The Writing on the Wall, by Gunnar Staalesen

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.

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 the book. But Veum isn't all that likeable! He is a straight, believable hero, but he is a little boring and simple to some readers. Personally, I like him because he is pretty low key for a guy from Bergen, and is a little bit shabby. However, I do recommend The Writing on the Wall..

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

Final Curtain, by Kjersti Scheen

'I started writing crime fiction just as a bit of fun' said Kjersti Scheen in an interview. She is the Norwegian author of a series featuring private investigator Margaret Moss. She has written more than thirty books, mostly for young people, and is the author of an award-winning series addressing issues such as anorexia nervosa and teenage sexuality.

Final Curtain is the first Margaret Moss novel in a series that has won a loyal fan-base, particularly in Norway, Germany and Japan. Before she embarked on the project, Scheen immersed herself in work by contemporary female crime writers, an exercise that crystallized what she did and did not want to do.

'I decided not to be politically correct. The wisecracking anti-heroes of Chandler and Hammett with their weakness for dames and alcohol are dear to my heart. Moss like her old Renault, is somewhat the worse for wear. She often feels afraid, but her alter ego is hard-bitten and knows no fear.'

Margaret Moss, the main character in Final Curtain, has tried quite a few things in her life and hasn't really been able to settle down - being a PI at least means she is her own boss and can do everything the way she pleases. She is middle-aged, lives with her daughter Karen, and drives an old Renault.

In Final Curtain, Margareth is doing surveillance on the wife of a banker, who is sure she's having an affair, when an old friend from Margaret's acting days disappears. Her family asks Margaret to dig around and see if Rakel just has a new boyfriend or where she has gone. This is the main story of the book.

I thought the book took a little too long to really get started. But after several encounters with a group of young Neo-Nazi's; some sneaking around on rail lines, in ditches and through overgrown gardens; and assistance from a cute lorry driver, Margaret does finally get to the bottom of what happened to Rakel.

Final Curtain is an entertaining book. The plot is pretty good. The characters are likable and there both humor and action. However, there are flaws in the plot; not major, but a little annoying - some things are just a little too coincidental.

The translation of Final Curtain unfortunately is not very good. For instance, many of the things that Margaret’s daughter said were clearly supposed to be reflective of the speech of a teenager, but just sounded utterly ridiculous.