki" [Historical Mystery – an Attempt of Poetic (...)
• 19 Examples of works which influenced the form of subsequent crime literature are those by Kazimierz C (...)
• 20 The excessive use of details typical for retro crime fiction is described in an interesting way in (...)
• 21 See W. Kajtoch, "O poznawczych korzyściach z historycznych seriali kryminalnych" [About Cognitive A (...)
• 22 See A. Ziębińska-Witek, "Wizualizacje pamięci - upamiętnianie Zagłady w muzeach" [Visualisation of (...)
• 23 In Polish humanistic reflection, "post-memory" is primarily considered as a category connected with (...)

16The increased popularity of a literary form that linked historical motifs with a mystery resulted from the publication of a pre-war Wrocław [previously Breslau] series of novels written by Marek Krajewski. The first book of the series was Śmierć w Breslau [Death in Breslau] (1999). As well as Wrocław, Krajewski set his stories in pre-war Lviv (the lieutenant Edward Popielski series with a first book titled Głowa Minotaura [The Head of Minotaur], 2008). It seems significant that the writer set both his series in ghost towns which did not exist in readers’ non-artistic reality. Both Wrocław and pre-war Lviv changed in analogical terms from real cities to ghost towns that exist as nostalgic signs in the collective imagination17. Possibly, its popularity on the market – arising from the originality of the characters and the reality portrayed – caused the idea of setting the plot in the interwar period (1918-1939) to initially become a determining factor in a different quasi-genealogical phenomenon within the historical mystery genre, namely retro crime fiction. Other authors benefitted from Krajewski's artistic success including such as Konrad T. Lewandowski (Jerzy Drwęcki series, 2007-2015), Marcin Wroński (Zygmunt Maciejewski series, 2007-2018), and Paweł Jaszczuk (Jakub Stern series, 2004-2013). Even if we accept that setting the plot of a given story of "crime and punishment" in the interwar period (1918-1939) is one of the determinants of retro crime fiction, it is not a sufficient condition to consider a story as a representative of the retro crime fiction genre. According to Paweł Kaczyński, this requires the inclusion of modern crime methodology in the period settings used by authors. In compliance with this idea, censorship in retro crime fiction would not date from the interwar period but instead from the 19^th century when discoveries in the field of natural science enabled a research-based crime investigation18. Kaczyński’s approach is worth mentioning as it implements a clear distinction between historical mystery and retro crime fiction based on the time period in which a story is set. What is more, the 19^th century is a crucial moment in the evolution of the crime fiction genre as this is when genre determinants were established. They can be seen in Monsieur Lecoq (1869) by Émile Gaboriau and in A Study in Scarlet (1888) by Arthur Conan-Doyle19 among other works. However, according to Wojciech Kajtoch, what distinguishes the historical mystery from the retro crime fiction genre are their approaches towards details (conventional or social one etc.). In retro crime fiction, a detail is treated as a value as such; details are used excessively so a mystery is solved20. And in turn, in historical mystery a broader time panorama is portrayed in which the work is set. That is why in deciding whether a work is a representative of historical or retro crime fiction genre, a reader must rely on their own feelings towards the specificity of past decades21. The series of novels written by Jakub Szamałka (Kiedy Atena odwraca wzrok [When Athena Averts Her Eyes] (2011); Morze Niegościnne [Inhospitable Sea] (2013); Czytanie z kości [Reading the Bones] (2015)) serves as an example of genealogical ambivalence. The novels are set in ancient Greece (5^th century B.C.) and shall thus be treated as examples of historical mystery. However, at the same time there is a first-person narrative like in retro crime fiction. What connects both Kaczyński’s and Kajtoch’s statements is a nostalgic approach towards the past treated as a cultural and ideologised construct. Its basis is collective memory and its artistic reinventions which indicate a privatisation of the memory. The memory ceased to be identical to the historical records of facts, becoming an interpretation through the prism of single experiences anchored in one’s memory. Thereby, it became – using a term coined by Anna Ziębińska-Witek – "the memory of witnesses’ memory"22. The key to its interpretation, which enables reading of Polish historical mystery (together with the retro crime fiction that functions within the same area), becomes a category of "post-memory" (term coined by Marianne Hirsch) in a form modified by the researcher. It is a memory marked by recollections23.

• 24 See A. Giddens, Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Polish transl (...)
• 25 See notes about novel Błyskawiczna wypłata: http://lubimyczytac.pl/ksiazka/236945/blyskawiczna-wypl (...)

17The instrumentarium of "post-memory" is presented in a special way in stories that are set between 1945 and 1989. The reason for this is the communication situation of writers and readers of neo-militia novels. There are two groups of readers: (i) older people who had lived in a socialist society and experienced the decline of the Polish People’s Republic, and (ii) readers who experience these times through stories and acquired knowledge (e.g. thanks to education and family members who lived back then). The autobiographic experiences of the first group influence an interpretation of the reality portrayed which is not evaluated on the basis of its artistry, but of adequacy of what a particular reader remembered. Transferring the emphasis from words to one’s individual experience is caused by the role of a memorial discourse present in the person’s autobiography24. When it comes to younger readers, they are prone to focus on the portrayed reality of the Polish People’s Republic in terms of literary values25.

• 26 It is obvious that not every action fiction written between the years 1956 and 1989 should be ident (...)
• 27 See E. Nurczyńska-Fidelska, "Czarny realizm". O stylu i jego funkcji w filmach nurtu współczesnego" (...)
• 28 See K. T. Toeplitz, "Zbrodnia po polsku" [Polish Crime], [in]: id., Mieszkańcy masowej wyobraźni [R (...)
• 29 See P. Małochleb, Dziedzictwo powieści milicyjnej. PRL jako temat literatury kryminalnej [Legacy of (...)

18While reading a neo-militia novel, a reader will pay attention to demythologisation of ideological factors which influence action fiction written between the years 1956 and 198926. Creators of novels and films maintained the aesthetics of "black realism" (a term coined by Ewelina Nurczyńska-Fidelska27), which showed phenomena absent in art for political reasons before 1989 namely the existence of prostitution in Poland, homosexuality, widespread alcoholism or constant shortages in the shops. The abuse of power by MO and SB employees is shown which was not mentioned in the official ideological discourse in the years 1945-1989. For example, in a neo-militia novel, officers often abuse their power and force suspects to testify under torture. They also extort a fee for the protection of illegal casinos and houses of prostitution. As the name suggests, the genre is deeply embedded in the so-called militia novel which is a product of socialist countries’ mass culture28. Neo-militia novels, using militia novels as a point of reference, create an antithetic but equally simplified image as in the latter genre29.

• 30 See S. Barańczak, W kręgu powieści: nadludzie w niebieskich mundurach [In Novel Circle: Overmen in (...)
• 31 See P. Kaczyński, "Świat poprawiony. Autentyczne sprawy kryminalne jako tworzywo powieści milicyjne (...)
• 32 See K. T. Toeplitz, Zbrodnia po polsku [Polish Crime], p. 155.
• 33 See V. Sajkiewicz, "Czar (nie)pamięci. Nostalgia za PRL-em, w najnowszej sztuce polskiej" [Appeal o (...)
• 34 See E. Dutka, "Historia kryminalna w realiach PRL-u" ze Śląskiem w tle. O "Ręcznej robocie" Ryszard (...)
• 35 A. Wicik, "Jestem pisarzem kryminalistą. Rozmowa z Ryszardem Ćwirlejem" [I am an Author of Crime Fi (...)

19 The character of neo-militia novels causes means that remarks about its persuasive character shall apply in the same way as when Stanisław Barańczak intentionally uses this quality to describe militia novels30. The process of "embedding" the reality portrayed in non-artistic reality can be seen in militia novels with regard to propagandist details and also to everyday life in the Polish People’s Republic presented in compliance with ideological guidelines31. This image is adjusted to the propagandist message and so are the crimes presented32. The authors of neo-militia strive to portray complete realism. The demystifying character of this genre may be considered a response to "nostalgia for the Polish People’s Republic"33. As a contrast to this, there is an image of "dullness" in the decline of the Polish People’s Republic and the anomie of social behaviour – e.g. in works by Ryszard Ćwirlej (among others: Upiory spacerują nad Wartą [Ghosts are Strolling along the Warta River], 2007; Trzynasty dzień tygodnia [The Thirteenth Day of the Week], (2007), and Skecz zwany morderstwem [A Sketch Called a Murder] (2012) by Marcin Wolski34. Ćwirlej’s remark seems to be significant as he declares: "In militia (...) one could find real crime experts (...), but also careerists, martinets, political commissars or (...) typical idiots prone to follow even the dumbest order of their supervisors. This is the portrayal of militia which I wanted to show in my books"35.

• 36 See R. Dudziński, "Milicjanci, milicja i specjaliści. Proceduralny aspekt powieści milicyjnej" [Mil (...)

20The reason why authors of neo-militia novels created the artistic "opposite" of militia novels is not just the portrayal of the past in this genre – the characters seem to reflect changes in crime literature. Another quality – except from the persuasive character – that connects militia and neo-militia novels is the portrayal of an investigation as a sequence of procedures observed by militia officers. De facto, a collective character in both genres is a law enforcement agency which facilitates the portrayal of an interpretational context in police procedures36.

• 37 See T. Cieślikowska, "Struktura współczesnej powieści kryminalnej na tle współczesnego powieściopis (...)

23The above-mentioned strategies are not mutually exclusive solutions and sometimes elements of all of them can be found in one literary piece. At the same time, distinguishing between them enables us to spot the variety of self-referential tricks used by the authors of the stories "about crime and punishment". To generalize, post-crime fiction is a critical and discursive genre that is an artistic response to changes in poetics of crime fiction. The reformulation of literature canons is the consequence. A connection between post-crime fiction and a literary movement inspired by the nouveau roman tradition is clearly visible37. In both phenomena, we may find plot division and moral and rudimental issues for conventional crime fiction considered to be the story of law and order being restored in a world of crime. The authors of post-crime fiction novels search for conventional solutions, and, at the same time, they treat them cautiously and in an instrumental way.

• 38 See D. Matyszczak, "Kryminał po śląsku – Marcin Melon, Kōmisarz Hanusik" [Silesian Crime Story – Ma (...)
• 39 Melon’s artistic decision to make a regional variant of a language the medium not only of dialogues (...)
• 40 See M. Głowiński, "Czy literatura może być wzorem mowy?" [Can Literature be a Speech Model?], [in]: (...)
• 41 See M. de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life, Polish translation: K. Thiel-Jańczuk, Cracow, 200 (...)

24Critical potential of post-crime fiction does not restrict itself to the thoughts and self-awareness of an author who thematises a creative act (Drwal [Logger], 2011; Zbrodniarz i dziewczyna [Criminal and a Girl], 2014 by Michał Witkowski). The novels mentioned become – due to deformation of a generic model – a way to reinvent a language thanks to author’s approach towards it. This function may be clearly visible in works in which a style of narrative and characters’ dialogues go beyond the requirements of language credibility within the reality portrayed (Kōmisorz Hanusik [Lieutenant Hanusik], 2014, by Marcin Melon; Silesia Noir, 2015, by Marcin Szewczyk)38. This tendency is visible especially in Melon’s works which are written in Silesian dialect which is quite difficult to understand for readers outside Silesia39. Let’s assume – similarly to Michał Głowiński – that a rule-making function is now visible via focusing the author's and the reader's attention on a language and problematising of the speech act40. Therefore, post-crime fiction becomes a search for "routes through" (a term coined by Michel de Certeau) which uses an oppressive character of culture against the culture itself41. In other words, the authors of post-crime fiction novels use conventional solutions to reinvent consumers' way of thinking regarding popular culture and its products.

• 42 The cultural policy of the Swedish Government promotes native creators abroad and thus played a maj (...)
• 43 Marinin's first novel translated into Polish was Ukradziony sen [Stolen Dream; original title: Укра (...)

27In 2008, Stieg Larsson's novel Men Who Hate Women became significant as regards the transformation of polish crime novel. It started a fashion for Scandinavian crime and individual writers (e.g. Camilla Lackberg, Jo Nesbo, Arne Dahl, Henning Mankell) published their own high-volume series42. At the same time, the novels of Aleksandra Marinina, a Russian writer, began to be translated. Together with Scandinavian novels, it clearly influenced the Polish crime novel genre, having a strong impact starting with the translation of Marinina's novels into Polish in 200443 and the boom in Scandinavian crime fiction which began in 2008.

• 44 Paradoxically, although German-language crime fiction was rather poorly known to Polish readers, it (...)

29Due to the almost complete lack of translations, Polish readers did not have the opportunity to get acquainted with German-speaking crime-fiction44. In addition to Charlotte Link, the representatives of this genre included Sebastian Fitzek whose novels explored the dark side of the psyche of the characters. These probably influenced in Polish crime novels in which an unbalanced hero appeared who struggled with demons of the past as was the case for the protagonists of the novel Krew [Blood] (2017) by Bartosz Szczygielski. Quite often, Fitzek's related works link mental illness with crime and this influence can be detected in the works of Katarzyna Puzyńska. In Łaskun [Paradoxurus] (2016) the psychopath creates sculptures from the remains of victims and in Czarne narcyzy [Black Narcissism] (2017) jealousy leads to tragedy and the death of one of the heroines.

• 45 G. Brownell, "Move Over Scandinavian Noir, Here Comes the Polish Gumshoe", New York Times, 2014, ht (...)

32Polish novels were mostly translated into Western languages first. Only later did translations into Central-East European and Southern European languages appear along with languages such as Hebrew and Japanese that are exotic from a European perspective. Moreover, sometimes, as in the case of the translation into Japanese of Miłoszewski's novel Ziarno prawdy [Grain of Truth], this was mediated by an English translation. How translations into English functioned can be explained by its transnational nature (it is now a vehicular language). The choice of Western European languages can also be considered as an alternative to the predominant pre-1989 tendency to translate Polish literature into Russian (Marcin Wroński's novels are the exception). Translations into Central European languages (Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Hungarian) can be considered as a derivative of the Visegrad Group's (V4) policy to deepen cooperation (including cultural cooperation) between its associated countries. It is equally important for creators to be aware of the audience who are also potential buyers of their novels. They can also bring the country closer to many still exotic westerners. This is evidenced by a review of Polish crime fiction in "New York Times": "Move Over Scandinavian Noir, Here Comes the Polish Gumshoe"45.