What Never Happens, by Anne Holt 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 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 side, 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 a 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

Norwegian Crime Authors Like Sweden, Norway has a large number of authors writing crime books and thrillers, even though the number is smaller than that of Sweden (Norway has approximately half the population of Sweden). Approximately 50 Norwegian crime writers are listed in Wikipedia. However, very few Norwegian crime book authors have had their books published in English. To the best of our knowledge, these are the only 7 (please correct us if we are wrong): Kjell Ola (K O) Dahl Karin Fossum Anne Holt Jon Michelet (Orion's Belt only (1986)) Jo Nesbo Kjersti Scheen Gunnar Staalesen Several more have been published in other languages, like Spanish and German. Among those not translated to English (yet), the best writers are probably Unni Lindell, Tom Egeland, Arild Rypdal, and Fredrik Skagen.

The Fourth Man, by Kjell Ola Dahl

The Fourth Man, actually the fifth novel inspectors Gunnarstranda and Frolich (Frølich), 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.

The Man in the Window, by K O Dahl

The Man in The Window is the third book (in the original Norwegian sequence) in KO Dahl's series about Frolich and Gunnarstranda.

Seventy-nine-year-old Reidar Folke Jespersen, who sells antiques in Oslo, is one day sitting in a restaurant, looking at his wife entering an apartment on the other side of the street, where her lover lives. He leaves the restaurant to meet his brothers. Next morning he is found murdered, sitting naked in a chair in the window of his antique shop.

The case is assigned to detective Gunnarstranda and his assistant, Frank Frolich. The clues are few and difficult to interpret. A red string is tied around his neck, and three crosses and a number - 195 - has been written across his chest. Some items from WWII are missing. Also, clearly, several people are quite pleased that Jespersen is dead.

The Man In The Window is an intricate and thrilling detective story about love, loyalty, guilt, desire for revenge and shadows from the past. These questions consume the investigation, just as they fill the private lives of the investigators. What they uncover is a country where victims, perpetrators and even police officers are haunted by the past, and are still trying to cope with the dark memories of the Nazi occupation of the country.

K O Dahl has a sharp eye for dialogues, he elaborates detailed portraits, he creates surprising relationships and he is excellent at creating tension and atmosphere. This book is one of his best, and highly recommended.

Praise for The Man in the Window:

Order this book from amazon UK: The Man in the Window