[Euthanasia as a topic in criminal literature. Two examples].

Euthanasia is the main theme in the crime novels. The sisterhood by the American author Michael Palmer, published in 1982 and Morfindoktoren nekter seg skyldig (The morphine doctor denies his guilt) by the Norwegian author Waldemar Brøgger, published in 1958. In spite of differences between these two novels in time and space, they show many similarities. In this article the two novels, both of which have physicians as the main characters, are compared. Biographic information on the authors confirms the hypothesis of a close relationship between authors and their heroes in the criminal literature. The criminal literature has many points of connection in the medicine. These two examples show how even important and difficult medical ethical issues can be a subject for a crime novel.