Gunnar Staalesen is Norwegian, born in Bergen, 1947. He has, among other books, written a series of crime books starring Varg Veum. The first book in this series was published in 1977. Varg Veum is a kind of Scandinavian Philip Marlowe. He is a former social worker turned private detective. Staalesens books have been translated in 12 languages. The Writing on the Wall was originally published in Norwegian in 1995.

In The Writing on the Wall, Varg Veum returns from the funeral of his ex-wife’s most recent husband to find the distressed mother of missing 16 year old girl Torild, waiting to see him. Usually, when women are waiting to see Veum, something bad has happened or will happen.

Also, Bergen is buzzing with rumours about the death of Judge Brandt after he is found dead in a hotel room wearing flimsy female underwear.

Varg Veum starts digging. He looks into the last known sightings of Torild and her few friends. They seem to centre around a local amusement arcade. What initially seems pretty normal, rebellious behaviour seems to be covering up something more sinister, and Veum soon receives death threats. Then Torild is found dead.

Gradually what appears as the result of Veum’s digging, is a thriving teenage prostitution scene in the city. Varg is also convinced, that there is a connection to the death of Judge Brandt. Before long, Varg finds himself deep within the seedy underbelly of Bergen’s criminal world.

The Writing on the Wall is a detective novel you like or don’t like. To a large extent this has to do with Varg Veum. The novel itself is good, it is well written, and Staalesen is great with dialogues, but it doesn’t really excite you. However, if like me you have read a number of Staalesen’s novels and love Varg Veum, it is a great book. And generally, I think readers that like Veum will also like this book. But Veum isn’t all that likeable! He is a straight, believable hero, but he is a little boring and simpleminded to some readers. Personally, I like him because he is pretty low key for a guy from Bergen, and is a little bit shabby. I do recommend it.

Order The Writing on the Wall (Eurocrime), by Gunnar Staalesen from amazon UK!

The Fourth Man, actually the fifth novel about inspectors Gunnarstranda and Frolich (Frølich) by K O Dahl, is in some ways more similar to American crime novels than for instance those by Scandinavian authors like Karin Fossum, Karin Alvtegen, Jo Nesbo, Ake Edwardson or Henning Mankell. It is a hard-boiled noir style novel with a lean style, and reminds me more of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. There is, however, considerable psychological depth.

In the course of a routine police raid, Detective Inspector Frank Frolich of the Oslo Police saves the life of Elizabeth Faremo. She is a dark-haired beauty with mysterious eyes who was inadvertently caught in the crossfire. This is where The Fourth Man starts. Some weeks later, Frolich coincidentally runs into her again. He is attracted to her and they start an affair, even though his colleagues warn him about it.

By the time Frolich learns that Elisabeth is the sister of a known local gang-member, Johnny Faremo, it is already too late. And then Johnny is implicated in a crime, a security guard is attacked and killed. But Elisabeth gives her brother and his gang an alibi and Frolich’s name is mentioned. Then Elisabeth disappears. Now Frolich is plunged into both an emotional tempest as well as a complex investigation. He is forced to rethink their relationship. Were things as they seemed?

Frolich is asked to take some time off. And his boss Gunnarstranda is upset and believes Frank has been played from the very beginning. And as the body count increases, Frolich begins his own unofficial investigation.

Complex, dark and tragic, The Fourth Man is a tale of revenge and erotic obsession, where love lures a good cop to walk on the wild side. This is classical crime noir in a modern setting. It has it all: cynical strippers, tough-talking gangsters, corrupt businessmen, mixed identities and a bona fide femme fatale. Dahl’s language is, as one critic put it “spiced with small poetic observations … of remarkably high quality.” The author himself says that this is his project, to “combine the genre literature with a little poetry and literary storytelling.” The Fourth Man proves that Dahl is able to do this.

Order from amazon UK: The Fourth Man and The Man in the Window.

Anne Holt (born 1958 in Larvik, Norway) is a lawyer and writer: She has sold over 4 million books worldwide, and is a former Minister of Justice, TV news editor and anchor, and journalist. She has written 13 books. She is one of the most successful crime authors in Norway.
What Never Happens is a chilling, densely written book. It’s a police procedural about a copy cat killer committing a series of gruesome murders in Oslo, Norway.
The main characters in What Never Happens (as well as her earlier What is Mine), are former FBI profiler Johanne Vik and he husband, police inspector Adam Stubo. Even though Johanne is home with their newborn child and cares for a young daughter with autistic-like behaviors as well, she is reluctantly pulled into the investigation as a result of discussions about the terrible and shocking cases at home with her husband.
The victims are all celebrities and theatrically posed. A talk show hostess is found with her tongue cut out, mutilated and lovingly arranged. The leader of a political party is crucified, with a copy of the Koran inserted in her vagina. And grumpy, aspiring literary and political critic is bludgeoned and stabbed in the eye.

There are absolutely no clues, and any connections that Stubo can make among the slain only confuses matters. Gradually Johanne Vik realizes that the murders are familiar to her. This forces her to confront an incident in her past that is her greatest secret, one she keeps even from Stubo.
The mystery in What Never Happens is fascinating. Holt tells a story with several fabulous twists. For instance, once Stubo gets a solid suspect, he finds that he has inadvertently established the suspect’s innocence - even as he becomes certain that this individual is the murderer.

Holt’s talent is partly developing an telling a great tale in a quiet, somewhat remote fashion. Partly it is her ability to let us see the story from both sides, yet to understand very little until it is gradually revealed. Also, she develops her characters very well. It is interesting to follow Johanne, Adam, and their children. The interaction between Kristine and Adam is heartwarming.

What Never Happens is an innovative, well crafted crime masterpiece.
Also by Anne Holt: What Is Mine.
Order from amazon UK: What Is Mine (also known as Punishment), and The Final Murder

The White Lioness may well be the best Henning Mankell ever, at least as far as his Wallander series is concerned. I just read his Italian Shoes, which has not yet been translated, and currently think that’s his best.

The are many ingredients to the plot in The White Lioness. First, a happily married woman disappears in southern Sweden while going about her business as an estate agent. There is no explanation and no motive. Inspector Kurt Wallander and his team are called in to investigate this case of a missing person.

As readers, we know right from the beginning what is going on: she was at the wrong time at the wrong place. However, Wallander does not know this. Inspector Wallander has a gut feeling that the victim will never be found alive, but he has no idea how far he will have to go in a search of the killer and the origin of the crime.

The case turns out to be much more complicated that it appeared to be. The search for the truth behind the killing eventually uncovers an assassination plot, and Wallander finds himself in a tangle with both the secret police and a ruthless foreign agent.

It turns out that it all started in South Africa. A pro-apartheid conspirator has sent a gaunt, steel-eyed former KGB assassin and a black hit man to Sweden to train for a unnamed killing. When their hideout is destroyed in a fireball and the remains found in the ashes - a precision firearm, a sophisticated, high-powered radio, and a severed human thumb - the clues lead Wallander back to South Africa.

Combining compelling insights into the sinister side of modern life with a riveting tale of international intrigue, The White Lioness keeps you on the knife-edge of suspense. Some may find the book a little long-winded in the passages about South-African politics, but it is a wonderful book even so!

The White Lioness has been filmed as well. You can order the DVD from amazon (US): The White Lioness.

Or, order from amazon UK: The White Lioness (book) or White Lioness [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC).

In a sleepy little village at the foot of a Norwegian mountain, a child — 6 year old Ragnhild — goes missing. It is a village where the children run in and out of one another’s houses and play unafraid in the streets. Yet the search for her reveals the naked body of a well-liked local schoolgirl. Why would anyone want to murder Annie Holland? The investigation is in the hands of Inspector Konrad Sejer and his young colleague Jacob Skarre.

Karin Fossum is my favorite Norwegian crime writer. Karin Fossum was born November 6, 1954 in Sandefjord. Fossum now lives in Oslo. Karin Fossum’s Inspector Sejer novels are masterfully constructed, psychologically convincing, and compulsively readable.

This is a wonderful book with great characters, and it is very carefully written. The dialogue is realistic. It is also a book that gives a strong sense of community and that makes you feel and know that, yeah, this is how is could really have happened. The book is highly recommended to anyone who likes police-procedural novels.

And, so that you know that this really is a quality book, I should mention that Don’t Look Back! received The Riverton Prize and The Glass Key (for the best Nordic detective novel).

Read an excerpt of the book at the Hardcourt publishers’ site. We have more reviews of Karin Fossum’s books at ScandinavianBooks!

Aftenposten’s reviewer said the book “has hit the bull’s eye. It has scored a direct hit and is an exceptional top score! This is a dazzling writing in the crime genre”.

“Don’t Look Back! shows just how well Fossum deserves her continental fame.” — Sunday Times