Date of Reading: 06/04/2020
Author: Kjell Ola Dahl
Translator: Don Bartlett
Publisher: Orenda books
Publication Date: February 29, 2020
Rating: 3/5
(This review is part of the blog tour organised by Random Things Tours)
About the book:
The Oslo Detectives are back in another chilling slice of Nordic Noir … Frølich searches for the mysterious sister of a young female asylum seeker, but when people start to die, everything points to an old case and a series of events that someone will do anything to hide…
Suspended from duty, Detective Frølich is working as a private investigator, when his girlfriend’s colleague asks for his help with a female asylum seeker, who the authorities are about to deport. She claims to have a sister in Norway, and fears that returning to her home country will mean instant death.
Frølich quickly discovers the whereabouts of the young woman’s sister, but things become increasingly complex when she denies having a sibling, and Frølich is threatened off the case by the police. As the body count rises, it becomes clear that the answers lie in an old investigation, and the mysterious sister, who is now on the run…
A dark, chilling and up-to-the-minute Nordic Noir thriller, Sister is also a tense and well-plotted murder mystery with a moving tragedy at its heart, cementing Kjell Ola Dahl as one of the greatest crime writers of our generation.
Review:
This is my first time reading something of the Nordic Noir, the genre of crime fiction largely following the police point of view. Well, the main character here is a former police officer now turned private detective. His business is not exactly booming but all the clients are drawn to him due to his anti-corruption stance. Yes, that is something remarkable about Frølich and his ideals shine throughout even with all the humiliations and the physical assault he is forced to endure.
Beginning with the search of a lost sister, the story gradually turns into a murder mystery and the links all point to a previous incident. Along with this, the author also gives a glimpse of the corrupted political system of Norway and the condition of immigrants. From the very first page it will have you hooked in the guessing game, which I miserably failed. Hmm . . . not my first time failing to find the culprit.
The book was not as fast paced as I expected and until the last part, things were going rather peacefully (apart from regular murders, that is). It could be the way of narration, but nothing really seems to shook us while reading, which was new. So if you are in search of some crime narratives this could definitely be a part of the list. Or if you want to read something out of your comfort zone (like me) then this is going to be a new experience.
Meet the author:
One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eleven novels, the most prominent of which is a series of police procedurals cum psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. His work has been published in 14 countries, and he lives in Oslo.
This is my first time reading something of the Nordic Noir, the genre of crime fiction largely following the police point of view. Well, the main character here is a former police officer now turned private detective. His business is not exactly booming but all the clients are drawn to him due to his anti-corruption stance. Yes, that is something remarkable about Frølich and his ideals shine throughout even with all the humiliations and the physical assault he is forced to endure.
Beginning with the search of a lost sister, the story gradually turns into a murder mystery and the links all point to a previous incident. Along with this, the author also gives a glimpse of the corrupted political system of Norway and the condition of immigrants. From the very first page it will have you hooked in the guessing game, which I miserably failed. Hmm . . . not my first time failing to find the culprit.
The book was not as fast paced as I expected and until the last part, things were going rather peacefully (apart from regular murders, that is). It could be the way of narration, but nothing really seems to shook us while reading, which was new. So if you are in search of some crime narratives this could definitely be a part of the list. Or if you want to read something out of your comfort zone (like me) then this is going to be a new experience.
Meet the author:
Thanks for the blog tour support xx
ReplyDeleteGreat review, the book sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've not dabbled into this genre
ReplyDeleteI love an honest review
ReplyDeleteThis isn’t my usual genre, so I might give it a skip. Great review though!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! Not sure if it's for me, but you put your thoughts into words very nicely :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete